LRC (file format)
Encyclopedia
LRC is a computer file format
File format
A file format is a particular way that information is encoded for storage in a computer file.Since a disk drive, or indeed any computer storage, can store only bits, the computer must have some way of converting information to 0s and 1s and vice-versa. There are different kinds of formats for...

 that synchronizes song lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 with an audio file, such as MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...

, Vorbis
Vorbis
Vorbis is a free software / open source project headed by the Xiph.Org Foundation . The project produces an audio format specification and software implementation for lossy audio compression...

 or MIDI. When an audio file is played with certain music players on a computer or on modern digital audio players, the song lyrics are displayed. The lyrics file generally has the same name as the audio file, with a different filename extension. For example, song.mp3 and song.lrc. The LRC format is text-based and similar to subtitle
Subtitle (captioning)
Subtitles are textual versions of the dialog in films and television programs, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can either be a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or a written rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or without added...

 files.

Simple format

Simple LRC format was introduced by Kuo (Djohan) Shiang-shiang's Lyrics Displayer. It was one of the first programs, if not the first, that attempted to simulate Karaoke performance. It usually displays a whole line of lyrics, but it is possible to display a word at a time, such as one would see in modern Karaoke machines, by creating a time tag for each word rather than each line.

The Line Time Tags are in the format [mm:ss.xx] where mm is minutes, ss is seconds and xx is hundredths of a second.
  • Normal example:


[mm:ss.xx] lyrics line 1
[mm:ss.xx] lyrics line 2
...
[mm:ss.xx] last lyrics line

ID Tags may appear before the lyrics, although some players may not recognize or simply ignore this.

[al:Album where the song is from]

[ar:Lyrics artist]

[by:Creator of the LRC file]

[offset:+/- Overall timestamp adjustment in milliseconds, + shifts time up, - shifts down]

[re:The player or editor that creates LRC file]

[ti:Lyrics (song) title]

[ve:version of program]
  • Example with ID tags:


[ti:Let's Twist Again]
[ar:Chubby Checker oppure Beatles, The]
[au:Written by Kal Mann / Dave Appell, 1961]
[al:Hits Of The 60's - Vol. 2 – Oldies]

[00:12.00]Naku Penda Piya-Naku Taka Piya-Mpenziwe
[00:15.30]Some more lyrics ...
...

Simple format extended

Available only in Walaoke from Walasoft. The ability to change and specify the gender of the lyrics by using M: Male, F: Female, D: Duet.
  • Example:

[00:12.00]Line 1 lyrics
[00:17.20]F: Line 2 lyrics
[00:21.10]M: Line 3 lyrics
[00:24.00]Line 4 lyrics
[00:28.25]D: Line 5 lyrics
[00:29.02]Line 6 lyrics

Let's say we use blue for male, red for female and pink for Duet.
Line 1 using the default color (blue) when no tag is found.
Line 2 lyrics start with red when F: is found.
Line 3 lyrics start with blue when M: is found.
Line 4 lyrics stays blue when no tag is found.
Line 5 lyrics start with pink when D: is found.
Line 6 lyrics stays pink when no tag is found.

Enhanced format

Enhanced LRC format is an extension of Simple LRC Format developed by the designer of A2 Media Player. It adds an extra Word Time Tag in the format: .

Example of an Enhanced LRC file:

[mm:ss.xx] line 1 word 1 line 1 word 2 ... line 1 last word
[mm:ss.xx] line 2 word 1 line 2 word 2 ... line 2 last word
...
[mm:ss.xx] last line word 1 last line word 2 ... last line last word

Hardware

  • Meizu
    Meizu
    Meizu Technology Co., Ltd. is a Chinese electronics manufacturer. Meizu is the developer of the M6 Mini Player, the M3 Music Card, released in March 2007, and the M8 miniOne mobile phone, released February 2009...

    's M3 Music Card
    M3 Music Card
    The M3 Music Card from the Chinese company Meizu, is a Flash-based MP3 player that allows users to play MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC and OGG audio files. The player is also capable of video playback at 25FPS on its 1.5-inch screen. Also included is an FM tuner, voice recorder, calendar, stopwatch,...

     and M6 Mini Player
    M6 Mini Player
    The M6 miniPlayer, from Meizu, is a flash-based portable media player that plays audio files in MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, APE and Ogg and is also capable of AVI video playback on a 2.4-inch QVGA screen...

  • Creative Labs' MuVo V100
  • Archos 5, when LRC file found with the same name as the song
  • Rockbox
    Rockbox
    Rockbox is a replacement for the standard firmware in various forms of digital audio players . It offers an alternative to the player's operating system, in many cases without removing the original firmware, which provides a plug-in architecture for adding various enhancements and functions...

     compatible devices. See Manual entry
  • Nokia
    Nokia
    Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...

    's Symbian devices: "Music Player with lyrics available for selected software versions of Nokia 5800XM, X6 and 5230"
  • Riptunes MP3 Player MP1872
  • Cowon J3 since firmware 2.24
  • Sony
    Sony
    , commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....

     NWZ-E353/E354/E355/E463 Walkman

Software

  • Jatis Mobile Karaoke (Karaoke Player for BREW)
  • foobar2000
    Foobar2000
    foobar2000 is a freeware audio player for Windows developed by Peter Pawlowski, a former freelance contractor for Nullsoft. It is known for its highly modular design and extensive SDK which allows third-party developers to do such things as completely replace the interface...

     - with foo_uie_lyrics component
  • K-Multimedia Player
    K-Multimedia Player
    K-Multimedia Player is a media player software for Microsoft Windows which can play a large number of formats including VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/4, WMV, RealMedia, FLV and QuickTime...

  • Jack! The Knife
  • LrcShow-X (for Linux media players)
  • MiniLyrics
    MiniLyrics
    MiniLyrics, is a lyrics viewer and editor software written by Crintsoft LLC. The software comes in the form of a plugin for media players, with support for the most popular ones MiniLyrics, is a lyrics viewer and editor software written by Crintsoft LLC. The software comes in the form of a plugin...

     (for Windows & Android, own a large LRC database)
  • StepMania
    StepMania
    StepMania is an open source and cross-platform rhythm video game and engine. It was originally developed as a simulator of Konami's arcade game series Dance Dance Revolution, and has since evolved into an extensible rhythm game engine capable of supporting a wide variety of rhythm-based game types...

  • XBMC/Boxee
    BOXEE
    Boxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...

  • OSD Lyrics (for Linux media players)

See also

  • Karaoke
    Karaoke
    is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...

     and *.kar files.
  • CD+G
    CD+G
    CD+G is an extension of the compact disc standard that can present low-resolution graphics alongside the audio data on the disc when played on a compatible device...


External links

LRC Generators

Lyrics Server Database
  • Portal LRC, a Brazilian lyrics web site with over 3000 LRC's
  • Lyricsfly API, database of lyrics with REST XML API access
  • Tutorial - Creating lyrics using LRC Editor
  • Lrceditor-Amarok, a GNU/Linux lrc editor against Amarok
  • Amalyp II, a plug-in for Amarok 2 for playback of LRC files and allows to create your own


Download LRC Files
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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