CW-AC3 1.0.1.0
Cole Williams AC-3 Audio Encoder
Cole Williams Software Limited

OVERVIEW
========

CW-AC3 is a Windows command-line AC-3 audio encoder for stereo and multichannel
audio.

Version 1.0.1.0 is the final release from the frozen 0.18.x codec baseline,
including the validated fast-MDCT performance path.

SUPPORTED OUTPUT
================

CW-AC3 produces standard 48 kHz AC-3 using constant-bitrate encoding.

Supported AC-3 bitrates:

  32, 40, 48, 56, 64, 80, 96, 112, 128, 160,
  192, 224, 256, 320, 384, 448, 512, 576 and 640 kbps

The default bitrate is 448 kbps.

To select a bitrate explicitly:

  cw-ac3.exe input.wav output.ac3 --bitrate 448

SUPPORTED INPUT
===============

Input formats:

  - WAV
  - RF64
  - FLAC when the matching runtime libFLAC.dll is supplied

Supported input sample rates:

  - 44.1 kHz
  - 48 kHz
  - 88.2 kHz
  - 96 kHz
  - 176.4 kHz
  - 192 kHz

Input audio is converted as required for standard 48 kHz AC-3 output.

CHANNEL SUPPORT
===============

CW-AC3 supports stereo and multichannel source material.

Multichannel processing includes 7.1 to 5.1 rear folding.

MATRIX SURROUND
===============

CW-AC3 includes matrix-stereo processing with shared per-sample steering.

The default rear delay is 20 ms. When matrix processing is enabled,
--rear-delay accepts values from 0 to 40 ms.

THX MODE
========

--thx enables the fixed 80 Hz Linkwitz-Riley fourth-order bass-management
preset.

PERFORMANCE
===========

The normal encoder uses the optimized fast FFT/DCT-IV MDCT implementation.

A dense reference MDCT implementation remains available for diagnostic and
validation use.

EXACT AUDIO COPY
================

CW-AC3 includes an --eac integration mode for Exact Audio Copy.

Standard CD-rate 44.1 kHz PCM is automatically converted to 48 kHz for AC-3
encoding.

See EAC.txt for the recommended EAC configuration.

WINDOWS BUILDS
==============

CW-AC3 is supplied in native 64-bit and 32-bit Windows builds.

PROJECT
=======

Product: CW-AC3
Version: 1.0.1.0
Release: Final
Company: Cole Williams Software Limited
