LAME is a free application for encoding audio to MP3 format ( MPEG -1 audio layer 3). The name LAME is a recursive acronym for LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder (LAME is not an MP3 encoder), referring to the early history of LAME when it was not a full encoder, but was part of the ISO demo code.
| Lame | |
|---|---|
 | |
 LAME version 3.97 beta2. Coding process | |
| Type of | codec |
| Author | Mike Cheng [1] |
| Developers | The lame project |
| Written on | C , Python , C ++ , assembly language [2] |
| Interface | command line Dll |
| operating system | Linux , Mac OS X, and others. UNIX-like , Windows |
| Interface languages | English |
| First edition | 1998 [1] |
| Latest version | |
| File Formats Created | |
| condition | active |
| License | GNU GPL , GNU LGPL |
| Site | lame.sourceforge.net |
According to the results of a listening conducted by Roberto Amorim in 2004 , LAME creates the best quality MP3 files for average bitrates from 128 kbps and higher. When publicly listening in 2004 , 128 kbps MP3 files compressed using LAME showed the closest sound to the original (uncompressed) audio compared to other codecs [4] .
Content
Legal issues
LAME experienced some of the difficulties associated with the Fraunhofer patent for algorithms used in MP3 compression, including US Patent No. 5579430 and foreign analogues. These patents were obtained to prevent the creation of an MP3 codec without paying royalties from Fraunhofer, which is almost difficult to do for an open source program whose users live in dozens of countries, many of which do not recognize algorithm patents.
For a while, LAME was just a set of patches for the ISO demo code, which was distributed separately, hence the name “Ain't an Encoder”. The ISO code had a restrictive license, but was available without payment. However, in May 2000, the developers of the LAME project replaced the latest ISO code, and since then LAME is a completely new implementation, available under the LGPL license; compiling the latest versions of LAME no longer requires ISO sources.
The LAME developers, however, claim that their code now exists only in source form, “the source code is considered as speech, which may contain a description of proprietary technologies. Patent descriptions are in the public domain ” [5] .
On April 23, 2017, the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS , the developer of the MP3 format, announced the termination of license fees for it. [6] Thus, from this day all restrictions on the distribution of LAME throughout the world have been lifted.
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 in some SONY CDs contained parts of the LAME library in violation of the LGPL.
Distribution
LAME is distributed by developers exclusively in the form of source codes. To download a ready-to-use program, you need to go to the site of one of the many third-party developers who include LAME in their products or use the LAME code in them.
LAME-compliant systems
- CDex is an open source Windows audio grabber for CD-ROMs that can use LAME.
- EZ CD Audio Converter
- Exact Audio Copy (EAC) - A Windows audio grabber for CD-ROMs that can use LAME.
- Lame Front-End - a shell for Windows (almost all known settings for the LAME codec)
- Sound Normalizer - Includes LAME.
- LAME GUI / BeSweet GUI - another shell for Windows
- Lamedrop, an easy-to-use LAME shell for Windows, similar to OggDrop
- RazorLame (formerly RazorBlade) is a shell for Microsoft Windows with an interface for the command line executable LAME.
- winLAME - another shell for Windows
- LAMExplorer - another shell for Windows
- Grip - shell for use with GNOME (Linux)
- iTunes-LAME is a shell that combines LAME with iTunes on Mac OS X.
See also
- MP3
- Aac
- Vorbis
- Opus
- Audio Compression
- Digital audio formats
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 LAME developers.
- ↑ LAME project at SourceForge.net .
- ↑ History
- ↑ Results of MP3 at 128kbps public Listening Test . Roberto Amorim. Date of treatment July 2, 2010. Archived October 16, 2007.
- ↑ Mark Taylor. LAME Technical FAQ ( txt) (June 2000). Date of treatment July 2, 2010. Archived on February 8, 2012.
- ↑ mp3 Overview - Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits IIS
Links
- Official site LAME .
- LAME project at SourceForge.net .
- Change history
- Description of ID3v1 LAME Tags
- Andrey Gule. Using presets mp3-encoder LAME . iXBT (May 8, 2002). Date of treatment September 2, 2010. Archived on February 8, 2012.
- Andrey Aspidov. Face-to-face: OGG vs LAME . iXBT (May 18, 2001). Date of treatment September 2, 2010. Archived on February 8, 2012.
- LAME in Russian