reflac (for Windows) README 

These batch files are for converting old flac files (pre-1.1.3)
to more compressed (smaller) flac files, using flac1.1.3.  It
re-encodes the files into the same directory, transferring all 
metadata tags to the new files as well.  The code is based on code 
originally posted by 'Synthetic Soul' on hydrogenaudio.org, and on
maximum compression settings posted by 'JWolf' on the same forum.
I made only minor alterations, i.e., adding @ECHO OFF and swapping in 
flac settings.


*****!CAUTION!*****
Both scripts will OVERWRITE the original files UNLESS you
delete the --force option from the .bat file (use a text editor 
for this). If you edit the .bat file make sure it is not saved as a text file 
(if using Windows Notepad, select 'All Files' as File Type, 
or simply use Control-S to save)
*****!CAUTION!*****


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Information: 

reflac_best uses these flac.exe settings:

--best -V --force


reflac_insane uses these flac.exe settings (and is MUCH, MUCH slower):

-8 -A tukey(0.25) -A gauss(0.1875) -b 4096 -V --force



As a test case, a re-encode of Bjork's 'Homogenic' CD yielded these
compression results, as measured by Windows Properties (Win XP Pro, NTFS filesystem) 

(size)(% of original size) (free space compared to original)(free space compared to flac1.1.0 -8):


original .wavs
(461,258,216 bytes) (100)   (0 Mb)

flac 1.1.0 (-8)
(308,537,323 bytes) (66.9%) (152.7 Mb) (0 Mb)

reflac_best
(307,439,199 bytes) (66.7%) (153.8 Mb) (1.1 Mb)

reflac_insane
(307,129,792 bytes) (66.6%) (154.1 Mb) (1.4 Mb)


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Instructions:

1) Download and install flac1.1.3 if necessary. Make sure the path to flac.exe 
is C:\Program Files\FLAC\flac.exe. You can download a flac113 installer from 
http://flac.sourceforge.net/download.html

3) Download the .bat file(s) of interest:

www.m-ideas.com/sullivan/flac/reflac_best.bat

www.m-ideas.com/sullivan/flac/reflac_insane.bat

2) Drag and drop a flac-containing directory onto the .bat file icon. A terminal window should open automatically and the re-encode begins.  
The scripts will drill down into a directory tree to find the flac files, so you can drop a high-level directory (e.g., something you've created
to hold all your flac files on an external storage drive) onto the icon to re-encode flacs in multiple subdirectories.

NB: If using the --force option, the old files are OVERWRITTEN but do NOT show a new creation or modification date. 

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DISCLAIMER:
Use at your own risk! 
If you have questions, post them on this hydrogenaudio thread:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=50993