general questions

What do I need to use mp3PRO technology?

You need an mp3PRO encoder to create mp3PRO bit streams. To play these mp3PRO bit streams you need an mp3PRO player. At the moment the following software is available:

• The free Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder you can download at our download area.
  
  
• A Winamp Plugin for mp3PRO you can download at our download area.
  
  
• Various companies offer software that supports all possible bitrates for mp3PRO. For more information please see our products section.
  

What are the minimum hardware requirements for the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder?

The minimum hardware requirements are: Pentium 166 MHz, 64 MB RAM, Soundcard, CD-ROM capable to extract digital audio files. Supported operating systems: Win9X, WinNT, WinME, Win2000, WinXP

Why can I only encode in 64 kbps mp3PRO with the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder?

The purpose of the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder is to demonstrate the capabilities of the mp3PRO technology. The bitrate of 64 kbps has been chosen because at this bitrate the mp3PRO technology is very close to the most popular mp3 bitrate of 128 kbps.
Currently mp3PRO supports the following bit rates:
- Mono: 18, 20, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56 kbps
- LC-stereo: 18, 20, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56 kbps
- Stereo: 32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96 kbps.

The Demo Player also supports the playback of all these bit rates. So when content becomes available at these bit rates you will be able to play it.

Where can I get an mp3PRO encoder supporting all bitrates?

Various companies offer products that support all possible bitrates for mp3PRO. For more information please see our products section.

Can I rip my Audio CDs using the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder?

The Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder does not support direct ripping from CD. You need to rip your songs from a CD in PCM WAV format using your favorite ripping software. Ripping of .wav files from Audio CD's is also supported by most software packages for CD burners.

Can I encode more than one file at a time?

The Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder does not support encoding of more than one file at a time. Batch encoding is also not supported. To encode multiple files the only solution is to start multiple encoders in parallel. This can be done by selecting the wav files to be encoded in an Explorer window. With a right click into the Explorer window a menu will pop up. Select "Encode to mp3PRO". Now multiple encoder windows will pop up. Press encode on each window to start the process.

Who developed mp3PRO?

mp3PRO technology was developed by Coding Technologies. At Coding Technologies we have experts who have worked for years on technologies similar to SBR as well as audio coding experts who have worked on mp3 and MPEG AAC at the Fraunhofer Institute, where mp3 was developed. Their in-depth knowledge about both parts that constitute mp3PRO enabled us to optimize mp3 and SBR for the perfect combination you experience with mp3PRO.

questions about mp3PRO and mp3

Can I convert mp3 files directly into mp3PRO files?

mp3PRO encoders only support encoding of wav files. If you want to encode mp3 files into mp3PRO files you have to convert the mp3 files into wav files first. These then can be encoded into mp3PRO files using the encode function of the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder.
Third party products like NERO handle the conversion from mp3 to wav and then mp3PRO internally and therefore offer "direct" conversion from mp3 to mp3PRO.
You should be aware that re-encoding of music that has previously been compressed with mp3 technology may not lead to the same audio quality as direct coding from the original (so called tandem coding loss). Therefore, you should only use high quality mp3 files for this. To reach the highest quality with mp3PRO technology it is generally recommended to use a wav file generated directly from CD.

Can I convert mp3PRO and mp3 files directly into wav files with the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder?

The Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder supports direct decoding into wav files. A menu offering the option "Write Decoded PCM File ..." will pop up, when you right click within the player window.

Why does a plain mp3 player show 22.05 kHz sampling rate instead of 44.1 kHz when playing an mp3PRO file encoded at 64 kbps?
Why does the mp3PRO player show 22.05 kHz sampling rate instead of 44.1 kHz when PRO is switched off?

The mp3PRO bit stream includes two streams. One of the two streams carries the mp3 information for the low frequencies below 10 kHz. To reach the highest quality at the low data rates a sampling frequency of 22.05 kHz is used for the mp3 stream (like most mp3 encoders also do). A standard mp3 player using only the mp3 bit stream therefore shows a sampling rate of 22.05 kHz.
Switching off the PRO option at the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder converts the mp3PRO player into a standard mp3 player. The player then only decodes the mp3 bit stream and displays the sampling rate used for mp3 part of the bit stream.

What means mp3PRO is upward/downward compatible to mp3? Which player is able to play mp3PRO?

Downward compatibility:
ALL mp3PRO software/hardware will play common mp3.

Upward compatibility:
MOST mp3 software/hardware will play mp3PRO, but only the mp3 part included in mp3PRO without the "PRO" enhancement. We cannot guarantee that YOUR mp3 software/hardware will play mp3PRO, but the most will do it. To get the full enhanced sound quality of mp3PRO, you need an mp3PRO suitable software/hardware player.

Can I encode several files with the Demo mp3PRO player/encoder with one command? Can I launch the encoder of the Demo mp3PRO player/encoder directly?

You can start the mp3PRO player with option '/encode' to launch the encoder directly. By adding the input file at the command line, you can use the application for batch encoding. To start the encoding process, you must press the ENCODE button of the graphical user interface.
So the command is:
mp3PROplayer /encode <inputfile.wav>

questions about versions and products

When will an unrestricted version be available?

Unrestricted versions of the mp3PRO technology are available from different third party companies. Please have a look at the product section. To stay informed about the latest developments around the mp3PRO technology, you can subscribe to our news service.

Will there be a MacOS version of the player?

Libraries and SDKs for MacOS 9 and MacOS X are available, as well as applications for MacOS by third parties. Please have a look at the product section. To stay updated about the latest developments around the mp3PRO technology, you can subscribe to our news service.

Does mp3PRO technology incorporate copyright protection?

Like the mp3 technology, the mp3PRO technology does not incorporate any copyright protection. Nevertheless it is possible with third party digital right management technology to apply copyright protection to mp3PRO technology. Currently InterTrust supports mp3PRO in their Digital Rights Management platform.

Can SBR be combined with other coders?

The SBR technology can in principle be combined with any audio coding technology, for example MPEG-2 AAC.

Which operating systems will be supported?

The Thomson demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder currently supports Microsoft Windows NT, 9x, ME, 2000 and XP.

Libraries for the Apple computer MacOS 9 operating systems are available since August 2001. Libraries for MacOS X are available since February 2002.

Libraries for the Linux operating system are available.
The Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder executable runs under LINUX using the windows emulator WINE. WINE is part of all major Linux distributions. Please note: We do not support the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder under WINE. In case of problems please contact the WINE homepage.

Who will support mp3PRO technology?

mp3PRO technology is licensed by Thomson Inc.. Thomson Inc. is also licensing mp3.
First companies have already announced their support for the mp3PRO technology. These include TI and STMicroelectronics for hardware implementations as well as Ahead and Steinberg for software products.
We expect to be able to announce more products supporting mp3PRO in the near future. These products will include software, players/encoders as well as hardware players and associated circuits.

You will find more information about products, that include mp3PRO technology in the product section.

Can I upgrade my mp3 player to mp3PRO technology?

Please contact your software mp3 player publisher and your hardware mp3 player manufacturer to learn if and when a new mp3PRO version of the player will be available.

Also please have a look at our product section. There will be information about new mp3PRO products and upgrade possibilities around mp3PRO technology.

known problems

The Winamp-plugin doesn't work with Winamp3

Our plugin is for Winamp2.x. Winamp3 has no native support for Winamp2-plugins. There are plugin manager which handle Winamp2-plugins in Winamp3, but we don't support this. We will develop a plugin version for Winamp3 in the near future.

mp3 file is played at double speed

When playing mp3 files, in some very rare cases the Thomson demo player detects the mp3 bit stream falsely as an mp3PRO bit stream. In this case the player does an up-sampling to twice the regular sampling rate and replays the song at double speed.

Solution: The problem is resolved in version 1.0.2 of the Thomson demo player.

The encoding progress bar shows completion of the encoding process, but the encoder does not stop

The encoder starts normally and the progress bar shows the actual status of the encoding process. The progress bar indicates the completion of the encoding process but the encoder does not terminate the encoding. The "Encode" button still shows "Stop". If "Stop" is pressed the encoder terminates the encoding, but no output file is generated.

Solution: The problem occurs when the file size given in the .wav file header and the actual file size are inconsistent. In case the file size given in the header is larger then the actual file size, the encoder waits for additional input to finish the encoding process. Since the encoder already reached the end of the file, no additional input is available and the encoder waits until the user interrupts the process by clicking on the stop button. The encoder then removes the encoded file since he couldn't finalize the encoding process. This is done to avoid problems with corrupted files resulting from an interrupted encoding process.

The problem is resolved in version 1.0.2 of the encoder.

Encoder button is not enabled

It is not possible to select a wav file with the select file window, drag and drop operation or by using the right click menu in the explorer window. Therefore the encoder button stays disabled and no encoding can be started.

Solution: The encoder is only able to encode linear PCM coded .wav files. This type of .wav files is generated by CD rippers if you use as settings 44.1kHz sampling frequency and 16 bit quantization. The version 1.0 encoder ignores .wav files as input if they are in any other format without generating an error message. Therefore the file will not be accepted as input file and the encode button is still disabled. The version 1.0.2 encoder will generate an error message in case the selected input file has not the right format.
To check whether the .wav file you intend to encode is a .wav file using linear PCM format, simply play the file with the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player. If it is a PCM file the player's display shows a PCM sign during replay.

If you experience a problem with the Thomson Demo mp3PRO Player/Encoder please report it to us by sending a problem report.

For any other questions, please contact us via e-mail.