Aften: A/52 audio encoder
Version 0.0.8
(c) 2006-2007 Justin Ruggles, Prakash Punnoor, et al.

usage: aften [options]  
options:

CONSOLE OUTPUT OPTIONS

    [-h]           Print out list of commandline options.

    [-longhelp]    Print out commandline option details.

    [-version]     Print out the build version.

    [-v #]         Verbosity
                       This controls the level of console output to stderr.
                       0 - Quiet Mode. No output to stderr.
                       1 - Shows a running average of encoding statistics.
                           This is the default setting.
                       2 - Shows the statistics for each frame.

ENCODING OPTIONS

    [-threads #]   Number of threads
                       Aften can use multiple threads to speed up encoding.
                       By default, Aften uses one thread for each logical CPU
                       your system has, but you can override this value.  A
                       value of 0 is the default and indicates that Aften
                       should try to detect the number of CPUs.

    [-nosimd X]    Comma-separated list of SIMD instruction sets not to use
                       Aften will auto-detect available SIMD instruction sets
                       for your CPU, so you shouldn't need to disable sets
                       explicitly - unless for speed or debugging reasons.
                       Available sets are mmx, sse, sse2, sse3 and altivec.
                       No spaces are allowed between the sets and the commas.
                       Example: -nosimd sse2,sse3

    [-b #]         CBR bitrate in kbps
                       CBR mode is selected by default. This option allows for
                       setting the fixed bitrate. The default bitrate depends
                       on the number of channels (not including LFE).
                       1 = 96 kbps
                       2 = 192 kbps
                       3 = 256 kbps
                       4 = 384 kbps
                       5 = 448 kbps

    [-q #]         VBR quality
                       A value 0 to 1023 which corresponds to SNR offset, where
                       q=240 equates to an SNR offset of 0.  240 is the default
                       value.  This scale will most likely be replaced in the
                       future with a better quality measurement.

    [-fba #]      Fast bit allocation
                       Fast bit allocation is a less-accurate search method
                       for CBR bit allocation.  It only narrows down the SNR
                       value to within 16 of the optimal value.  The result
                       is lower overall quality, but faster encoding.  This
                       may not give the same results each time when using
                       parallel encoding.

    [-fes #]      Fast exponent strategy decision
                       By default, the exponent strategy for each channel
                       in a frame is decided by finding the best choice out of
                       5 pre-defined sets of strategies.  When this fast
                       option is turned on, the same set is always used
                       for every channel in every frame, which leads to
                       generally lower quality but gives a significant speed
                       increase.

    [-pad #]      Start-of-stream padding
                       The AC-3 format uses an overlap/add cycle for encoding
                       each block.  By default, Aften pads the delay buffer
                       with a block of silence to avoid inaccurate encoding
                       of the first frame of audio.  If this behavior is not
                       wanted, it can be disabled.  The pad value can be a
                       1 (default) to use padding or 0 to not use padding.

    [-w #]         Bandwidth
                       The bandwidth setting corresponds to the high-frequency
                       cutoff.  Specifically, it sets the highest frequency bin
                       which is encoded.  The AC-3 format uses a 512-point MDCT
                       which gives 256 frequency levels from 0 to 1/2 of the
                       samplerate.  The formula to give the number of coded
                       frequency bins from bandwidth setting is:
                       (w * 3) + 73, which gives a range of 73 to 253
                       I hope to replace this setting with one where the user
                       specifies the actual cutoff frequency rather than the
                       bandwidth code.
                       There are 2 special values, -1 and -2.
                       When -1 is used, Aften automatically selects what
                       it thinks is an appropriate bandwidth.  This is the
                       default setting.
                       When -2 is used, a bandwidth is chosen for each frame
                       based on CBR frame size and a target quality of 240.
                       Variable bandwidth cannot be used with VBR mode.

    [-wmin #]      Minimum bandwidth
                       For variable bandwidth mode (-2), this option sets the
                       minimum value for the bandwidth code.  This allows the
                       user to avoid a harsh cutoff frequency by sacrificing
                       general audio quality.  The default value is 0.

    [-wmax #]      Maximum bandwidth
                       For variable bandwidth mode (-2), this option sets the
                       maximum value for the bandwidth code.  This can be used
                       to speed up encoding by using a lower value than 60,
                       which is the default.

    [-m #]         Stereo rematrixing
                       Using stereo rematrixing can increase quality by
                       removing redundant information between the left and
                       right channels.  This technique is common in audio
                       encoding, and is sometimes called mid/side encoding.
                       When this setting is turned on, Aften adaptively turns
                       rematrixing on or off for each of 4 frequency bands for
                       each block.  When this setting is turned off,
                       rematrixing is not used for any blocks. The default
                       value is 1.

    [-s #]         Block switching
                       The AC-3 format allows for 2 different types of MDCT
                       transformations to translate from time-domain to
                       frequency-domain.  The default is a 512-point transform,
                       which gives better frequency resolution.  There is also
                       a 256-point transform, which gives better time
                       resolution.  The specification gives a suggested method
                       for determining when to use the 256-point transform.
                       When block switching is turned on, Aften uses the spec
                       method for selecting the 256-point MDCT.  When it is
                       turned off, only the 512-point MDCT is used, which is
                       faster.  Block switching is turned off by default.

BITSTREAM INFO METADATA

    [-cmix #]      Center mix level
                       When three front channels are in use, this code
                       indicates the nominal down mix level of the center
                       channel with respect to the left and right channels.
                       0 = -3.0 dB (default)
                       1 = -4.5 dB
                       2 = -6.0 dB

    [-smix #]      Surround mix level
                       If surround channels are in use, this code indicates
                       the nominal down mix level of the surround channels.
                       0 = -3 dB (default)
                       1 = -6 dB
                       2 = 0

    [-dsur #]      Dolby Surround mode
                       When operating in the two channel mode, this code
                       indicates whether or not the program has been encoded in
                       Dolby Surround.  This information is not used by the
                       AC-3 decoder, but may be used by other portions of the
                       audio reproduction equipment.
                       0 = not indicated (default)
                       1 = not Dolby surround encoded
                       2 = Dolby surround encoded

DYNAMIC RANGE COMPRESSION AND DIALOG NORMALIZATION

    [-dynrng #]    Dynamic Range Compression profile
                       Dynamic Range Compression allows for the final output
                       dynamic range to be limited without sacrificing quality.
                       The full dynamic range audio is still encoded, but a
                       code is given for each block which tells the decoder to
                       adjust the output volume for that block.  The encoder
                       must analyze the input audio to determine the best way
                       to compress the dynamic range based on the loudness and
                       type of input (film, music, speech).
                       0 = Film Light
                       1 = Film Standard
                       2 = Music Light
                       3 = Music Standard
                       4 = Speech
                       5 = None (default)

    [-dnorm #]     Dialog normalization [0 - 31] (default: 31)
                       The dialog normalization value sets the average dialog
                       level.  The value is typically constant for a particular
                       audio program.  The decoder has a target output dialog
                       level of -31dB, so if the dialog level is specified as
                       being -31dB already (default), the output volume is not
                       altered.  Otherwise, the overall output volume is
                       decreased so that the dialog level is adjusted down to
                       -31dB.

INPUT OPTIONS

    By default, information about the input file, such as the channel
    configuration and data size, is determined by the input file wav header.
    However, the basic WAVE format is limited in that it can only support
    up to 4 GB of data and cannot specify all channel layouts possible in the
    AC-3 format.  The acmod and lfe options allow the user to explicitly
    select the desired channel layout.  This only controls the interpretation
    of the input, so no downmixing or upmixing is done.  The readtoeof option
    overrides the header and lets the user specify that Aften should keep
    reading data until the end-of-file.

    [-acmod #]     Audio coding mode (overrides wav header)
                       0 = 1+1 (Ch1,Ch2)
                       1 = 1/0 (C)
                       2 = 2/0 (L,R)
                       3 = 3/0 (L,R,C)
                       4 = 2/1 (L,R,S)
                       5 = 3/1 (L,R,C,S)
                       6 = 2/2 (L,R,SL,SR)
                       7 = 3/2 (L,R,C,SL,SR)

    [-lfe #]       Specify use of LFE channel (overrides wav header)
                       0 = LFE channel is not present
                       1 = LFE channel is present

    [-raw_fmt X]   Raw audio input sample format (default: s16_le)
                       This options specifies the sample format when using
                       raw audio input.  Using this option forces Aften to
                       treat the input as raw audio.  The choices for the
                       pre-defined sample formats are:
                       u8, s16_le, s16_be, s20_le, s20_be, s24_le, s24_be,
                       s32_le, s32_be, float_le, float_be, double_le, double_be

    [-raw_sr #]    Raw audio input sample rate (default: 48000)
                       Using this option forces Aften to treat the input as
                       raw audio.

    [-raw_ch #]    Raw audio input channels (default: 2)
                       Using this option forces Aften to treat the input as
                       raw audio.

    [-chmap #]     Channel mapping order of input audio
                       Some programs create WAVE files which use a channel
                       mapping other than the standard WAVE mapping.  This
                       option allows the user to specify if the input file
                       uses WAVE, AC-3, or MPEG channel mapping.  The MPEG
                       channel mapping is used by DTS and by MPEG-2/4 formats
                       such as MP2 and AAC.
                       0 = WAVE mapping (default)
                       1 = AC-3 mapping
                       2 = MPEG mapping

    [-readtoeof #] Read input WAVE audio data until the end-of-file.
                       This overrides the data size in the WAVE header, and
                       can be useful for streaming input or files larger than
                       4 GB.
                       0 = use data size in header (default)
                       1 = read data until end-of-file

INPUT FILTERS

    [-bwfilter #]  Specify use of the bandwidth low-pass filter
                       The bandwidth low-pass filter pre-filters the input
                       audio before converting to frequency-domain.  This
                       smooths the cutoff frequency transition for slightly
                       better quality.
                       0 = do not apply filter (default)
                       1 = apply filter

    [-dcfilter #]  Specify use of the DC high-pass filter
                       The DC high-pass filter is listed as optional by the
                       AC-3 specification.  The implementation, as suggested,
                       is a single pole filter at 3 Hz.
                       0 = do not apply filter (default)
                       1 = apply filter

    [-lfefilter #] Specify use of the LFE low-pass filter
                       The LFE low-pass filter is recommended by the AC-3
                       specification.  The cutoff is 120 Hz.  The specification
                       recommends an 8th order elliptic filter, but instead,
                       Aften uses a Butterworth 2nd order cascaded direct
                       form II filter.
                       0 = do not apply filter (default)
                       1 = apply filter

ALTERNATE BIT STREAM SYNTAX

    The alternate bit stream syntax allows for encoding additional metadata by
    adding 1 or 2 extended bitstream info sections to each frame.

    [-xbsi1 #]     Specify use of extended bitstream info 1
                       Extended bitstream info 1 contains the dmixmod,
                       ltrtcmix, ltrtsmix, lorocmix, and lorosmix fields.  If
                       this option is turned on, all these values are written
                       to the output stream.
                       0 = do not write xbsi1
                       1 = write xbsi1

    [-dmixmod #]   Preferred stereo downmix mode
                       This code indicates the type of stereo downmix preferred
                       by the mastering engineer, and can be optionally used,
                       overridden, or ignored by the decoder.
                       0 = not indicated (default)
                       1 = Lt/Rt downmix preferred
                       2 = Lo/Ro downmix preferred

    The 4 mix level options below all use the same code table:
                       0 = +3.0 dB
                       1 = +1.5 dB
                       2 =  0.0 dB
                       3 = -1.5 dB
                       4 = -3.0 dB (default)
                       5 = -4.5 dB
                       6 = -6.0 dB
                       7 = -inf dB

    [-ltrtcmix #]  Lt/Rt center mix level
                       This code indicates the nominal down mix level of the
                       center channel with respect to the left and right
                       channels in an Lt/Rt downmix.

    [-ltrtsmix #]  Lt/Rt surround mix level
                       This code indicates the nominal down mix level of the
                       surround channels with respect to the left and right
                       channels in an Lt/Rt downmix.

    [-lorocmix #]  Lo/Ro center mix level
                       This code indicates the nominal down mix level of the
                       center channel with respect to the left and right
                       channels in an Lo/Ro downmix.

    [-lorosmix #]  Lo/Ro surround mix level
                       This code indicates the nominal down mix level of the
                       surround channels with respect to the left and right
                       channels in an Lo/Ro downmix.

    [-xbsi2 #]     Specify use of extended bitstream info 2
                       Extended bitstream info 2 contains the dsurexmod,
                       dheadphon, and adconvtyp fields.  If this option is
                       turned on, all these values are written to the output
                       stream.  These options are not used by the AC-3 decoder,
                       but may be used by other portions of the audio
                       reproduction equipment.
                       0 = do not write xbsi2
                       1 = write xbsi2

    [-dsurexmod #] Dolby Surround EX mode
                       This code indicates whether or not the program has been
                       encoded in Dolby Surround EX.
                       0 = not indicated (default)
                       1 = Not Dolby Surround EX encoded
                       2 = Dolby Surround EX encoded

    [-dheadphon #] Dolby Headphone mode
                       This code indicates whether or not the program has been
                       Dolby Headphone-encoded.
                       0 = not indicated (default)
                       1 = Not Dolby Headphone encoded
                       2 = Dolby Headphone encoded

    [-adconvtyp #] A/D converter type
                       This code indicates the type of A/D converter technology
                       used to capture the PCM audio.
                       0 = Standard (default)
                       1 = HDCD