abcde.conf

[clinton/abcde.git] / FAQ

diff --git a/FAQ b/FAQ
index f8caadf..7e934bc 100644 (file)
--- a/FAQ
+++ b/FAQ
@@ -1,21 +1,97 @@
+0. INTRODUCTION
+   ============

 
 

-Q. I am using MacOSX and I am having problems to use abcde.
-A. Well, I have a Mac, but I use linux on it. I have not been able to find
-   a way to make it work there, since I do not have the development tools
-   installed. I have placed a basic support, but some user reports are just
-   complaining about abcde not encoding the ripped tracks, as if 
-   cdda2wav/cdparanoia/cddafs would never end reading them. If you have such
-   a system and experience problems, please, report them, and I will try to
-   work them out with your help.
+Q. Who created abcde? Who develops it nowadays?
+A. It was originally created by Robert Woodcook. He decided to give up 
+   maintaining it at some point in 2002 and Jesus Climent took over.  Contact
+   jesus.climent@hispalinux.es if you have a problem or a suggestion.
+
+
+1. INSTALLATION
+   ============
+   
+Q. How can I install abcde on my system?
+A. To get abcde you can use a pre-packaged version, available for Debian, 
+   FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD and others.
+   In case you want to install your own release, you need to download the
+   sources and install the complementary programs (abcde is just a frontend
+   and its functionality is provided by other programs).
+   Read 
+
+   abcde needs cd-discid. Grab it from:
+   http://www.hispalinux.es/~data/files/cd-discid/
+
+   Read the README files for a complete list of requirements.
+   
+
+2. EXECUTION
+   =========
+
+Q. Low on disk space?
+A. abcde has different algorithms to schedule ripping and encoding - to 
+   optimize for disk conservation, use -l. You can also define
+   WAVOUTPUTDIR=/some/other/path to your /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf to
+   store the WAV files on another NFS shared fisk, for example.
+
+Q. How can i make abcde encode faster? My CD reader is way faster than the pace
+   it can encode my tracks.
+A. abcde can take advantage of SMP systems, just like make. Try 'abcde -j 2' -
+   it'll run two encoder jobs while it rips the next track.
+   You can also make use of systems which are networked, with the help of
+   distmp3. For example, MachineA has a better CPU power and MachineB has a CD
+   drive. Run distmp3host (included in distmp3) on Machine A, and then run
+   abcde -r MachineA from MachineB (where "MachineA" is a dns name or IP
+   address). Use this in combination with '-j 0' to shift all encoding off the
+   local machine.
+
+Having trouble getting cdparanoia to read from your drive as a user?  Add
+yourself to the cdrom group, change the permissions on your cdrom device to 660,
+and if you have a SCSI cdrom drive, check the permissions on
+/dev/sg* as well.

 
 Q. I would like to give the trackname and the artist_name directly to the
    encoder (in my case oggenc), but found no documentation.
 A. That is not possible, since abcde gets the information from CDDB database.
 
 Q. I would like to give the trackname and the artist_name directly to the
    encoder (in my case oggenc), but found no documentation.
 A. That is not possible, since abcde gets the information from CDDB database.

-   You can create a template and fill it with the option "-n".
+   You can create a template and fill it with the option "-n". Also, you can 
+   get the CDDB entry and edit it yourself. abcde has also an option to drop
+   back to a template if you like none of the CDDB entries, selecting 0 from
+   the CDDB options.

 
 

-Q. What formats can I encode my music to?
-A. As for version 2.2, abcde includes support for MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, 
-   Ogg/Speex, Flac and MPP/MP+(Musepack).
+Q. (Thanks to Amaya) Where are those options and settings defined? Why dont
+   you include a proper abcde.conf as an example?
+A. I do. It should be installed under /etc/abcde.conf and contains more or
+   less all the defaults abcde uses. You can use $(HOME)/.abcde.conf to 
+   override those defaults. More information can be obtained from the man page
+   which can be consulted using "man abcde".
+   
+Q. I keep on getting files with ".ogg.ogg" extension. What am I doing wrong?
+A. The code for multiple-output adds automatically the extension of the
+   different outputs you select with the "-o" extension (or with OUTPUTTYPE
+   variable). Erase the ".${OUTPUTTYPE}" part from the OUTPUTFORMAT variable
+   in /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf
+
+Q. I have modified some of the options, and now CDDB has stopped working.
+A. Check that you have modified everything in the right way. For instance, if
+   you modify the HTTPGET program you might want to set some options of your
+   own. If you use the predefined ones (wget, curl and fetch) abcde will try
+   to use some defaults. Keep in mind that the output should go to the output
+   as standard output, to be saved in a file for later use.
+   
+   If abcde seems to be ignoring your configuration options or not running
+   commands such as the encoder, you may have misquoted something. Config
+   options such as the following do not work:
+
+   LAMEOPTS=-h -k
+
+   Try this instead:
+
+   LAMEOPTS='-h -k'
+
+Q. How can I separate the different output files I get using multiple-output
+   support?
+A. Use the OUTPUT variable in PLAYLISTFORMAT and OUTPUTFORMAT. It holds the 
+   different output file types you passed to abcde (i.e., ogg, mp3, flac) 
+   during playlist creation and file/directory creation.

 
 Q. I have a CD with a data track, and abcde complaints it cannot read/encode
    it.
 
 Q. I have a CD with a data track, and abcde complaints it cannot read/encode
    it.


@@ -27,17 +103,65 @@ A. It is not easy to find a data track on a CD. Right now, I can only think
    Version 2.2 includes some checkings with cdparanoia, to try to get this
    right.
 
    Version 2.2 includes some checkings with cdparanoia, to try to get this
    right.
 

-Q. How can I separate the different output files I get using multiple-output
-   support?
-A. Use the OUTPUT variable in PLAYLISTFORMAT and OUTPUTFORMAT. It holds the 
-   different output file types you passed to abcde (i.e., ogg, mp3, flac) 
-   during playlist creation and file/directory creation.
+Q. I am requested to have "eject" when setting the speed although I do not use
+   it for anything.
+A. If you do not use cdparanoia, eject is used for setting the speed of the 
+   cdrom drive. You can substitute it for "setcd" with "-x" as the argument,
+   but you have to install it manually (setcd is, at least, available in 
+   Debian).
+   Another way to get the same results is using the pre_read function, defined
+   in your /etc/abcde.conf file.

    
    

-Q. I keep on getting files with ".ogg.ogg" extension. What am I doing wrong?
-A. The code for multiple-output adds automatically the extension of the
-   different outputs you select with the "-o" extension (or with OUTPUTTYPE
-   variable). Erase the ".${OUTPUTTYPE}" part from the OUTPUTFORMAT variable
-   in /etc/abcde.conf or ~/.abcde.conf
+Q. I have a CD set with 1+ discs, and want to have them in the same directory,
+   sorted properly. What can abcde do for me?
+A. Set abcde to rip the first CD and give it the option "-t 101". Use a generic
+   name for the CD, and reuse it with the rest of the CDs, editing the CDDB
+   entries. Use "-t 201" for the second CD and so on. Use "-w <comment>" to
+   add a comment about the CD you are ripping (-w "disc #"). Alternatively you
+   can use only the "-t ###" option and then move all the files to the same
+   directory. If you want the tagged track number to be set to the modified
+   number you should use "-T ###".
+
+Q. I have a live concert. I want to encode it in a single file. How do i do it?
+A. Use "-1" and it will be encoded in a single file.
+
+3. CDDB
+   ====
+
+Q. I need to go through an HTTP proxy for CDDB access. 
+A. No problem, just export your http_proxy variable first so wget/fetch/curl 
+   can see it.
+
+Q. I already store CDDB entries in my hard disc. Can I make use of them?
+A. Piece of cake. Just edit CDDBLOCALDIR to point to the repository and give
+   abcde the "-L" flag to make use of it.
+
+Q. Fine, now it uses local CDDB, but I have no network connection. How can I
+   disable CDDB checks?
+A. Use the "-L -n" combination. It will try to use local CDDB entries, and if
+   nothing can be found, it will use a template. You will be also given the
+   choice to edit such template.
+
+Q. How can I use some other CDDB information provider?
+A. abcde now uses FreeDB by default. To use a different FreeDB mirror or 
+   another CDDB service, change the CDDBURL option in your abcde.conf.
+
+
+3. FORMATS
+   =======
+
+Q. What formats can I encode my music to?
+A. As for version 2.2, abcde includes support for MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, 
+   Ogg/Speex, Flac and MPP/MP+(Musepack). Support for AAC will be added once
+   an FLOSS encoder/decoder is working.
+
+Q. I want the new *put the newest and coolest codec there* format to be 
+   supported by abcde. Abcde is so cool but i want to encode also to this
+   new format...
+A. Patches are welcome! ;)
+   No, seriously, if the format is usable, available for Linux and open
+   source/free software, it should be fairly easy to integrate. Support for
+   AAC (m4p) should be the next one to be introduced.

 
 Q. I use Debian/RedHat/(put your Unix flavour here) and MP3 encoding is not 
    working. What am I doing wrong?
 
 Q. I use Debian/RedHat/(put your Unix flavour here) and MP3 encoding is not 
    working. What am I doing wrong?


@@ -70,44 +194,34 @@ A. Since MP3 is considered non-free (you get it for free, but hardware players
 
    Others : Please, help me here.
 
 
    Others : Please, help me here.
 

-Q. I have modified some of the options, and now CDDB has stopped working.
-A. Check that you have modified everything in the right way. For instance, if
-   you modify the HTTPGET program you might want to set some options of your
-   own. If you use the predefined ones (wget, curl and fetch) abcde will try
-   to use some defaults. Keep in mind that the output should go to the output
-   as standard output, to be saved in a file for later use.
-
-Q. My hardware player (put it here) does not recognize the playlists created
-   with abcde. What I am doing wrong?
-A. Try using "-m" when creating the playlists, or setting DOSPLAYLIST as an
-   option in the config file.
-
-Q. I am requested to have eject when setting the speed although I do not use
-   for anything.
-A. If you do not use cdparanoia, eject is used for setting the speed of the 
-   cdrom drive. You can substitute it for "setcd" with "-x" as the argument,
-   but you have to install it manually (setcd is, at least, available in 
-   Debian).
-   Another way to get the same results is using the pre_read function, defined
-   in your /etc/abcde.conf file.
-

 Q. Huh! Why is MPPENCODER (with MPP) and .mpc the extension?
 A. Dunno. You must ask the guys who created and defined the format. The 
    standard is MPEGplus (MPP/MP+) but the files use .mpc extension.
 Q. Huh! Why is MPPENCODER (with MPP) and .mpc the extension?
 A. Dunno. You must ask the guys who created and defined the format. The 
    standard is MPEGplus (MPP/MP+) but the files use .mpc extension.

+   
+   
+4. MISC PROBLEMS
+   ==== ========

 
 

-Q. I want the new *put the newest and coolest codec there* format to be 
-   supported by abcde. Abcde is so cool but i want to encode also to this
-   new format...
-A. Patches are welcome! ;)
-   No, seriously, if the format is usable, available for Linux and open
-   source/free software, it should be fairly easy to integrate. Support for
-   AAC (m4p) should be the next one to be introduced.
+Q. What happened with normalize?
+A. Normalize has changed its name under Debian, which is the GNU/Linux 
+   distribution for developing abcde (well, is The GNU/Linux Distribution
+   i only use, at the moment). Now it is called normalize-audio.
+   If you are using some other flavour of OS, you need to change the name
+   of the executable in your abcde.conf file.

 
 

-Q. (Thanks to Amaya) Where are those options and settings defined? Why dont
-   you include a proper abcde.conf as an example?
-A. I do. It should be installed under /etc/abcde.conf and contains more or
-   less all the defaults abcde uses. You can use $(HOME)/.abcde.conf to 
-   override those defaults.
+Q. I am using MacOSX and I am having problems to use abcde.
+A. Well, I have a Mac, but I use linux on it. I have not been able to find
+   a way to make it work there, since I do not have the development tools
+   installed. I have placed a basic support, but some user reports are just
+   complaining about abcde not encoding the ripped tracks, as if 
+   cdda2wav/cdparanoia/cddafs would never end reading them. If you have such
+   a system and experience problems, please, report them, and I will try to
+   work them out with your help.
+
+Q. My hardware player (put it here) does not recognize the playlists created
+   with abcde. What I am doing wrong?
+A. Try using "-m" when creating the playlists, or setting DOSPLAYLIST as an
+   option in the config file.

 
 OBSOLETE
 --------
 
 OBSOLETE
 --------


@@ -117,3 +231,6 @@ A. The default action set includes clean, which cleans the temp directory,
    if nothing goes wrong. Take the "clean" out from the action list and you
    are done.
    UPDATE: KEEPWAVS unselects now the clean action.
    if nothing goes wrong. Take the "clean" out from the action list and you
    are done.
    UPDATE: KEEPWAVS unselects now the clean action.

+
+--
+Jesus Climent <jesus.climent@hispalinux.es>