HMplayer
========

Version 1.05

Overview
--------

HMplayer is a Windows audio player with an editable playlist, metadata and
embedded album art display, monitoring tools, and Icecast streaming support.

System Requirements
-------------------

- Windows 11
- Windows N editions may require the Microsoft Media Feature Pack.

Supported Audio Formats
-----------------------

- MP3
- FLAC
- M4A (AAC / ALAC)
- WMA
- WAV

Audio format support uses Windows Media Foundation.

WAV support covers audio formats that Windows Media Foundation can decode.

Playlist Format
---------------

- M3U8

Legacy M3U files are not directly supported.

Main Features
-------------

- Playback, pause, stop, seek, and volume controls
- Editable playlist and drag-and-drop file addition
- Tag metadata display
- Embedded album art display
- Monitor Window
- Level Meter
- English and Japanese user interface
- Estimated playlist end time during playback
- Tracks that cannot be played are shown using the file name, with the
  duration hidden.
- If a track becomes playable again, its normal playlist display is restored
  after successful playback.
- Track Information view for inspecting playlist paths, stored metadata, and
  M3U8 EXTINF information, including tracks whose source files are no longer
  available.

The end-time estimate uses durations stored in the playlist and does not
verify that every audio file still exists.

Adding Tracks to the Playlist
-----------------------------

Supported audio files can be added using:

- File drag and drop, including multiple files
- Folder drag and drop
- File > Add Files... for selecting multiple files
- File > Add Folder... for selecting one folder

Dropping a folder adds supported audio files directly inside that folder.
Subfolders are not searched. Files and folders can be dropped together.

Add Folder includes an `Include subfolders` option. It is enabled by default;
turn it off to add files only from the selected folder itself.

These operations accept MP3, FLAC, M4A, WAV, and WMA files.

Streaming
---------

HMplayer can send MP3 audio streams to an existing Icecast2 server. HMplayer
is an Icecast source client; an Icecast server is not included.

- MP3 streaming at 44100 Hz, stereo, with configurable bitrate
- Up to 3 simultaneous streaming connections
- Streaming metadata and configurable metadata delay
- UTF-8 and Shift_JIS metadata encoding
- Streaming Gain independent of speaker playback volume
- Transfer Rate monitoring

Streaming connections are not started automatically when HMplayer launches.
For detailed streaming setup and operation, see the Online Manual.

Installation
------------

Extract the ZIP archive to a folder and run hmplayer.exe. Keep the included
DLL files in the same folder as hmplayer.exe, and keep the resources folder
in its original location. No separate DLL download is required.

Album Art Placeholder
---------------------

When a track has no embedded album art, HMplayer uses:

resources/blank.png

You can replace this file with another valid PNG image. A 400 x 400 pixel PNG
is recommended, but other PNG dimensions are supported. If the file cannot be
loaded, the Album Art window uses a black background.

Settings
--------

Application settings and window state are stored under:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\HMplayer

Streaming server passwords are stored in plaintext in the local settings
file. Protect your Windows user account and settings files accordingly.

Online Manual
-------------

https://applications-7m9.pages.dev/hmplayer/manual

License
-------

HMplayer is licensed under the MIT License.

License information is provided in:

- LICENSE.txt
- THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.txt
- THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES/

Notes
-----

Detailed player and streaming instructions are maintained in the Online
Manual rather than this introductory README.
