L3enc
Encyclopedia
Fraunhofer l3enc was the first public software able to encode PCM files to the MP3
format. The first public version was released in July 1994. This commandline tool was shareware and limited to 112 kbit/s. It was available for MS DOS, Linux
, Solaris, SunOS
, NeXTstep
and IRIX
. A licence that allowed full use (encoding up to 320 kbit/s) cost 350 Deutsche Mark (about $250).
Since the release (9 September 1995) of Fraunhofer
WinPlay3
, the first realtime MP3 software player, people were able to store and play back MP3 files on PCs. For full playback quality (stereo) one would have needed to meet the minimum requirements of a 486DX2/66 processor.
By the end of 1997 l3enc stopped being developed in favour of the development of MP3enc, which is the successor to l3enc. It was often referred to as the “MP3 encoder with the best quality”. It was available for MS Windows, Linux
, Solaris, SunOS
, IRIX
and Alpha
. Development of MP3enc stopped in late 1998 to favour development of a parallel branch FhG had been developing for some time, called Fastenc. All of these programs are no longer actively marketed. An mp3 Surround
encoder and mp3HD
Codec and Software Tools are now promoted on the Fraunhofer MP3 website.
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format. The first public version was released in July 1994. This commandline tool was shareware and limited to 112 kbit/s. It was available for MS DOS, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Solaris, SunOS
SunOS
SunOS is a version of the Unix operating system developed by Sun Microsystems for their workstation and server computer systems. The SunOS name is usually only used to refer to versions 1.0 to 4.1.4 of SunOS...
, NeXTstep
NEXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube...
and IRIX
IRIX
IRIX is a computer operating system developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. to run natively on their 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture workstations and servers. It was based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX was the first operating system to include the XFS file system.The last major version...
. A licence that allowed full use (encoding up to 320 kbit/s) cost 350 Deutsche Mark (about $250).
Since the release (9 September 1995) of Fraunhofer
Fraunhofer Society
The Fraunhofer Society is a German research organization with 60 institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science . It employs around 18,000, mainly scientists and engineers, with an annual research budget of about €1.65 billion...
WinPlay3
WinPlay3
WinPlay3 was the first real-time MP3 audio player for PCs running Windows, both 16-bit and 32-bit . Prior to this, audio compressed with MP3 had to be decompressed prior to listening. It was released by Fraunhofer IIS , creators of the MP3 format, on September 9, 1995. The latest version was...
, the first realtime MP3 software player, people were able to store and play back MP3 files on PCs. For full playback quality (stereo) one would have needed to meet the minimum requirements of a 486DX2/66 processor.
By the end of 1997 l3enc stopped being developed in favour of the development of MP3enc, which is the successor to l3enc. It was often referred to as the “MP3 encoder with the best quality”. It was available for MS Windows, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, Solaris, SunOS
SunOS
SunOS is a version of the Unix operating system developed by Sun Microsystems for their workstation and server computer systems. The SunOS name is usually only used to refer to versions 1.0 to 4.1.4 of SunOS...
, IRIX
IRIX
IRIX is a computer operating system developed by Silicon Graphics, Inc. to run natively on their 32- and 64-bit MIPS architecture workstations and servers. It was based on UNIX System V with BSD extensions. IRIX was the first operating system to include the XFS file system.The last major version...
and Alpha
AlphaStation
AlphaStation was the name given to a series of computer workstations, produced from 1994 onwards by Digital Equipment Corporation, and latterly by Compaq and HP. As the name suggests, the AlphaStations were based on the DEC Alpha 64-bit microprocessor...
. Development of MP3enc stopped in late 1998 to favour development of a parallel branch FhG had been developing for some time, called Fastenc. All of these programs are no longer actively marketed. An mp3 Surround
MP3 Surround
MP3 Surround is an extension of MP3 for multi-channel audio support including 5.1 surround sound. It was developed by Fraunhofer IIS in collaboration with Thomson and Agere Systems, and released in December 2004....
encoder and mp3HD
Mp3HD
MPEG-1 Audio Layer III HD more commonly known and advertised by its abbreviation mp3HD is an audio compression codec developed by Technicolor formerly known as Thomson...
Codec and Software Tools are now promoted on the Fraunhofer MP3 website.