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The most famous feature is its ability to guess which encoder was used to encode each file. It will also give you a general idea of the audio quality of the file.
For files encoded with Lame (and that's what everyone's using, right?) EncSpot can read the 'Lame Tag' which gives detailed information on the switches used when the file was encoded.
EncSpot was designed to analyze mp3 files. However there is some movement towards supporting other audio formats. At the moment there is very basic support for mp3pro and mp+.
Features of EncSpot :
• Quality Rating
The 'Quality' column of EncSpot rates each file according to its bitrate, encoder, and various other criteria. It is only a coarse approximation, and should not be taken too seriously. In particular, you should not necessarily delete all 'red' files, but it might be worth listening to them and replacing them with better rips if possible.
• Encoder Guess
A fairly complicated rule is used to guess which encoder was used for each file. It is not foolproof, but has been refined over time so that it is usually accurate.
• Sync Errors
If two mp3 files are joined by simply appending one file to the next, or the file has been corrupted somehow, then a 'sync error' may occur. This is when a frame's header reports that the frame is a certain length, but the next frame does not appear to be at the predicted position. EncSpot will count the number of such glitches (which may be audible). Often the last frame in a file is cut short, which is really a different error, so EncSpot will only count sync errors which are followed by a valid mp3 frame.
• Other Information
EncSpot can display a lot more information in the list than given above. At present the available columns are divided into four groups: general, mpeg plus, lame tag, and ID3v1. Such standard information as the size and bitrate of the file are in the general group while the mpeg plus group details some information relevant only to mpeg plus files. Files encoded with recent versions of Lame may contain extra metadata in the Lame Tag (an extension of the Xing Tag). This is the lame tag group. Finally, ID3v1 tag information comprises another group.
• Other Types of Audio File
EncSpot started life as a program to analyze mp3 files, but after many requests I have slowly started to add support for oher compression schemes. At the moment mpegplus files are supported, as are mpegpro files (though this is still work in progress, unfortunately). Other types are certainly on the way, like Vorbis, Monkey Audio, and also the lowly .wav. EncSpot only scans files that have certain extensions, but you can customize this list, adding .temp files for example.
Changes in EncSpot Pro 2.2 :
- Fixed bug with vertical scale in infodlg
- Fixed crash if user deselected _all_ columns
- Fixed context menu issue: 'Send To etc' now work properly
- Fixed issues with Favourites, Default Dir: My Docs, network shares
• Note: The Professional version of EncSpot has many features not available in the basic version. Some of them: Fast, Fast Cache, ID3v1 Tagging, Sync Error Analysis and more!
EncSpot Professional may be purchased for $20.
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