Short: MPEG audio player with GUI Author: Thomas Wenzel (wenzel@unixserv.rz.fh-hannover.de) Uploader: Thomas Wenzel (wenzel unixserv rz fh-hannover de) Type: mus/play Version: 1.0 Architecture: m68k-amigaos Introduction ------------ MPEGAHI is a GUI based MPEG audio player using mpega.library and the AHI audio system. It is NOT another frontend for the CLI based mpega. Anyway, if you've got problems not related to the user interface but with AHI, AsyncIO or mpega.library, PLEASE contact the corresponding author directly. I wouldn't be able to help you in this case. Requirements (not included in this archive!) -------------------------------------------- mpega.library (Aminet:util/libs/mpega_library.lha) asyncio.library (Aminet:dev/c/AsyncIO.lha) AHI audio system (Aminet:mus/misc/ahiusr.lha) Features -------- - FREEWARE! No beta, no nag requesters and no expiry date! - GadTools based font sensitive user interface - Workbench application (you can drop icons on its window) - Easily configurable - AHI device level access (uses default audio mode automatically) Getting started (configuration) ------------------------------- Important! You need a properly installed and configured AHI audio system to run MPEGAHI. Without a correct setup the sound may be very poor! First of all run the AHI setup program in your Prefs drawer. Select one of the units from 0 to 3 but not the Music unit. If you don't use unit 0 for anything already I recommend using that one. Select one of the "fast stereo++" audiomodes that matches your audio hardware. For Prelude playback I recommend "Prelude:Fast 16 bit stereo++ realtime". Now you need to know what sampling rate most of your MPEG files have. Probably it's 44100 Hz because that's the standard CD rate. If you have a slow processor you may want to run MPEGAHI in frequency division mode to reduce CPU load. Have a look at the table below for the recommended settings. It is important to set the frequency slider to your mostly used frequency divided by your chosen frequency divisor. For example, if you're going to playback lots of 44100 Hz MPEGs and frequency division is 1:2, set the Frequency slider to 22050 Hz. If you don't plan to have several programs playing back audio at the same time, please leave the Channels slider at position 1. The remaining settings depend on your audio hardware. Ok, press the "Save" button in the bottom left corner. Now it's time to configure MPEGAHI itself. If you've chosen another AHI device than 0, you have to change the AHIUNIT tooltype of MPEGAHI first. If not, just start it by double clicking on its icon and pop up the setup window by chosing Config... from the menu. Set the sliders and checkmarks to the recommended settings, save them using the menu and close the settings window again. That's it! MPEGAHI is now configured. You may want to fine-tune the settings later. The overall performance depends on the speed of mpega.library AND the the speed of your soundcard's AHI driver. Recommended settings (tested with Prelude:Fast 16 bit stereo++ realtime) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Layer 1/2 | Layer 3 Processor | Quality|FreqDiv|Mono | Quality|FreqDiv|Mono ----------+--------+-------+-----+--------+-------+----- 68040-40 | high | 1:2 | off | medium | 1:2 | on 68060-50 | high | 1:1 | off | high | 1:1 | off Usage (how to load and play sounds) ----------------------------------- Most of the buttons should be self-explanatory because they can be found on almost every CD player or tapedeck. However, as a computer program, MPEGAHI is based on files, so there may be slight differences. The bottom line buttons from left to right are: - Eject Stops playback, empties the current playlist and opens a requester to select one or more files - Skip back Moves to the previous track in the playlist if there is one. - Stop Simply stops playback. (What else did you expect? :-) - Play Starts playback if there's at least one track in the current playlist. If it's not, opens a requester to select tracks. - Skip fwd Moves to the next track in the playlist if there is one. - Pause Pauses playback at the current position Just above the control button's there's a position slider. As you play a file, it's button moves from left to right to display the relative playback position within the current track. You can use the mouse to drag this slider to a new position. Legal stuff ----------- MPEGAHI is copyrighted freeware. It may be distributed freely as long as no modifications are made to the executable and this document. A nominal fee may be asked to cover distribution costs. MPEGAHI may not be used for any commercial purposes or included with any commercial product without the written permission of the author. It may NOT be stored on ftp servers or websites that also hold commercial software products or drivers for commercial hardware. The only exception are servers of the Aminet archive. No responsibilities are taken for damaged speakers, amplifiers, Amigas or any other components or data involved while using MPEGAHI. Although I've done some beta testing I can't guarantee that MPEGAHI will not crash! If you find any bugs, let me know.