LAME

Related Topics:
Lamesa :: Lamezia_Terme :: Lament_of_Innocence :: Lame_Deer

LAME is an open source MPEG-1 audio layer 3 (MP3) encoder. The name LAME is a recursive acronym for LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder, although the current version is, in fact, a stand-alone MP3 encoder.

As of 2004, the general consensus is that LAME produces the highest-quality MP3 files for bitrates greater or equal to 128 kbit/s. In a public listening test early in 2004, LAME MP3 files were the best 128 kbit/s MP3 files compared to the uncompressed original audio. ^*

History and development

At one time, LAME was simply a set of patches against the separately distributed ISO demonstration source, hence the "ain't an encoder" name. The ISO code had a restrictive license but was available without charge. In May 2000, the LAME project reimplemented the last of the ISO source code, and thus LAME was then a totally new implementation — compiling recent versions of LAME no longer requires the ISO source code.

Legal issues

LAME endured some legal difficulties regarding Fraunhofer's patent on certain key algorithms involved in MP3 encoding, including and foreign counterparts. These patents were intended to prevent anyone from being able to create an MP3 encoder without paying licensing fees to Fraunhofer — something that is difficult to enforce on an open source project whose contributers and users live in dozens of countries, many of which do not recognize patents on algorithms.

LAME developers state that since their code is only released in source form, "source code is considered as speech, which may contain descriptions of patented technology. Descriptions of patents are in the public domain."^*

The LAME software is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). In November, 2005 there were reports that the Extended Copy Protection software included on some SONY Compact Discs includes portions of the LAME library without complying with the terms of the LGPL.

LAME-compatible software

Linux and Compatible Operating Systems

Grip, a front-end for use with GNOME

Microsoft Windows

Lamedrop, easy to use front-end in Windows, similar to OggDrop
RazorLame (formerly RazorBlade), a Microsoft Windows front-end user interface for the commandline LAME Encoder executable.
winLAME
CDex, Windows CD audio extractor
Exact Audio Copy (EAC), Windows audio grabber for CD-ROM drives

Apple Macintosh

iTunes-LAME, a front end that integrates LAME with iTunes on Mac OS X.
Max is a Macintosh audio extractor with LAME MP3 capabilities.

Cross Platform

jRipper, a Java-based frontend for LAME which includes Windows and Linux binaries.
Audacity, an audio recording, editing and transforming program, available for Windows, Linux and Mac
Stickloader is another Java-based Lame frontend allowing files to be encoded easily via drag-and-drop.

Unknown

LAME GUI / BeSweet GUI (development on this project seems to have ceased in 2003)

External links

Free multimedia codecs, containers, and splitters | Audio codecs | SourceForge projects

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