L3enc

Fraunhofer l3enc was the first public software able to encode pulse-code modulation (PCM) .wav files to the MP3 format. The first public version was released on July 13, 1994.[1] This command-line tool was shareware and limited to 112 kbit/s. l3enc fit on a single 3.5" floppy. It was available for MS-DOS, Linux, Solaris, SunOS, NeXTstep and IRIX.[2] A licence that allowed full use (encoding up to 320 kbit/s) cost 350 Deutsche Mark, or about $250 (US).[citation needed]

Fraunhofer l3dec was the first public software able to decode the MP3 format.

Since the release in September 1995 of Fraunhofer WinPlay3, the first real-time MP3 software player, people were able to store and play back MP3 files on PCs. WinPlay3 fit on a single 3.5" floppy. For full playback quality (stereo) one would have needed to meet the minimum requirements of a 486DX4/100 processor.[citation needed]

By the end of 1997 l3enc stopped being developed in favour of its successor MP3enc.[2] Development of MP3enc stopped in late 1998 to favour development of a parallel branch FhG had been developing for some time, called Fastenc.[3] None of these programs are still marketed.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "MP3 Todays Technology". Lots of Informative Information about Music. 2005. Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b "FhG l3enc MP3 Encoder on Really Rare Wares". 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-11.
  3. ^ "FhG MP3enc MP3 encoder on Really Rare Wares". 2017. Retrieved 2017-09-11.