README

Moodbar package
---------------

The moodbar package should be installed in the same prefix as
gstreamer -- please see the INSTALL file for instructions on how to
configure the moodbar package correctly.

The Moodbar is an algorithm for creating a colorful visual
representation of the contents of an audio file, giving an idea of its
"mood" (this is a rather fanciful term for the simple analysis it
actually does).  The Moodbar was invented by Gavin Wood and Simon
O'Keefe for inclusion in the Amarok music player.

This package contains a GStreamer plugin with elements that are used
in the moodbar analysis, and an application that actually does the
analysis.

The plugin contains elements for performing forward and reverse
Fourier transforms to an audio signal, and a couple of example
analysis elements.  The included elements are:

  fftwspectrum:   Convert a raw audio stream into a frequency spectrum
  fftwunspectrum: Convert a frequency spectrum stream into a raw audio stream
  spectrumeq:     Scale amplitudes of bands of a spectrum
  moodbar:        Toy analysis plugin based on Gav Wood's Exscalibar

The application is called moodbar.  Its syntax is:

    moodbar -o [outfile] [infile]

where [outfile] will contain the moodbar data, and [infile] is an audio
file that gstreamer can decode.