fre:ac version 1.1.8

fre:ac is a free and open source audio converter. It supports audio CD
ripping and tag editing and converts the following audio formats:

	- MP3
		- using the LAME MP3 encoder		(http://lame.sourceforge.net/)
		- using the mpg123 decoder		(http://www.mpg123.de/)
		- using the MAD MP3 decoder		(http://www.underbit.com/)

	- MP4/M4A AAC
		- using the Core Audio AAC encoder	(http://www.apple.com/)
		- using the FDK-AAC codec		(http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/)
		- using the FAAC/FAAD2 codec		(http://faac.sourceforge.net/)

	- Windows Media Audio				(http://www.microsoft.com/)

	- Xiph Foundation codecs
		- Opus					(http://www.opus-codec.org/)
		- Vorbis				(http://xiph.org/vorbis/)
		- Speex					(http://www.speex.org/)
		- FLAC					(http://xiph.org/flac/)

	- Apple Lossless (ALAC)
		- using the Core Audio ALAC encoder	(http://www.apple.com/)
		- using the FFmpeg ALAC encoder		(http://www.ffmpeg.org/)

	- Musepack					(http://www.musepack.net/)
	- WavPack					(http://www.wavpack.com/)
	- OptimFROG					(http://www.losslessaudio.org/)
	- Monkey's Audio				(http://www.monkeysaudio.com/)
	- Tom's Audiokompressor				(http://www.thbeck.de/)

	- various other formats
		- using the libsndfile library		(http://libsndfile.github.io/libsndfile/)
		- using the FFmpeg converter		(http://www.ffmpeg.org/)

Further codecs (e.g. Nero's HE-AAC encoder) can be used as external
plug-ins (see the manual for installation instructions).

fre:ac uses the CDRip library for audio ripping on Windows.
fre:ac uses the cdio library for audio ripping on macOS, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD and NetBSD.
fre:ac uses the cdparanoia library for audio ripping on Linux, FreeBSD and OpenBSD.

fre:ac uses sound files by Little Robot Sound Factory licensed under the CC BY 3.0 license.

Code from FAAD2 is Copyright (c) Nero AG, www.nero.com

Installation
------------

	Windows:

		fre:ac is distributed in two variants, an .exe file containing a setup wizard or alternatively
		a .zip archive that contains just the application without an installer.

		If you downloaded the .exe installer, simply run it and the setup wizard will guide you through
		the installation process creating start menu icons that will run fre:ac.

		If you downloaded the .zip package, please extract/move the contents to a location of your
		choice and run freac.exe to start fre:ac.

	macOS:

		fre:ac is distributed as an Apple Disk Image (.dmg) file.

		To install it, open the .dmg image and drag the fre:ac application to a location of your choice
		like the desktop or the Applications folder. Then double click the application to start fre:ac.

		Alternatively, users of the package manager MacPorts (www.macports.org) may install fre:ac using
		the following command:

			sudo port install freac

	Linux:

		fre:ac is available as a Snap, Flatpak or AppImage package.

		The Snap and Flatpak versions can be found and installed from the respective app stores. Please
		note that these versions run in restriced environments and might offer limited functionality.

		The AppImage package must be marked as executable after downloading using the following command:

			chmod a+x freac*.AppImage

		The AppImage can then be executed to start fre:ac.

	FreeBSD:

		fre:ac is available as a FreeBSD port and can be installed using the following command:

			sudo pkg install freac

		Alternatively, there is a binary version of fre:ac distributed as a .tar.gz archive. Please
		extract the contents to a location of your choice and execute the freac binary to start fre:ac.

	Haiku:

		fre:ac is available as a HaikuPorts package and can be installed using the following command:

			pkgman install freac

Requirements
------------

	Requirements for running fre:ac:

		Supported operating systems:
			- Windows XP/Vista/7/8.x/10/11
			- macOS 10.5 Leopard or later
			- Linux (most modern distributions are supported)
			- FreeBSD/PC-BSD (tested on FreeBSD 13.0)
			- NetBSD (tested on NetBSD 6.0, NetBSD 5.x and earlier releases are not supported)
			- OpenBSD (tested on OpenBSD 5.3)
			- Solaris (tested on Solaris 11)
			- GNU Hurd (tested on Debian Sid)
			- Haiku (tested on Haiku R1 beta 2)

		Minimum hardware requirements:
			- Intel Pentium 4, AMD Athlon 64, PowerPC G4 or ARMv7 CPU
			- 512 MB RAM
			- 100 MB free disk space

		Recommended hardware specs:
			- Intel Core i5, AMD Ryzen 5 or ARMv8 CPU
			- 4 GB RAM
			- 4 GB free disk space

	Additional requirements for compiling the sources:

		All platforms:

			- smooth v0.9.10 or later (http://www.smooth-project.org/)
			- BoCA v1.0.6 or later (https://www.freac.org/)

		Windows:

			- MinGW GCC v4.0+ (http://www.mingw.org/) or Visual Studio 2022

		All Linux and Unix platforms:

			- GCC v4.0+

			- libfdk-aac, libfaad2, libjpeg, libmp3lame, libmp4v2, libmpg123,
			  libogg, libopus, libpng, libspeex, libvorbis

			Linux:

				- libcdio, libcdio-paranoia, libpulse, libudev

			Solaris:

				- audio headers

	Additional optional software:

		- The 32 bit version for Windows can use Winamp plug-ins if they are present in the 'plugins' folder.

		- Several external codecs can be used with fre:ac. Please see the manual for more details.

History
-------

	Version 1.1.8 (December 2024)

		- Improvements

			- moved encoding to separate thread for improved performance
			- made the configuration dialog save the previously opened page during a session
			- added support for setting a frequency ratio for pitch adjustment in Rubberband
			- added support for setting decoder complexity when using Opus 1.5 or later
			- added support for reading UTF-16 encoded cue sheets

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed crash reading CD contents on macOS Ventura
			- fixed crash trying to encode non-stereo data in HEv2 AAC using FDK-AAC
			- fixed creation of invalid output files trying to encode non-stereo data in ELDv2 AAC using Core Audio
			- fixed playback not working on some systems/configurations
			- fixed reading/writing of unencoded string fields from/to ID3v2 tags
			- fixed delete/shutdown after encoding options not changing when switching configuration
			- fixed ripping automation options not being available after switching configuration
			- fixed hours missing from total duration in logs

		- Updated codecs

			- updated FFmpeg to version 7.1
			- updated Opus to version 1.5.2 with Opus Speech Coding Enhancement
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 10.82
			- updated WavPack to version 5.7.0
			- updated FLAC to version 1.4.3
			- updated MP4v2 to version 2.1.3
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.32.9
			- updated libfdk-aac to version 2.0.3
			- updated libsndfile to version 1.2.2

		- New and updated translations

			- added Persian translation
			- updated Finnish, Catalan and Russian translations

	Version 1.1.7 (March 2023)

		- New features

			- added a tool for splitting output by various parameters (e.g. duration or number of files)
			- added support for dithering when reducing sample resolution
			- added a matrix surround decoder DSP component
			- added a volume adjustment DSP component

		- Improvements

			- added support for WavPack Hybrid Lossless compression with correction files
			- added support for decoding MPEG-4 DASH files
			- added support for opening WebM audio files with the .weba extension
			- added support for downmixing 6.1 channel audio
			- added support for MusicBrainz metadata in ID3v2, MP4, Vorbis Comment, APEv2 and WMA tags
			- added support for sort order fields in ID3v2, MP4, Vorbis Comment, APEv2 and WMA tags
			- added support for rating field in Vorbis Comment, APEv2, MP4 and LIST INFO tags
			- added rating field to the tag editor
			- added optional release year column to the joblist
			- changed <disc> filename placeholder to resolve to 1 if disc number is not set
			- improved compatibility with applications writing non-compliant LIST INFO tags (e.g. Traktor)
			- added an option to use source file names as output file names if no metadata is present
			- added an option to control extraction of missing metadata from file names
			- added an option to restrict file names for reading cover art
			- added an option to disable intensity stereo phase inversion to Opus settings
			- added AccurateRip notification options for successful verification and missing database entries
			- sample rate conversion no longer converts to 32 bit float when the source rate matches the target
			- added negative exit codes to indicate errors when running freaccmd
			- added support for KDE color schemes (including dark mode)
			- improved HiDPI scale factor detection in KDE desktop environments
			- respect text scaling factor in addition to font size setting on X11 based systems

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed crashes when decoding ALAC files (especially with the Windows Store version)
			- fixed failure (hang and abort after several seconds) to decode chapters from ALAC files
			- fixed interoperability issues of HE- and HEv2-AAC files created with FDK-AAC with foobar2000
			- fixed incorrect gapless information when creating HE- and HEv2-AAC files with FDK-AAC
			- fixed incorrect index times in cuesheets for very long multi-track files
			- fixed incorrect inclusion of data tracks in the audio track count of CD offset strings
			- fixed old data remaining in place after updating WMA file tags
			- fixed selected format resetting to first entry when opening WMA config dialog
			- fixed excessive bitrate when encoding Vorbis on non-x86 LP64 systems
			- fixed decoding of MP4 files with a single chunk taking excessively long
			- fixed HDCD detection for tracks starting with more than about one second of silence
			- fixed floating point samples being converted to integer when creating WavPack files
			- fixed inability to close cover art popup window on Linux
			- fixed long paths being converted to 8.3 format on recent versions of Windows
			- fixed inability to handle long network paths on some versions of Windows
			- fixed disc insert and removal detection working unreliably on Windows

		- Updated codecs

			- updated ALAC decoder for security fixes and improved performance
			- updated FFmpeg to version 6.0
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 9.20
			- updated WavPack to version 5.6.0
			- updated Tom's Audiokompressor to version 2.3.3
			- updated FLAC to version 1.4.2
			- updated Speex to version 1.2.1
			- updated MP4v2 to version 2.1.2
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.31.2
			- updated libsndfile to version 1.2.0

		- Updated translations

			- updated Greek translation

	Version 1.1.6 (January 2022)

		- added native support for Windows on the ARM64 architecture

		- New features

			- added support for editing lyrics in the tag editor
			- added support for creating cue sheets and playlists with freaccmd

		- Improvements

			- improved performance of adding video and proprietary audio files (DTS, DSD etc.) to the joblist
			- playlists can now be added to the joblist by drag & drop
			- added <tempo> and <initialkey> placeholders for use in filename patterns
			- added optional composer, conductor, tempo, musical key and ISRC columns to the joblist
			- added initial key field to tag editor
			- added support for lyrics in ID3v2, MP4, Vorbis Comment, APEv2 and WMA tags
			- added support for parsing OverDrive MediaMarkers in ID3v2 tags
			- added support for the pre-emphasis flag in cue sheets

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed possible crash upon querying the CDDB database
			- fixed possible crash in FAAD2 decoder when trying to open unsupported files
			- fixed faulty decoding of certain AAC files caused by a bug in the FDK-AAC decoder
			- fixed possible faulty output when decoding from non-zero positions using external decoders
			- fixed issue ripping CD tracks when output filename pattern is <filename>
			- fixed AccurateRip reporting verification errors for hidden track one audio
			- fixed setting to replace spaces not being respected when writing cover art and log files
			- fixed setting to suppress Unicode characters not being respected when writing cover art and log files
			- fixed tag editor fields for media type, catalog number and barcode being limited to 12 characters
			- fixed freeze when decoding certain WMA files on Windows
			- fixed drag & drop not working after online update on Windows

		- New and updated codecs

			- added native Apple Lossless decoder
			- updated FFmpeg to version 5.0
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 7.23
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.29.3
			- updated libsamplerate to version 0.2.2

		- New translations

			- added Swedish and Portuguese (Brazilian) manuals

	Version 1.1.5a (December 2021)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed open/save file dialogs failing on macOS 12.0 Monterey

	Version 1.1.5 (June 2021)

		- New features

			- added support for AccurateRip verification

		- Improvements

			- improved DSP processing performance by up to 70%
			- added frequency bandwidth setting to FDK-AAC encoder configuration dialog
			- added an option to toggle logging of complete paths in log files
			- added options for specifying cover art files to freaccmd
			- added support for reading Shift_JIS encoded CD-Text
			- added support for writing album and track comments to cue sheets
			- added support for ID3v2 tags in RF64 files
			- added support for updating Vorbis Comment tags
			- added support for updating ID3v2 tags in RIFF and AIFF files
			- added support for updating LIST INFO tags in RIFF, RF64 and Wave64 files
			- added support for ensemble field in Vorbis Comment and APEv2 tags
			- added support for movement field in ID3v2, Vorbis Comment, APEv2 and MP4 tags
			- added support for additional URL fields in APEv2 tags
			- added a tag editor option to keep album artist even if identical to track artist
			- added media type field to tag editor

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed hotspot for genre edit field utility menu not covering the whole width of the field
			- fixed occasional crashes when selecting codec subformat using the "Start encoding with" menu
			- fixed chapter marks being offset by a few seconds when using DSP processing
			- fixed playback not working when using certain combinations of DSP processors
			- fixed incompatibility of FDK-AAC encoded HE and HEv2 AAC files with iTunes
			- fixed issue decoding FLAC files with unknown length
			- fixed glitches decoding transients in some Vorbis files
			- fixed possible crashes when decoding Opus files
			- fixed possible crashes when failing to configure WMA encoder
			- fixed rare crashes in LAME encoder component
			- fixed strings read from ID3v2 tags being limited to 1024 characters
			- fixed crash when reading malformed CD-Text genre IDs
			- fixed failure ripping with negative read offset
			- fixed disc eject not working on macOS
			- fixed crash when closing fre:ac via dock command on macOS
			- fixed UI glitches and crashes on exit when running in a Wayland session
			- fixed popup menu and dropdown list closing behavior on non-Windows platforms
			- fixed issues with custom DPI settings on Xfce desktops
			- fixed drag & drop working unreliably on X11 based systems
			- fixed Windows online updater not working with the 64 bit version

		- Updated codecs

			- updated FFmpeg to version 4.4
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 6.29
			- updated Tom's Audiokompressor to version 2.3.1
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.28.0
			- updated libfdk-aac to version 2.0.2
			- updated libogg to version 1.3.5
			- updated libsndfile to version 1.0.31
			- updated libsamplerate to version 0.2.1

		- Updated translations

			- updated Norwegian translation
			- updated Russian manual

	Version 1.1.4 (February 2021)

		- Improvements

			- improved support for reading CD-Text
			- added an HDCD decoder DSP filter
			- added catalog number and barcode fields to tag editor
			- added file type associations to macOS app, so fre:ac is offered for opening audio files
			- added quality (VBR) setting to FDK-AAC configuration dialog
			- improved MP3, AAC and Opus encoding performance by up to 30%
			- improved multi-monitor support on X11 based systems
			- discs of multi-disc albums are now shown separately in tag editor album mode
			- update only changed fields when making edits in tag editor album mode
			- added support for Replay Gain values in MP4 and WMA metadata
			- do not override settings with default values when using freaccmd's --config option

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed invalid length written to very long Opus and Speex files (longer than 12 ½ hours at 48 kHz)
			- fixed decoding of some very short Opus, Vorbis and Speex files
			- fixed written MP4 chapters being invisible to some applications when using Nero AAC
			- fixed hang/crash when opening WavPack, Musepack, TAK and OptimFROG files with chapters
			- fixed issues submitting CDDB information for new CDs (without existing entries)
			- fixed issues handling long path/file names on Windows
			- fixed output sample rate being limited to 192 kHz
			- fixed freaccmd randomly failing to process files in rare cases
			- fixed bad user interface colors on some Linux distributions

		- Updated codecs

			- switched from FAAC to FDK-AAC for AAC encoding
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 6.11
			- updated WavPack to version 5.4.0
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.26.4
			- updated FAAD2 to version 2.10.0

		- Updated translations

			- updated Romanian translation
			- updated Portuguese (Brazilian) translation

	Version 1.1.3b (November 2020)

		- added support for Apple Silicon Macs

	Version 1.1.3a (October 2020)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed user interface glitches on older versions of macOS

	Version 1.1.3 (October 2020)

		- added support for macOS 11.0 Big Sur
		- switched to using GNUdb as the default CDDB database service

		- Improvements

			- command line codec configuration now allows specifying additional arguments
			- improved detection of cue sheet encoding to support system codepage and UTF-8 without BOM
			- freaccmd now splits cue sheets to individual tracks unless an output file is specified using the -o option
			- freaccmd now supports a --split-chapters option to split files with chapter tags into individual chapters
			- added <profile> placeholder for use in output folder configuration setting, resolving to user profile folder
			- added file type associations to Linux/FreeBSD and Windows Store app, so fre:ac is offered for opening audio files
			- added audio CD association to Linux/FreeBSD and Windows Store app, so fre:ac can be started when inserting a CD
			- added an option to suppress "No entry found" messages for automatic CDDB queries
			- improved detection of sampler CDs when querying CDDB information

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed possible conversion thread hangs when using external encoders
			- fixed possible crash related to drag & drop handling on Windows
			- fixed crash when writing fields containing only whitespace to Vorbis Comment, APEv2, WMA or RIFF tags
			- fixed possible glitches in WAV/AIFF output when processing float samples outside the -1.0/+1.0 range
			- fixed possible hangs when opening WAV/AIFF files larger than 2 GB or with a broken chunk structure
			- fixed inability to open WAV/AIFF files with long paths on Windows
			- fixed writing wrong offsets to single file cue sheets when the resampling DSP filter is enabled
			- fixed writing invalid chapter offsets to Opus files with source material sample rates other than 48 kHz
			- fixed writing invalid MP3 bitstreams in rare cases in SuperFast mode
			- fixed wrong length detection for MP3 files with invalid chapter data
			- fixed parsing of cue sheets with minute/second indications missing leading zeros and/or duration longer than 99 minutes
			- fixed parsing of embedded cue sheets without FILE designations
			- fixed ripping progress for other drives stalling while one drive is ejecting
			- fixed inability to pause or stop single output file verification
			- fixed log files being archived despite disabling the corresponding option
			- fixed various issues with multi-monitor support on macOS
			- fixed user interface glitches after closing dialogs in tabbed mode on macOS
			- fixed Shift+Pos1/End shortcuts being interpreted by the joblist and edit fields at the same time

		- Updated codecs

			- switched from libav 12.3 to FFmpeg 4.3.1 for auxiliary format support
			- added support for using the Core Audio codec of iTunes 12.10.9 and later
			- updated Vorbis to version 1.3.7 (plus aoTuV b6.03 and Lancer optimizations)
			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.55
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.26.3

		- New translations

			- added Hindi translation

	Version 1.1.2b (July 2020)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed crash when decoding MP3 files on x64 Windows systems without AVX support

		- Updated codecs

			- updated mpg123 to version 1.26.2 (plus Windows x64 ASM patch)

	Version 1.1.2a (June 2020)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed font scaling with high DPI settings on Windows

	Version 1.1.2 (June 2020)

		- Improvements

			- scale UI to adjust to system font size by default
			- added support for theme colors and dark mode on Linux/FreeBSD
			- improved handling of maximized window state on Linux/FreeBSD and macOS
			- try to keep the selected encoder the same when upgrading from fre:ac 1.0.x
			- removed non-working option to not lock CD trays while ripping
			- stop ripping before trying to eject a disc
			- write audio data CRC to log files when ripping
			- write MD5 checksums to log files when verifying files
			- write log entries when replacing existing files

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed length of last chapter of some audio books being detected as 0:00
			- prevent interpreting numerical IDs or dates at the beginning of file names as track numbers
			- fixed a possible source of random crashes when adding files to the joblist
			- fixed possible crash when importing MP4/M4A files
			- fixed possible crash when encoding in SuperFast mode
			- fixed some graphics glitches on macOS

		- Updated codecs

			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.44
			- updated mpg123 to version 1.26.1
			- updated FAAD2 to version 2.9.2
			- updated CDRip to version 2.4

	Version 1.1.1 (April 2020)

		- Improvements

			- improved file size and bitrate calculation for chapters and cue sheet tracks
			- added <discid> placeholder for use in filename patterns
			- added an optional disc ID column to the joblist
			- added an option to eject the disc after ripping to freaccmd
			- allow specifying device path instead of drive number in freaccmd

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed crash of freaccmd when querying CDDB while DISPLAY variable is not set
			- fixed ripping of first CD track in paranoia mode on Windows
			- fixed several issues creating CBR MP3 files in SuperFast mode
			- fixed calculation of track conversion speed factor in log files

		- Updated codecs

			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.33
			- updated WavPack to version 5.3.0

		- Updated translations

			- updated Portuguese (Brazilian) translation

	Version 1.1 (March 2020)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed parallel processing being active for CD track reference files on Windows
			- fixed freaccmd ejecting the CD after ripping 1 track with eject option enabled in fre:ac
			- fixed crash of freaccmd when DISPLAY variable is not set on Linux/FreeBSD

	Version 1.1 RC 2 (March 2020)

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed inability to read raw AAC files with the FAAD2 decoder
			- fixed inability to create WMA files with long path names
			- fixed cursor positioning and text selection in right-to-left mode
			- fixed cursor position calculation not respecting kerning on Windows 10

		- Updated codecs

			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.24

		- Updated translations

			- updated Serbian translations

	Version 1.1 RC 1 (March 2020)

		- Improvements

			- now passing float samples to LAME encoder directly if sample format is float
			- made automatic ripping work when using the single output file option
			- added options to control chapter information and cover art to freaccmd
			- handle Ctrl+C in freaccmd to clean up temporary files when aborted
			- respect colorization tint color on Windows Vista, 7 and 8/8.1
			- improved HiDPI detection on Linux/FreeBSD systems
			- log CDDB information when ripping

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed drag & drop not accepting long file paths on Windows
			- fixed file modification time stamp getting lost when output verification is active
			- fixed file creation time stamp not being preserved despite option being enabled
			- fixed freaccmd not correctly handling relative output folders
			- fixed black title bar color on Windows Vista, 7 and 8/8.1
			- fixed online updater not working

	Version 1.1 Beta 3 (February 2020)

		- Improvements

			- added support for dark mode on Windows 10
			- prepared for freedb.org shutdown on 31st March 2020
			- the fre:ac installer is now digitally signed
			- added separate Windows Wave File Output entry to encoder list
			- display current signal processing settings in status area
			- added a toolbar button to configure signal processing
			- added new tips to Tip of the Day dialog

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed compatibility issue with Windows 10 UTF-8 codepage setting
			- fixed FLAC decoding on macOS
			- fixed issues opening Opus files with a .ogg extension
			- fixed Monkey's Audio encoder not showing up in 64 bit builds
			- fixed some issues with freaccmd command line interface

		- Updated codecs

			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.18

		- Updated translations

			- updated Chinese (simplified) translation

	Version 1.1 Beta 2 (January 2020)

		- Improvements

			- respect theme accent color on Windows 10
			- log names of active DSP components
			- log total duration and speed of conversions

		- Bug fixes

			- fixed an IO subsystem issue causing corrupted output files in some cases
			- fixed SuperFast LAME repacker causing glitches in output files in some cases
			- fixed gapless decoding of MP3 files created with FFmpeg
			- fixed inability to update ID3v2 and APEv2 tags in tag editor
			- fixed inability to exit application after ejecting a disc while ripping
			- fixed hangup when ejecting a disc while adding its tracks to joblist
			- fixed minimum and maximum bitrate values being mixed up in Vorbis configuration dialog

		- Updated codecs

			- updated Monkey's Audio to version 5.12
			- updated WavPack to version 5.2.0

		- Updated translations

			- updated Dutch translation

	Version 1.1 Beta 1 (December 2019)

		- implemented an extension component framework to modularize fre:ac

		- ported to macOS, Linux and BSD operating systems
		- added native 64 bit Windows platform support

		- Multi threading support

			- conversions are now done in parallel if possible
			- integrated SuperFast encoding technology for multi-threaded processing
			- adding files to the joblist can now use multiple threads

		- Major new features

			- added support for multi-channel audio
			- added support for verifying lossless input and output files
			- added support for processing input with DSP filters
			- added support for writing conversion log files
			- added support for managing multiple configurations
			- added a tag editor component
			- added multi encoder component for simultaneous output to multiple formats

		- User interface improvements

			- completely reworked configuration dialog
			- added support for editing configurations during conversions
			- added the ability to sort the joblist by clicking headers
			- allow format selection from the encode menu for encoders supporting multiple formats
			- new dialog to confirm overwriting of existing files before conversion
			- redesigned progress display area
			- added a button to open the output folder
			- the time left indicator now shows hours if necessary
			- the five last used output folders are now saved for later use
			- the five last used file name patterns are now saved for later use

		- File conversion improvements

			- added support for automatic sample format conversions to match encoder requirements
			- added support for joining tracks with different sample formats into a single output file
			- added options for playing notification sounds on finished conversions
			- added an option to append sequential numbers to otherwise identical filenames
			- added <composer>, <conductor> and <disc> filename patterns
			- added configuration option to keep converted tracks in joblist
			- added configuration option to add encoded files to joblist
			- added a warning when converting from lossy to lossless formats
			- skipping tracks is no longer possible when converting to a single file
			- conversion progress is now shown in the taskbar on Windows 7 and later
			- added support for setting process priority on Windows

		- CD ripping improvements

			- added support for ripping hidden tracks (HTOA)
			- added support for reading ISRC codes from CDs
			- added CD read offset configuration option
			- upgraded CDRip to version 2.3 (with cdparanoia III version 10.2)

		- CDDB support improvements

			- added preview to CDDB match selection dialog
			- added an option to automatically select the first CDDB match
			- added support for CDDB queries using HTTP GET
			- allow CDDB queries even when no CD drive is present
			- allow CDDB dialogs to be resized

		- Playback improvements

			- allow playback while a conversion is running
			- added a slider for seeking during playback
			- the button to open the CD tray now closes it if already open

		- New and updated codecs

			- added support for command line encoders/decoders
			- added Core Audio AAC/ALAC encoder
			- added Opus audio encoder/decoder
			- added Speex speech encoder/decoder
			- added Monkey's Audio encoder/decoder
			- added Musepack encoder/decoder
			- added WavPack encoder/decoder
			- added OptimFROG encoder/decoder
			- added TAK lossless encoder/decoder
			- added support for the Fraunhofer FDK AAC encoder/decoder
			- added support for the VisualOn AAC encoder
			- added support for the TwinVQ VQF decoder
			- added support for Ogg FLAC files
			- added support for RF64 and Wave64 files
			- added support for libsndfile for reading simple audio files
			- added support for reading and writing Vorbis files with .oga extension

		- New DSP components

			- added DSP components for resampling, channel up-/downmixing and sample format conversion
			- added RNNoise speech noise reduction DSP component
			- added Rubber Band time stretching DSP component

		- Tagging improvements

			- added support for chapters in ID3v2, MP4, WMA and Vorbis Comment tags
			- added support for handling gapless playback information
			- added support for changing album art
			- added support for MCDI frame in ID3v2 tags
			- added support for ID3v1 tags in AAC files
			- added RIFF tagging support (using LIST INFO and Cart chunks)
			- improved metadata extraction from path names
			- improved title info editing user friendliness
			- added context menu for text edit fields
			- greatly improved case conversion functions
			- the FLAC encoder now writes seektable metadata blocks

		- Playlist and cue sheet improvements

			- added support for XSPF, Windows Media and PLS playlists
			- added support for creating one playlist or cue sheet per album in a single conversion
			- fixed creation of cue sheets for multiple tracks in a single file
			- added support for loading cue sheets

		- freaccmd improvements

			- completely reworked arguments of freacmd
			- added support for selecting configuration in freaccmd
			- added support for encoding to a single file with freaccmd

Special thanks to
-----------------

	- Paul Francis Harrison for developing the Bonk format
	- Albert L. Faber for his excellent CDRip Ripping Library

	- the translators: Eric Le Carre and Philippe Grivel (French),
			   Marco D'Amato and Roberto Boriotti (Italian),
			   REIKA and BHCrusher1 (Japanese),
			   Federico Reddig and Will (Spanish),
			   Jose Maria Vera Somoza (Spanish, Latin American),
			   Nikolaos-Ioannis Galanis and dipa2000 (Greek),
			   Evgeny Kozlov (Russian),
			   Henryk Ning and Meng Pang Wang (Chinese, traditional),
			   Joeyong Jen (Chinese, simplified),
			   Michal Trzebiatowski and Darek Rzeznicki (Polish),
			   Peter Toth (Hungarian),
			   Andrij Ilechko (Ukrainian),
			   Wim Garreyn and Thomas De Rocker (Dutch),
			   Nebojša Nikolic (Serbian),
			   Jan Parttimaa (Finnish),
			   Julius Faltus (Czech),
			   J. B. Escada Jr., André C. Barros and Wellington T. Uemura (Portuguese, Brazilian),
			   Odyssey (Korean),
			   Jan Arni Jacobsen (Danish),
			   Mikael Hiort af Ornäs and Anton Mjoernebrant (Swedish),
			   Peter Krajcar and Miro Babinsky (Slovak),
			   Andreas Normann Aanonsen and Cato Grytten (Norwegian),
			   Vincent Rateau (Esperanto),
			   Cako (Turkish),
			   Naglis Jonaitis (Lithuanian),
			   Adrian Huidu-Buzdugan, Borca Alin and Laurentiu Bubuianu (Romanian),
			   El libre (Catalan),
			   Agustín Bou (Valencian),
			   Jose Goncalves (Portuguese),
			   Meelis Pasieko (Estonian),
			   Goran Bekic (Croatian),
			   Eduardo Estévez (Galician),
			   Phan Anh (Vietnamese),
			   Ilan Tsmeret (Hebrew),
			   Eman Ali Fhoula (Arabic),
			   Martin Deyanov and KalinM (Bulgarian),
			   Cois Wiid (Afrikaans),
			   Xabier Aramendi (Basque),
			   Kin Kwok (Cantonese, Hong Kong),
			   Patriccollu di Santa Maria è Sichè (Corsican),
			   XilizaX (Persian),
			   Tushar Chandra (Hindi)

	- Hans-Jürgen Bardenhagen for his help and suggestions for the FAAC encoder
	- all the testers and everyone who submitted bug reports

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The official fre:ac homepage: https://www.freac.org/

robert.kausch@freac.org,
Robert Kausch
