I've been experimenting with several MP3 CD players, and I found that the Sony did not like files created with the latest versions of LAME (3.91, 3.92) unless ID3 v2 tags were created. This struck me as odd because the Sony does not use v2 tags and only reads the 1.1 tags.
Inspecting the files with a Hex editor and File Info function in Winamp, I discovered that if Lame generates no ID3 tag, or a v1.1 tag only, it "pads" the first 417 bytes of the file with zeros. I thought it rather odd that a compression tool would add unnecessary length to a file it had compressed. The only thing I could think of is that the extra space is a provision for adding a v2 tag in the future without increasing the length of the file. However, none of the tag generators I have used have any problem with generating a v2 tag on a file that has the header at byte zero. So I set about looking for a switch to perhaps discontinue this feature (assuming it is a feature) but had no luck. So, can anyone here explain the header offset, or some other fix that dosen't involve the creation of v2 tags? v2 tags fix the problem for the Sony because it adds "ID3" as the first three characters of the file, the Sony then continues on to look for the header, and will search a fair bit into the file until it finds it. Only when it sees a bunch of zeros at the start of the file does it get rude and display "Not MP3". Since I have a simple fix, this question is more one of curiosity than anything else, so nobody blow a gasket or anything trying to figure it out. k? :) Chris _______________________________________________ mp3encoder mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://minnie.tuhs.org/mailman/listinfo/mp3encoder
