MPXPLAY Audio player version 1.46 by PDSoft

Supported filetypes:

AC3     (Dolby AC3 by http://ess.engr.uvic.ca/~aholtzma/ac3 and http://www.dolby.com)
MP2,MP3 (Audio MPEG Layer II/III)
MPC     (MPEGPlus by http://www.mpegplus.net)
OGG     (Ogg Vorbis by http://www.xiph.org)
WAV     (uncompressed wave files)
CDW     (Audio-CD 'ripp and play' on the fly)

Send suggestions and error reports to 

  mpxplay@freemail.hu   (please don't public this email address (ie: don't put it on your web page))

important notes and requests before you send me mail:
 - write MPXPLAY in the subject line!!!
 - before You ask something from me or you would like to send me a bug report, 
   please read README.TXT (this), MOREINFO.TXT and FAQ.TXT files!
 - you can find a lot of extra infos in the MPXPLAY.INI file too
   (keyboard mapping, LCD, joystick and serial port (infra receiver) configuration)
 - don't send attachments (only if I ask for it)
 - sorry, but I can't answer to everybody, I read your requests/problems,
   but don't wait answer from me ...
   (Usually I don't answer, if your question is answered somewhere in the text 
    files or I can't help you at all (especially at hardware problems))

Visit my homepages

   http://mpxplay.cjb.net   <- this address is linked to my actual main page

   http://mpxplay.tripod.com
   http://www.geocities.com/mpxplay
   http://ganymede.spaceports.com/~mpxplay
   http://www.tar.hu/mpxplay

for the updated program versions.

And visit the Mpxplay forum for extra informations (linked on my homepages).


Mpxplay system requirements:

- Minimum CPU for playing stereo files (using '-f0' and '-sl 0' options): 

  MP3 : Intel 80486 DX2-80 (DX4-100)
  MP2 : Intel 80486 DX2-50 (DX2-66)
  AC3 : Intel Pentium class (>66mhz)
  OGG : Intel Pentium class (>75mhz)
  MPC : Intel 80486 DX4-120

- Soundcard:
   - SB16 ISA (not PCI) or compatible (DSP 4.x), AWE-32/64, SB Live/Audigy (SB16 emu)
   - ESS 688,1688,1868,1869,1878,1879,1887,1888 chips (?)
   - WSS compatible (Crystal Sound, Yamaha OPL3, some OPTI cards(?),some CMI cards (?), some ESS cards (?))
   - GUS (GUS MAX, GUS PnP (AMD Interwave))
   - SB Pro or compatible (DSP 1.x, 2.x, 3.x)
   ((?) means: not tested, maybe it doesn't work properly)

- Memory (not exact calculations):
   - 200kbyte conventional
   - 3Mb XMS (+2*1Mb at -bp)(+size_of_file at -bl)(+1.5Mb for OGG files)

- Display: VGA (or EGA)

- OS: MS-DOS 5.x,6.x, Windows 95/98 (dos box)
  (if you get memory allocation errors in MS-DOS 7.xx, use the DOS4GW version (mpxp_4gw.zip))

Command line option examples:

usage: MPXPLAY.EXE [option(s)] audiofile    (play one audio file (.mp3,.wav,.cdw))
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE [option(s)] playlist.m3u (load a playlist file)
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE [option(s)] d:\*.*\*.*   (scan (sub)directories for files)
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE [option(s)] -ds cde      (scan c: d: e: drives for files)
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE [option(s)] d:\*.cdw     (play all audio CD tracks)
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE -o -sl 0 in.mp3 out.wav  (decode mp3 to a wav file)
   or: MPXPLAY.EXE -o -sl 0 d:\1.cdw 1.wav  (copy the 1. audio CD track into a wav file (ripp))

for slow computers (486DX4-100 or bellow)(-bl requires 7-10Mb RAM (3Mb + size of MP3)):
       MPXPLAY.EXE -sl 0 -ddma -f0 -v -bl -bn8 playlist.m3u
       MPXPLAY.EXE -sl 0 -ddma -f0 -v -bl -bni playlist.m3u
       MPXPLAY.EXE -sl 0 -ddma -f0 -v playlist.m3u

for faster computers (Pentium or above):
       MPXPLAY.EXE -bp -ipl playlist.m3u


List of all possible command line options:

Playlist:
 -@  PLAYLIST : use a playlist (.m3u or .mxu)
 -@d PLAYLIST : doombox (jukebox) mode (load playlist to the left side, push song to queue)
 -@s PLAYLIST.M3U : save playlist from editor into PLAYLIST file on exit (default:MPXPLAY.M3U)
 -@sw PLAYLIST.M3U: save playlist in EXTM3U format (like Winamp)
 -@sx PLAYLIST.MXU: save playlist in (own) extended format (playlist with file infos)
 -ds DRIVES : multiple drive scan (-ds cde -> scans c: d: e: drives)(-ds cde *.wav -> search wav files only)
 -dd use doombox mode (load files to the left side)(at drive scan (-ds) and directory browser)
 -prn  random play
 -prn2 randomize playlist at start
 -pre  replay playlist (after the last song the playing jumps to the first song)
 -pre1 repeat only 1 song (rewind to the begin of file)
 -pss NUM : start play at NUM. song  (PlayStartSong)
 -psc NUM : exit after NUM song      (PlaySongCount)
 -psp NUM : start song at NUM-16%    (PlayStartPercent)(16% is the begin of the song)
 -psf NUM : start song at NUM. frame (PlayStartFrame)
 -pfc NUM : play NUM frames only     (PlayFrameCount)
 -pef NUM : finish playing at NUM. frame (PlayEndFrame)(PlayFrameCount=PlayEndFrame-PlayStartFrame)(doesn't work with -psp)
 -phs hi-lite scan : play only 10 seconds from every songs (1m00s-1m10s)(configurable with -psf and -pfc options)
 -pap enable auto pause (auto pause before each song)

Display:
 -f0  no screen output
 -ff  only framepos and actual filename are displayed
 -fl  one line display output
 -v   verbose mode (mpeg info,id3tag info for -f0,-ff or -fl options)
 -fe  full screen playlist-editor (without spectrum-analiser & browser)
 -fs  single lines mode (disable 50 lines mode change at start) (25->50)
 -db  disable directory browser in playlist editor (left side)
 -ebs num : editor border size (14-64)(def:64)

Input buffer (def.: 128 (4*32) kbyte prebuffer without interrupt decoding):
 -bn  no input buffer (not recommended)
 -bp  input file pre(ring)buffer (decoder runs in interrupt)
 -bl  input fullbuffer (it loads the (whole) song into memory before playing (max. 13mbyte))
 -bni disable interrupt decoding (for -bl)
 -bn8 disable use of all int08 functions (interrupt decoding,dma monitor)
 -bbn prebuffer blocks (for -bp)(1 block=32kbytes)(use: 8 - 64 (MP3-WAV))(def.: 4; -bp: 32)

Sound card and output:
 -scs CARD manual soundcard select (S16,ESS,WSS,GUS,SBP,MID,NUL)
 -sct CARD soundcard test (without CARD argument it tests and displays all possible cards)
 -scm      configure manually MIDAS and save it to MPXMIDAS.INI file (MIDAS removed -> doesn't work)
 -scv  num sound card volume (master & voice)(1-100(%))
 -sctr num sound card treble (1-199(%)) (old SB16 (OPL) & AWE32/64 only)
 -scbs num sound card bass   (1-199(%)) (-"-)
 -ddma     double dma (32k->64k) (soundcard buffer)
 -t        testmode (no sound output, only decoding)
 -o        write pcm data to a wav file

Sound mixing and output modifying:
 -sv  volnum   software volume setting (amplifying)(0-700)(def. 100 (%))
 -sva [volnum] auto volume correction [with initial volume]
 -sr  surnum   surround (def.:100 (%) = no surround, 10=mono, 150=wide stereo)
 -sp  speed    playing speed (freq) control (60-200)(def.:100 (%))
 -sl  limit    soundlimit (playlimit)(0-200)(def.:20)

 -cl  decode channel left only (works at mp3 only)
 -cm  downmix channels (stereo to mono) (works at mp3 only)
 -hq  hq-mixer and mp2 files

 -cf  auto crossfade at the end of files
 -cfp [num] crossfade point (def. 120)(start crossfade at num. frame, relative to begining of fade-out)
 -cfo [num] fade-out length (def. 250)
 -cfi [num] fade-in length  (def. 200)
 -cfl [num] crossfade limit (def. 0) (start crossfade, when volume less than num (don't use crossfade point))
 -cft [num] crossfadetype   (def. 1) (0.bit:fade out, 1.bit:fade-in)(-cft 3 : fade out+in)
 (crossfade only: -cfo 150 -cfp 0 -cfi 150 , fade-out & fade-in only: -cfo 150 -cfp 150 -cfi 100 )

ID3-info, file-info:
 -inl don't preload file informations (header,id3tag)(load at start of song)
 -ipl load infos under play (start to play 1. song, after load infos)
 -idl load infos of displayed files only (witch shown in playlist editor)
 -in  don't load id3tag info from files (only header info)(but -il works)

ID3-list:
 -il  [infofile] load LOCAL id3info listfile (for current directory entries, reload after every dir change)
 -ig  [infofile] load GLOBAL id3info listfile (for playlist entries)(create:mpxplay -@ playlist.m3u -is d:listfile.txt -ist 448)
 -is  [infofile] save id3 infos to a listfile
 -iw  [infofile] write id3tag into mpeg files (mp2,mp3,mpc) (load it from the infofile)
     (default [infofile] name is: !FILES)
 -io NUM  order playlist by 0=title, 1=artist, 2=album, 3=year, 4=comment, 5=genre (style), 6=time, 7=filesize, 8=filename, 9=path\filename
 -ist NUM type for id3 savelist (the bits of the NUM changes the type)(def.:63)
   0. bit (  +1): list directory names
   1. bit (  +2): list filenames
   2. bit (  +4): artist-title list mode (non-fixed/fixed position)
   3. bit (  +8): list time of file
   4. bit ( +16): list bitrate (kbit/s)
   5. bit ( +32): list filesize in megabytes
   6. bit ( +64): list filenames with full path

 -8  convert windows characters to dos characters (codepage conversion in ID3 tags)
     (configure it in the mpxplay.ini (WinChars/DosChars))

Other:
 -x PRGNAME : set program name for DOS shell (i.e. -x nc.exe)
 -xs : load song (playlist), jump to DOS shell automatically (use with -bl)
 -xr : TSR mode (for CDW files only)
  (or 'mpxplay.exe -bl -xr -xs -pre1 song.mp3' for continuous background playing)


Keyboard controls (some keys are case sensitive (lower case only)!)
(suggestion: set the keyboard speed to 30 char/sec in BIOS):

 ESC      - exit
 F10      - exit
 CTRL-C   - exit
 gray-'-' - step back one song in playlist
 gray-'+' - step forward one song in playlist
 white-'-'- step back like a CD player (if framenum>38, step to begin of song, else step to previous song)
 gray-'/' - step back one subdirectory (album) in playlist
 gray-'*' - step forward one subdirectory (album) in playlist
      ->  - forward (right arrow) (50 frames)
      <-  - rewind  (left arrow)
 CTRL- -> - fast forward (200 frames)
 CTRL- <- - fast rewind 
 BACKSPACE- skip to begining of the song
  A       - spectrum analiser enable/disable
  C       - crossfader enable/disable
  d       - hi-lite scan start/stop
 CTRL-'D' - open a DOS-shell
  E       - editor filenames show/hide
  F       - (cross) fade out/in enable/disable
  H       - HQ-mode (mp2 decoder, hq-mixer)
  J       - switch between juke-box (doombox) and normal mode (reloads playlist!)
 CTLR-'L' - reload playlist or rescan directories/drive(s) (at disk change)
  M       - mute sound (1/8 sound volume)
  N       - random (shuffle) play enable/disable
  o       - open/close CD door
  P       - start/pause playing
 CTRL-'P' - enable/disable autopause
  R       - replay (repeat) enable/disable (select 1 song/full playlist replay)
 CTRL-'R' - (re)order the playlist (depends on the ID3ordertype (-io))
  S       - stop playing (jump to begin of playlist)
 CTRL-'S' - pause playing at (before) next song
  T       - time mode (elapsed,remaining,allelapsed,allremaining)
  V       - auto volume enable/disable
 CTRL-V   - reset all mixer functions to center/zero value (volume,surround,speed,balance,treble,bass)
  X       - swap channels (reverse stereo)

  .       - volume up   ('white home' too)
  ,       - volume down ('white end' too)
  '       - surround up   (superb stereo)
  ;       - surround down (to mono)
  ]       - playing speed up
  [       - playing speed down
  <       - balance-left
  >       - balance-right
  "       - bass up (hardware tone on SB16 (OPL chipset) and AWE32/64 cards)
  :       - bass down (-"-)
  }       - treble up (-"-)
  {       - treble down (-"-)

 NUMBER   - type a playlist-entry number (1-9999)(jump to n. song)

   ALT-F9 - 25/50 lines mode switch
  CTRL-F9 - full screen playlist-editor mode (analiser and browser disabled)
 SHIFT-f9 - equal to ALT-F9 + CTRL-F9

 Playlist-editor keys: 
  Up & Down arrows  : move cursor up/down 1 song in the playlist
  PageUp,PageDown   :       -"-           1 editor page (1 page=30 song on the default screen)
  ALT-gray-PgUp/PgDn:       -"-           1 album (subdir difference in the playlist)
  Home,End          :       -"-           to the top/bottom of playlist
  CTRL-PgUp/PgDn    : move to updir/subdir or uplist/sublist
  CTRL-'\'          : jump to root dir/list (directory browser/sublist structure)
  TAB               : change editorside

  ENTER             : start the selected song OR load playlist OR change dir
  CTRL-ENTER        : select/unselect next song

  CTRL-F1           : order (sort) playlist (on actual editorside) by filename
  CTRL-F2           : -"- by artist
  CTRL-F3           : -"- by title
  CTRL-F4           : -"- by time

  F5 or Ins           : add a file/playlist/subdir to the other side
  F8 or Del           : delete a file from playlist
  CTRL-F5 or CTRL-Ins : copy all playlist entries to the other side
  CTRL-Del            : clear playlist (usually right side)
  CTRL-UP / DOWN      : shift (drag and move) a song up/down in playlist

  ALT-LEFT / RIGHT    : modify size of playlist-editorsides
  ALT-UP / DOWN       : resize playlist editor/song browser

 Searching in the editor:
  ALT-'a'-'z'     : init search (you must use ALT at the 1st character only)
  Backspace       : clear back
  Up/Down Arrows  : search (again) backward/forward
  ESC/ENTER       : exit from the search
  (if you have got more songs from the same artist, use the ':' character to
   continue the search at the titles)

 Mouse buttons:   
  left button: 
   in fullscreen mode:
     - one click on position line () to move in song (to set a new position)
     - one click on browser to skip to (select and start) a new song
     - one click in the playlist to move the editor highline (and change editorside)
     - double click in the playlist to start a new (selected) song
   in non-fullscreen mode (-f0,-ff,-fl):
     - short press (click) : pause playing
     - long press (hold on) : mute sound

  center button: step back in playlist   / fast rewind    (click/long press)
  right button:  step forward in playlist/ fast forward
