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[MadJewDisaster]

So , the MP3 Encoder is $10.
I do not think it is a good thing
But i know you have to pay for it yourself.

But in this case , stop or moderate the FREE thing
Why not show in plain letter than full MJ is $10?
Still the greatest bargain in internet word.

To me , there is still a probleme.
You cannot manage your music only in MJ
Because you cannot resize sleeve to put in tags
You do need another program.

So , this can be an offer
Full MJ12 for $10  You get unlimited MP3 encoding and you can resize the art sleeve you find to the size you want

No need for all the Image stuff of MC

Just
Image in the menu and sub-menu with the size

Now i installed few MJ on friends computers. The kind of persons using my notice to run it.
And they will not update , not even knowing about such a thing as update
So they will stay with a free encoder...

Just to show you how your profile is blurt.[ profile ? i mean public image , something like it ]
They can and will spend $10 on MJ .

Just my 2 shekels.  i'am not upset at all by buying an encoder .

[JimH]

The player is free.  MP3 encoding is not free.

[MadJewDisaster]

you right, sure.
But where can i see it ?
If i go to the MJ 12 page,  there is nothing about the mp3 encoder
Just "Totally free"

Clicking on "Update" gives me the MC 12 page.

I do not know if i'am right but there is still a market for a Jukebox only.

None have free MP3 encoder- Winamp , yes , but at speed x1 i think

So , not illogic than MJ charges for the encoder.
Just than to me it looks like if it comes as a 'surprise' when using MJ.
I do think better to have it on the home page.

Anyway, just my thinking

[Doof]

You're kind of assuming that you have to encode to MP3, aren't you? There are other options out there, like WMA, that are completely free. I think that to charge somebody $10 for an option they may not even want isn't necessarily the best path to take.

Look at WMP. It's free, and by default it encodes to WMA.
iTunes is free and by default it encodes to AAC.

Why should MJ default to MP3?

[KingSparta]

MJ Should Default To Ogg, And Media Center Should Default To MP3

[that_stevens_guy]

iTunes also converts to MP3 for free. But it doesn't read FLAC. I guess they all have their flaws. But who says Media Jukebox should have flaws . WMV and AAC are both crappy copies of mp3, an infection in audio codecs. What I think OP is trying to say is that MP3 is a standard codec, and asking money for it to run a free encoder, to me also, it sounds kind of lame .

The player itself is brilliant, it outshines many other players out there. But to call it free isn't entirely true. Because people expect mp3 encoding for free, and will turn their back on Media Jukebox. Its happened to a few of my friends that cant use command line parameters. They see the iTunes style interface, know nothing about lossless audio or resource usage and go back to iTunes, just as an example. Unless they know how to use external encoders, but the minority aren't so computer literate (I study Multimedia at Uni, final year).

The way I see it, Media Center, should be kept as the ultimate media solution. And Media Jukebox should be entirely free, no strings attached, restricted only to Audio. If you download Media Center trial and like it enough to pay for it. Then for sure, go ahead and buy it. But When people hear that a player is free, they expect simple things like this. When they hear that it isn't free, but is in fact $10... I almost walked away... But I am giving it a better chance (because of the external encoder option). Media Jukebox always opens in the 'Upgrade to Media Center' or in 'Amazon'.... This forced advertising is enough I think. The only reason mp3 is charged is cause the J River know that mp3 is the most common codec now. And it will generate an income from the free software.

http://www.mediajukebox.com/ if you do not make MP3 encoding free, then it should be stated on the homepage, NOW TOTALLY FREE *except mp3 conversion. If you are afraid that this will turn users away, then let users use the MJ interface to convert to mp3!

I suppose you could ask for paypal donations so big fans of MJ can donate to the work, that would generate about the same income as forceably asking for the mp3 encoder. People are more generous than most think.

[Doof]

http://www.mediajukebox.com/MJ12Features.html

I don't see where this says it encodes to MP3. It says "Encode files to a variety of formats, including WMA, OGG, APE and FLAC".

I think the thing to keep in mind here is that companies like Microsoft and Apple have a lot of other products that can help them subsidize the licensing fees for MP3 encoding. JRiver really doesn't have that option, unfortunately.

I just checked Winamp, and you can't even encode to MP3 with that unless you buy the $19.95 Pro version. And look at how much muscle they have behind them.

From MediaMonkey : "*The bundled MP3 encoder is limited to 30 days in the free version, though the free LAME encoder can be installed for unlimited encoding. "

Looks to me like it's really not uncommon. But maybe they could take a page from MediaMonkey's playbook and make note of the limitation with a link to download the lame encoder.

[that_stevens_guy]

Exactly my point! LAME is free, so why should we have to pay $10 to use it? If there is cost involved and J River cannot afford to cover it, then I totally understand. But if its just a plea to make money out of the free program, that was my only concern.

And I agree with the link idea, a list of free encoders would be a brilliant idea, and a small tutorial on how to use the command line parameters. Maybe in the wiki? or the forum... but things tend to get lost in forums.

If a user downloads LAME for free then links it with the external encoder option that does not breach the licence of LAME... I haven't got time to read up on it now as I have to leave for university soon.

Also, I have never really used Winamp other than for playing and converting FLAC due to its heavy restrictions, and to be frank the EQ sucks haha, so I never purchased it.

I might actually purchase MC one day, but as a university student, I have no money to spare and I normally support the open source, community based options. MJ came close it has a community I may even write a LAME command line tutorial somewhere... But I don't have time now.

[JimH]

http://www.mediajukebox.com/ if you do not make MP3 encoding free, then it should be stated on the homepage, NOW TOTALLY FREE *except mp3 conversion. If you are afraid that this will turn users away, then let users use the MJ interface to convert to mp3!

MJ is TOTALLY FREE!  MP3 is not.  It's that simple.  It requires us to pay.

Exactly my point! LAME is free, so why should we have to pay $10 to use it?

LAME pays no license fee.  If we contribute to use of LAME, we could be held responsible for the license fee.

This discussion won't help anyone.  I'm locking the thread.