NEWS ARTICLES FROM 2002

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> Past News Articles from 2003.

NEWS & INFO - 12/06/02

While the tests of the streaming and async features of MpegDec went well, a new version of 2.x was never released. Instead, work is now focused on version 3.0, which will have the async and streaming features, as well as a few more.

MpegDec 3.0 Added Features

Version 3.0 will sport a new look, including a new set of icons. The player will have a progress bar display that allows skipping to any point in the song.

It will support drag-and-drop of MP3 files onto the MpegDec player icon. Also, double-clicking on an MP3 file should now open it in MpegDec.

Version 3.0 will be distributed as Fat Binary for both 68K and PPC Macs. The LibMAD decoder has been dropped in favor of the MPEGDEC decoder.

Supported file types will include: MP3, M3U, MPG, and PLS

NEWS & INFO - 10/31/02

The 68K Async Streaming version is still undergoing testing. For the time being, I am posting a screenshot and some notes about my experiences testing it.

Note that MpegDec now displays information about the current song in the bottom pane. This is accessed by clicking in the disclosure triangle next to the word "ID3".

Test Machine #1: The Web Master's Powerbook Duo 280c
66/33MHz 68LC040, 24MB RAM, 320MB HD, Mac OS 8.1, cable modem

Playing an "m3u" or "pls" file works fine for streams up to about 32kbps. MpegDec plays local and streaming MP3 files in the background without skipping a beat. When playing an MP3, other tasks go much slower - but the computer is still quite usable. Web browsers, word processors and such all run well enough while listening to MP3s in the background.

Personally, I encode low-bitrate MP3s with iTunes and then transfer them to my Powerbook. My Powerbook is only capable of 22KHz, Mono, 8-bit audio, so anything of higher quality is a waste of space. I can fit a full CD's worth of "Powerbook-Quality" audio into less than 13MB of disk space!

Of course, one of the best uses for MpegDec is playing MP3 files that you already have or ones that you downloaded off of the internet. Most of those will be high-quality, and MpegDec can play those as well.

NEWS & INFO - 9/27/02

The next version of MpegDec should be out soon, possibly next week. All the programming is done. It just needs some testing and finishing before release. Here are some of the new features expected:

Decoding
The new PPC MP3 decoder (Libmad by Robert Leslie) decodes the MP3 using 24-bit audio rather than the usual 16-bit, giving the MP3 decoding a more accurate sound quality. For 16-bit sound hardware the 24-bit audio gets converted to 16-bit.

Async
The FPU 68K Async version should perform better than the Non-FPU version, although this has not been tested yet. This is because MacOS basically uses integer maths (no FPU). So if MpegDec is mainly using the FPU in the background, the integer part of the 68040 can be used by MacOS to process other apps running at the same time.

Testing of MpegDec Async on a low end PowerMac showed that the the FPU version ran a bit more smoothly than the integer version.

Also the 68K and PPC AIFF decoding are async as well.

Streaming MP3 Files (M3U & PLS)
Quicktime streaming for the MP3 streaming did not work well, so Mark wrote an Open Transport async mp3 streaming version. The OT version connected and downloaded from IceCast MP3 streaming servers okay.

MP3 streaming will be included in the 68K version even though most 68K users don't have high speed internet connections.

Graphic Equalizer
The EQ works fine on the PPC version. The EQ on the 68k version slows it down a bit too much unfortunatley.

Playlist Enhancements
MpegDec will play mltiple playlists in order by using a .001 to .015 playlist file extension. So Playlist.001 gets loaded first followed by Playlist.002 etc.

MpegDec is now compatible with "Greg's Playlist" playlists and M3U playlists.

MpegDec's playlist editor is also able to generate Quicktime M3U playlists that are playable with the Quicktime Player or MoviePlayer.

NEWS & INFO - 9/4/02

Play MP3's in the background!

The next version of MpegDec will be able to play MP3 files in the background on both PPC and 68K Macs. This "Async" feature is almost identical on both PPC and 68K versions. [A development version worked very well on my PowerMac 9500 - John]

The PPC version now uses a new MP3 decoder. The new decoder should work better on PowerMacs than the previous 68K decoder.

The Graphic Equalizer feature for 68K has been ditched (or at least put on the backburner), as it requires too much CPU overhead to be useful. This looks like it will end up being a PowerMac-only feature.

Lastly, Drag And Drop onto the program icon should work in the new version. (Currently, MP3 files need to be dropped onto a small portion of the MpegDec window.)

NEWS & INFO - 7/23/02

Work is in progress for adding a graphic equalizer to both 68K and PPC versions of MpegDec. The GEQ will slow things down just a bit on 68K Macs, so there will be an ON/OFF option.

Also in the works is a Batch Conversion feature for MpegAIFF. Converting multiple files will be easier.

The Audiomedia version of MpegDec is almost complete. This version will not be included with the general release, as there are not many Audiomedia card users. Playing MP3 audio with the Audiomedia card requires a memory upgrade as well. If you would like the Audiomedia version of MpegDec, please contact the author.

MpegDec is now listed on MP3machine in the Mac Players section. MpegDec has also been mentioned on this Japanese web site. (You can translate it with AltaVista Translate.)

NEWS & INFO - 6/28/02

Work is underway for yet another version of MpegDec. So far there are versions for 68K (with or without FPU) and PPC. The new version will use the DSPs (Digital Signal Processors) on Audiomedia Nubus cards for dedicated MP3 decoding. This will relieve the CPU so it can handle other tasks while playing MP3s in the background.

NEWS & INFO - 6/20/02

MpegDec 2.5.3 has been released. The new version is available for download now. More info below.

MpegDec 2.5.3 should get rid of a few minor issues such as:

When playing the first MP3 file with the FPU version of 2.5 there was a small delay of a few seconds while MpegDec built some tables for MP3 decoding. The new version has the table included, so MpegDec doesn't have to calculate the table.

The AIFF version has also been updated to be more compatible with other sound programs.

Lastly, the PPC version works properly. This has been tested on a PowerMac G4/400 as well as a G3-upgraded PowerMac 9500.

What Features Are Now In Version 2.5.3?

MpegDec 2.5.3 features multiple playlists, time and artist display info, and standard play controls. It also allows skipping back or forwards within a song, and automatic playlist search (if an mp3 is moved from it's original folder).

There are three versions; 68K (FPU), 68K (no FPU), and PPC.