Program infos (usually for the DOS version):

Extender (DOS/32a, DOS/4G, PMODE/W):

Q: There are more different versions of Mpxplay, with different DPMI extenders.
   Which one is the best for me?
A: You have to test this yourself. Every one have its own problems/bugs, 
   depending on the used OS, TSRs, hw/sw environment and on the used Mpxplay functions.
   DOS/4G: 
    + this is the official Watcom extender (v2.61)
    + we can use external DLLs with it (output and visual plugins)
    - recommended for the (Watcom/DOS4GW based) DOS-SB16 emulator of SB Live/Audigy (emu10dos.zip)
    - requires a large (400k) runtime library (DOS4G.EXE) besides the Mpxplay.exe
    - it does swapping (on the HD) at low memory (slows down the program)
    + memory limit: 64 Mb (this is usually enough)
   DOS/32a: 
    - starts a little slower
    - exception/pagefault error handling is not correct (when the program crashes)
    - it can crash with the SB Live emulator
    - uses more conventional (low DOS) memory (due to the higher memory limit)
    + memory limit: 128 Mb
   PMODE/W: 
    - irq handling problems using mouse (and serial control?): program can freeze or reset your computer
    - memory allocation bugs (DOS 7.x + SB Live drivers)
    - memory limit: 16 Mb (sometimes it's not enough)

Source:

Q: Is Mpxplay opensource? May I get it?
A: You can download the source of Mpxplay from my homepage. 
   If you need a Watcom C compiler (to compile Mpxplay), you can find it 
   on http://www.openwatcom.org site.

Q: I would like to write my own MP3 Player. Do you have any tips, or know any
   sites where I can download sample codes or any mpeg documents?
A: You can find some usable freeware mp3 decoder sources on the net:
    - Freeamp (www.freeamp.org)
    - MPG123  (www.mpg123.de)
    - OpenCP  (www.cubic.org/player)
    - AMP11   (http://www.ph.tum.de/~nbeisert/amp11.html)
   Ogg Vorbis tools and sources:
    - www.xiph.org
   and some other usable sources on
    - www.programmersheaven.com

Mpxplay won't start:

Q: I get '[PMODE/W]: Not Enough Memory Available' error message, 
   or other (XMS/conventional) memory allocation errors when I start Mpxplay.

A: 1. In some cases (ie: DOS 7.x & SB Live) the PMODE/W extender cannot work.
      I made a DOS/4GW version too (commented with 'for MS-DOS 7.x users'), 
      you can download it from my homepage (or try the DOS/32a version).
   2. You have not enough free XMS memory. 
      Mpxplay requires min. 3-4 Mb XMS and 200-300 kbyte conventional memory.

Q: I get 'Soundcard init failed' message when I start Mpxplay.
A: 1.Check the 'supported soundcards' list in the README.TXT / SNDCARDS.TXT, 
     maybe your card is not there...
   2.Try the -sct option to autodetect your card and to get the correct settings.
   3.I think so PCI card handling doesn't work under Win2k/XP (use DOS)

Sound output/quality problems:

Q: I have an Intel HDA compatible soundcard. Mpxplay detects it, the playing starts,
   but there's no sound on the output.
A: Try to use the -scc option with different values (-scc 1 or -scc 2 or -scc 3)
   Try to use -scv option to set the soundcard output volume (-scv 1 or -scv 99)

Q: Will your mp3 player give me the same sound quality as Winamp or another
   win32 product?
A: I think so there isn't too much sound quality difference between the
   mp3 decoder of Mpxplay and mp3 decoder of other players.
   Maybe the primary problem is your sound card, because if Mpxplay detects 
   your card as SBpro, then it will not give good (CD) quality (only 22khz with 8 bit).

LFN problems:

Q: How can I use LFNs (long filenames) with your program?
A: 1. Mpxplay can support LFNs under Win9x through a (windows) software 
      interrupt (API).
   2. Under DOS, you have to use an LFN emulator (witch emulates this API function).
      Only one program can do this: DOSLFN
      You can download it: http://adoxa.110mb.com
      Please don't ask about this program... I can't help...
      Critical warning: use DOSLFN for file reading only (don't use it for commander 
      functions nor playlist save! Data loss is possible...)
   3. Don't forget to set the UseLFN=1 in the mpxplay.ini (enabled by default)

Q: I wrote a CD with long filenames and directories, I can use it under
   Windows, but I can't read (open) the directories and files under DOS
   (with Mpxplay nor with any other DOS programs).
A: 1. I think so you wrote the CD in JOLIET or in a similar LFN mode.
      If you use CDRWIN (cd-writer software) and you enable 'DOS compatibility mode'
      in the program, you will able to use the CD under DOS too (of course you'll
      see the long filenames in LONGFI~1.MP3 format).
   2. Use SHSUCDX.EXE, an alternative cd-driver instead of MSCDEX.EXE

Audio-CD problems:

Q: Why don't you implement a normal CD player instead of the real-time CD-ripper?
A  1. It was easier to implement (I can handle a CD-track like a normal file)
   2. On this way, you can use CROSSFADE, AUTOVOLUME, SPEED CONTROL and
      SURROUND on AUDIO CD tracks and you can copy them to the hd too (with ALT-F5).
      You couldn't do these in a normal CD audio player.

   In fact, the CDW doesn't work on every CD-ROMs (especially on old ones).
   (smartdrv also can cause problems, so don't use it for CDW playing)

Speed problems:

Q: I have a DX4-100, you wrote in the readme.txt, this CPU is enough
   to play MP3s, but Mpxplay can't play properly on it...
A: 1. Of course it depends on the other parts of your computer too,
      maybe your hard disk or/and CD is slow (or you use a non-Intel CPU).
      If you don't use SMARTDRV, NCACHE or other similar disk cache softwares,
      try to add this lines to your config.sys file:

      BUFFERS=63,8
      FCBS=32

   2. disable (don't use) the extra functions: autovolume, surround and
      spectrum analyser

Q: 1. I have a 386-25 computer. Could you optimize your player that runs
      on my pc too?
   2. I have a 386-DX40 and I use your program to convert mp3 files to wav.
      And sometimes it makes an empty (or zero-length) wav file.
A: My program is optimized (compiled) for pentium processor, but it can
   run on a 486 CPU too. But it CAN'T on a 386, nor with external FPU.
   (sometimes it may works, but usually: NOT)
   I don't plan (and I'm not really able) to improve the audio decoding speed
   further. It's too much work and not really required for the newer CPUs. 
   (Mpxplay shows less than 1% CPU usage at MP3 decoding on my 3 years old AMD XP)
   (btw. higher bitrates (320kbit) use more CPU than the lower ones (128kbit))

Prebuffer problems on CD-ROMs:

Q: I use the -bp option and my CD-ROM usually stops at the end of the songs, and
   there's too much pause between the songs or/and the crossfade is not perfect.
   (the program playing the sound from the buffer, and it doesn't read the CD,
    because of this some CD-ROMs automatically stops after 15-20 seconds).
   How can I solve this problem?
A: 1. Use -bpn option to pre-load next file.
   2. Or reduce the size of prebuffer with the -bbn option (ie: -bbn 10)(default:32)

LCD-display:

Q: I would like to use an LCD display for Mpxplay. How can I do this?
A: You can find some hardware infos in the source : DISPLAY\LCD.C (from mpxsrc.zip).
   You can find more informations in the LCD_DISP.TXT too.
   You can enable/configure the LCD in the MPXPLAY.INI file.
   Maybe the LCD handling works in the DOS version only.
   Otherwise I haven't got LCD, because of this I can't help too much
   if you have problems using an LCD (hardware problems)...

Other:

Q: Mpxplay sometimes cuts the end of the songs (losing 4-5 seconds).
   Is there any way to play the song completly?
A: You can disable this function (cut) with the '-sl 0' command line option
   or with the SoundLimitVol=0 setting (in the mpxplay.ini).
   (or try a low value: 1-5)

Q: I can copy CD tracks into a wav file, but how can I convert them directly
   into MP3s with Mpxplay?
A: Use the DOS4G version of Mpxplay with the LAME output plugin DLL.
   (you can download these from my homepage and you can encode more formats too)

Q: I would like to use an external (TSR) program to control Mpxplay,
   but it doesn't work. Why?
A: I don't use the 'normal' BIOS or DOS routines to read keyboard,
   I wrote my own low-level functions. You can find them in the newfunc\keyboard.c (pds_kbhit,pds_extgetch,pds_pushkey)
   If you write a TSR for Mpxplay, use this way to control my program.
