How do I make an mp3 plugin for amarok or kscd using LAME, etc?

rainbowsally · 01-14-2012, 11:03 PM

We used to be able to play mp3s without using proprietary software?

Is there a work-around for this in modern kde-based linuxes (such as kubuntu and opensuse)?

I don't need to encode mp3s. I'd just like to be able to play them.

Thanks.

Janus_Hyperion · 01-15-2012, 12:54 AM

I believe gstreamer plugins should help? As far as I know, it is distributed under GPL.

gstreamer-plugins-bad
gstreamer-plugins-good
gstreamer-plugins-ugly

craigevil · 01-15-2012, 01:30 PM

Install libxine1-ffmpeg. If you are running Debian install ffmpeg from the debian-multimedia.org repo.

rainbowsally · 01-17-2012, 12:04 AM

Thanks to both of you. :-)

Will check 'em out.

John VV · 01-17-2012, 12:54 AM

-- edited --

rainbowsally · 01-18-2012, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John VV

will not happen

the mp3 compression is NOT royalty free
it it very proprietary

See "lame".

http://lame.sourceforge.net/

Quote:

now there are some ways to play them
novell pays a royalty so there is a redistributed code in suse and opensuse
the same for ubuntu , there parent company pays for it

in fedora there are " over seas" repos that have the code in them

but you will have fun trying to get the ( Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP ) L.A.M.P. stack
a server to play them

the apache server by it's self will not play music

and if YOU put music up on a server -- expect a nasty gram from the RIAA sending a DMCA or a notice that you are being sued.
( up to $150,000 USD per song per download )

If the music is your own or not copyrighted, there is no legal or moral dilemma here at all.

Ogg is a bit more processor-intensive but it sounds a little better and makes smaller files. I'd only post mp3's as a last resort. (I have two licensed proprietary encoders and also some others.)

Let's boil this down.

Consider this: Adobe Reader is proprietary. But ghostview can decode pdf's.

So how do I make a plugin for amarok, kscd, etc. to open mp3's with lame?

I'd like not to have to drop down to the commandline and type in...

ffmpeg-play,
snd-play or play-sound,
sox,
mad-mp3,
etc. just to listen to an mp3.

[The above may require compilation with mp3 support using non-proprietary en/decoders. The same linux systems mentioned above tend to make binary packages that can't play mp3's for some reason. Got sox? It even tells you that when you try to play an mp3 with an openSUSE or kubuntu version of sox.]

.

craigevil · 01-18-2012, 01:39 PM

Very first page when searching Google for :Amarok play mp3
MP3 - Amarok Wiki : http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/MP3

John VV · 01-18-2012, 03:12 PM

edited

rainbowsally · 01-19-2012, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by craigevil

Very first page when searching Google for :Amarok play mp3
MP3 - Amarok Wiki : http://amarok.kde.org/wiki/MP3

Follow the links and I think you'll see the problem. The "free alternatives" don't include mp3 decoders.

The first page at lame is interesting too, by the way. Let me quote a snip of it here.

Quote:

Today, LAME is considered the best MP3 encoder at mid-high bitrates and at VBR, mostly thanks to the dedicated work of its developers and the open source licensing model that allowed the project to tap into engineering resources from all around the world. Both quality and speed improvements are still happening, probably making LAME the only MP3 encoder still being actively developed.

Here's some more stuff from their page.

Commercial software which supports or uses LAME:

WinAmp can rip CDs using Lame, but only in the Pro (paid) version.
WaveLab digital audio editing software.
Mackie Tracktion a sequencer that uses LAME to export to MP3.
Goldwave audio editor for Windows.
dBpowerAMP (Windows) Rip and encode to/from mp3, wma, vorbis and other audio formats.
UltraISO ISO CD image builder, editor and extractor.
J. River Media Center a media center software that supports LAME for ripping, transcoding, and gapless playback.
Acoustica digital audio editor
AudioEdit Deluxe Windows sound editor.
Blaze Media Pro audio/video converter, editor, CD/DVD burner, and more for Windows.
SWiSH Max Adobe Flash authoring tool for Windows.
übercaster Podcast production suite for Macintosh.
Audio Ease BarbaBatch batch audio file converter for Macintosh.
Amadeus II (Mac) manipulate, create and analyze sounds.
Peak 3 Mac audio editing/processing/mastering software.
Audion Mac Jukebox software.
CD Stack CD ripping software for Mac.
Text Aloud MP3 converts text into speech.
TotalRecorder universal sound recoder.
CDcopy Windows ripper/encoder.
eJay DJ Mix Station / Dance eJay various Windows DJ software, using Gogo.
Easy CD-DA Extractor Windows ripper/encoder, includes LAME binaries.
MP3 Observer MP3 file-manager, ID3 tag editor, playlist creator and CD-archiving tool.
MPAction MP3 Tools Windows jukebox software.
1CoolButtonTool Flash and Java button editor.
N2MP3 Pro Macintosh jukebox software.
UltraTagger. ID3 tag management, encoding and decoding.
UMG protected audio CDs UMG is using Lame for the PC part of protected audio CDs. ("Fast and Furious").
Visual MP3 Windows jukebox software with Karaoke support.
Flash Digger Plus - a Shockwave Flash decompiler.

The Free Software Foundation recommends using straight GPL on gstreamer products, by the way, to "push back" against the trends toward closing open software, to everyones detriment except those more interested in obstructing technological advances in order to line their pocketbooks.

Sure. Let them have what's rightfully theirs but do NOT let them take (read "steal") more than they are entitled to.

As far as the "how do I" part of my original question, it looks like gstreamer might hold the keys. Xine was too limited though it does support ffmpeg. But no clues how to create desktop files, it ended up being a dead end.

I'm still putting the pieces together so I can check gstreamer out, but gstremer (freedesktop.org) is a FANTASTIC concept.

Thanks for that tip nonamedotc!

Very interesting.

.