			Homp3 - [v 2.00 build 225]
				README.TXT
			-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
			
INTRODUCTION
============
Homp3 is a freeware software MP3 player powered by the Xaudio SDK. The Xaudio
decoding engine is one of the finer MP3 engines around today, together with
the Nitrane decoding engine found in WinAMP 2.x, the StarDust/AE4 engine
found in Sonique and the Xing decoder by Xingtech. While each of the decoding
engines listed above have their own merits, only the Xaudio SDK is available
freely for download and for use, that is why I have created this player based
on the Xaudio SDK.

Furthermore, most of the popular MP3 players today feature memory and
processor hogging features like skins, graphical equalizers, visual effects,
etc which I do not have any use for. I just need a simple MP3 player with a
easy to use playlist that I can use to play my MP3s in the background, with
minimal fuss, therefore I present...Homp3.



INSTALLATION
============
* Homp3 is available in the ZIP package which you will need Winzip or a
similar utility to unzip.
* After downloading the ZIP package, unzip the package into a new folder
called Homp3 or any other folder which you desire.
* The two files necessary for running Homp3 are the main application file,
HOMP3A.EXE and the Xaudio SDK, XAUDIO.DLL.
* The xaudio.dll should reside in the same folder as the main application
file. If need be, it should be copied into the WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory.



FEATURES		
========			  
[ripped from the Xaudio website]
The main features of the Xaudio SDK are: 

* Very fast: the fastest commercial MP3 decoding library in the world, up
  to twice or three times faster than some other implementations.

* Very Robust: the library has been very stable for almost 2 years, and is
  very resilient to bad streams, errors, etc... It never crashes !

* Supports all formats: the library will decode MPEG Audio Layers 1, 2 and 3
 (MP1, MP2 and MP3), at all bitrates and frequencies as well as MPEG 2.5
 extension bitstreams (lower sampling rates).

* Supports Integer Decode: a special integer-decode mode allows fast realtime
  decoding even on CPUs without a floating point co-processor.

[end rip]


PERFORMANCE
===========
The Xaudio decoding engine, IMHO, is not as CPU efficient as the Nitrane
engine and eats up more processing cycles. However, may I add, the difference
is CPU utilization is really very minimal considering that many of us run
P200 and above?. I also feel strongly that it is much better sounding than
the Nitrane engine. Again, it is purely subjective as my ears are certainly
different from yours, otherwise we would become Vulcans.

Compared to the StarDust/AE4 engine however, the Stardust/AE4 engine
certainly sounds much better than the Nitrane engine and slightly better
than Xaudio. The Stardust/AE4 engine sounds naturally loud, boomy and bassy
as compared to the other engines out there that is why I still use Sonique
as the MP3 player for maximal enjoyment. However, there is a serious downside
to the Stardust/AE4 as it is not as CPU efficient as the Nitrane and there
is, I believe, a memory leak with the engine. Once loaded and playing,
Stardust basically starts to consume all your available physical memory til
0. The AE4 however, does not exhibit such a leak. Memory leak or just a
glitch with my system monitor program? I dunno, but it is disconcerting to
find your memory draining down the 'longkang' just playing MP3 files.

Memory footprint of the different MP3 players:
Homp3 - 1.7MB
WinAMP 2.62 - 2.5MB
Sonique 1.51 - 5.5MB

All players were run in default configuration, skinless. For WinAMP, only
the main window and playlist were open. For Sonique, the mini-bar mode was
used.

As can be seen from the above statistics, Homp3, using the Xaudio decoding
library, has the mini-est memory footprint of the engines, due to its lack
of unnecessary features rather than other reasons. It is well suited for
systems with limited memory and for users who, like me, do not care about
fancy and unnecessary features.



SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
===================
P133+ and above, 16MB RAM, generous amounts of harddisk space to store all
your MP3s, good pair of soundcard and speakers to fully enjoy your MP3s.

Runs on W9x systems. Not tested on W2K or WinNT yet.



UPDATES
=======
v2.00 b225 - Introduced Reduced and Expanded Modes and decreased real-estate size.
(140600)	(Thanks to Ivan Wee and Chan On Bon)	   
	   - Added popup menus for File Box, playlist and for Time Elapsed label.
	   * released to web for evaluation.

v1.52 b200 - Fixed bug with REPEAT btn when playlist is cleared. (Thanks to Ho Wen Wei)
v1.52 b199 - Menu bar added for redundant and easier functionality.
(110600)   - Time Elapsed / Time remaining option
	   - Repeat button enabled for both File Open and PlayList controls	  
	   - Move Tracks Up and Down code refined. May be still buggy.
	   - Output resetted when Stopped or EOF to enable other applications to use sound.
	   * released to web for evaluation

v1.5 b160 - Major release. Revamped interface using Win9x standard controls.
	  - Playlist with move tracks up/down functionality
	  - sturdier code for playlist addition, deletions
	  - cropped logo? problem with small font systems fixed.	  
	  - ticker bar (the ugly black bar) beneath track bar removed.	  

v1.0 b419 * Released to web for beta-test and evaluation. 



DEVELOPMENT NOTICE
==================
Homp3 v2.00
latest build: 225
Xaudio SDK: 3.0.7
Development Software: Delphi 3/ Windows 98
Development Platform: AMD K6-2 / 337MHz [Intel Pentium Compatible] 64MB RAM
Author: Ho Wen Yao / NUTeK
E-Mail: wenyao@icestorm.net

Please email me for bug reports/comments/criticisms, etc...



Enjoy!
