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Alcorn McBride MP3 Audio Machine User’s Manual • Rev H • April 2, 2004
The Required Format of Your File Names
File names are represented in simple DOS 8.3 format. – in other words, an eight
character name, a period, and then a three character extension The name is made up
of eight characters specifying the type (SND for sound file, PLY for Play List, CMD
for command), and the number of the file (5 digits from 00000 to 00511). The three
character extension is used to tell the MP3 Audio Machine the data format of the file.
The MP3 Audio Machine AM-3 supports MP3 files and WAV files which
contain 16-bit mono or stereo linear PCM data.
The 16-bit linear PCM format
provides higher quality audio playback than the MPEG format, but consumes about
ten times as much storage space per minute.
Any type of file may be
stored in the MP3 Audio
Machine, but only those
listed in the table may
be played.
Although any file name may be copied to the MP3 Audio Machine’s media, only
.MP3, .WAV, .SFD, .AMS, .LST, & .RND
files may be played back. This
allows archiving of ANY information on the drive: CAD drawings, spreadsheets,
documentation, etc. Some example file names:
Only firmware versions
MP040329 and earlier
support .SFD, .AMS,
and .RND file types.
File Name
Description
SND00020.WAV
Track number 20 Audio file
SND00000.MP3
Track number 0 Audio file
SND00003.AMS
Track number 3 Audio file
SND00200.SFD
Track number 200 Audio file
PLY00002.LST
Play List Number 2
PLY00001.RND
Random Play List Number 1
FIRMWARE.BIN
Used for flashcard updates of firmware
To avoid confusion,
don’t duplicate file
numbers.
File numbers are used to identify which file is to be played in response to Select File
serial commands or rear panel file selection parallel inputs. File numbers contained
on a drive should be unique, regardless of the file type. In other words, you
shouldn’t have PLY00002.LST and SND00002.WAV on the same drive. The two
files should have different numbers. If more than one file has the same number, the
first file found in the directory will be used.
Autoexec files are
invaluable in stand-
alone applications.
File 00000 is an autoexec file. A file numbered 00000 is automatically executed on
power up. For example, Play List PLY00000.LST will start as soon as the MP3
Audio Machine is turned on. If the loop input is strapped on, or if the Play List is
designed to repeat, playback will continue indefinitely.
