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[sdcoochie8]

Was just wondering if all the available encoders are up to date. I think I have gotten the latest MPC and FLAC encoders but was concerned mainly about the OGG and MP3 encoders. I think from hydrogen audio that these encoders have been updated. Also is the concensus that it is a good time to move to 11.1 from 11? Are the features really worth while, I have been watching and reading but am unsure if the new features are worth the upgrade time or should I wait for 12?

[Alex B]

MC11.1 installs the latest HA recommended LAME version (3.97b2) when you check for updates or install MC and use the encoder for the first time.

The Ogg Vorbis situation is a bit more complicated. The official Vorbis site does not offer information about the latest or best Ogg Vorbis encoders. HA recommends the aoTuV beta 4.51 encoder, which is most likely the best Vorbis encoder so far (except the Lancer project that may be as good, but faster.)

However, since these new encoder versions have optimized compilations for different processors it might be best to download the correct version from the www.rarewares.org site. MC can use any oggenc.exe file when it is placed in the plugins folder. If the filename is oggenc2.exe it must be renamed first.

[sdcoochie8]

Thanks Alex you are the encoder guy. I downloaded the new lancer version and put it in my plug in folder and renamed it to oggenc.exe but when I try to encode with ogg set to -q 7 (for example) it just hangs. I go back to the original version (that came with MC) and it works fine. I also noticed when I downloaded the newest lancer version 20060131 that there was also a patch perhaps this is the problem. I have yet to try this optimized version and would like to do so through MC without using the external encoder option. Alex am I doing something wrong? Also I noticed there were no comments about version 11.1 vs. 11 I guess it might be better to start a new thread.

[Alex B]

That Lancer build seem to have a problem. I have used an older version without any problems, but this one doesn't start encoding at all for some reason.

You may want to try the HA recommended aoTuV b4.51 encoder. Pick your choice:

Generic (319Kb)

P3/AMD (408Kb)

P4 Only (377Kb)

I think JRiver could safely include the generic version of aoTuV b4.51 with MC. Here is some proof of its encoding quality: http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=40607


When it comes to the 11.0 vs 11.1 question I would simply say that I like MC11.1 more. My favorite improvement is the new browsing system. Here is the complete change log: http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=31545.0

[sdcoochie8]

Thanks again for the info I have however tried the recommended encoder and the previous lancer version and they both will not work. They start then the system locks up and nothing happens. I go back to the original and it works fine. Perhaps Jim or Matt can just update the plugin page with this recommended version as you suggested in your post. Otherwise I think I must be doing something wrong if you say you are using the renamed oggenc2.exe. This is nothing desperate for me I do think however that all plugins should be up to date.

[Alex B]

Thanks again for the info I have however tried the recommended encoder and the previous lancer version and they both will not work. They start then the system locks up and nothing happens. I go back to the original and it works fine. ...

The P4 version of aoTuV b4.51 works fine on my Pentium 4 PCs (as always). The command line strings that MC uses internally should be compatible with any standard oggenc.exe encoder. AFAIK, MC does not communicate with the actual encoder besides sending the string when the encoding starts. The rest of the job is done by the input plug-in and the decoder plug-in.

Did you try encoding with some other frontend program or directly from the command line prompt? That would verify that the encoder itself works on your PC.

I assume you downloaded the correct version for your CPU and replaced only the oggenc.exe file in the Plugins folder. Correct?