qddbconv1

Usage

Overview

qddbconv is a fast, standalone C++17/Qt6 graphical audio converter designed for KDE Plasma. It reproduces the two-pane layout, workflow, encoder preset architecture, and Title Formatting syntax of DeaDBeeF's converter plugin while operating as a completely independent desktop application.

Under the hood, qddbconv uses ffmpeg(1) and ffprobe(1) for universal audio decoding, resampling, sample format conversion, channel mixing, and metadata/cover-art muxing, combined with native C++17 parsers for multi-track .cue sheets, Standard MIDI (.mid/.midi/.kar/.rmi), and Yamaha SMAF (.mmf) mobile ringtones (including hybrid MIDI + 4-bit Yamaha MA ADPCM / PCM voice streams).

Arguments

FILES

One or more audio, MIDI, or Yamaha SMAF files to load into the conversion queue on startup.

DIRECTORIES

One or more directories to scan recursively for supported audio files.

CUE_SHEETS

One or more .cue sheet files to parse and split into individual virtual tracks with per-track start/duration offsets and metadata.

Supported formats

Automatic encoder & decoder fallback

Different operating systems and FFmpeg builds ship with different sets of external CLI tools and compile-time library wrappers. qddbconv automatically inspects and adapts to the available tools at runtime:

Encoder Fallback Chain (CLI binary → FFmpeg library encoder → FFmpeg built-in encoder)

When a preset specifies a standalone CLI encoder binary (lame, oggenc, opusenc, flac, wavpack, faac, fdkaac, neroaacenc, ttaenc, twolame, aften) that is not installed in PATH, qddbconv automatically falls back to ffmpeg with equivalent bitrate/quality parameters. First it prefers an external FFmpeg library encoder (libmp3lame, libvorbis, libopus, libfdk_aac, libtwolame, libwavpack); if the active ffmpeg build lacks that library, it falls back to FFmpeg's built-in native encoder (aac, opus, vorbis, flac, wavpack, tta, mp2, ac3). Hovering over any preset in the Encoder: dropdown displays how that preset will execute on the current system (direct CLI binary, FFmpeg library encoder, FFmpeg built-in encoder, or fallback).

Demoscene & Chiptune Decoder Fallback

When the active ffmpeg binary was compiled without --enable-libopenmpt or --enable-libgme, qddbconv automatically falls back to openmpt123/xmp for tracker modules (.mod, .xm, .it, .s3m, .mptm, etc.) and to gme2wav for console chiptunes (.spc, .vgm, .vgz, .nsf, .gbs, .hes, .ay, .sap, .kss).

MIDI & Yamaha SMAF Synthesis Engines & SoundFont Selection

For Yamaha SMAF (.mmf) files, qddbconv provides three selectable synthesis engines (plus Auto mode) configurable in Settings → Configure qddbconv...: (1) the Built-in Hybrid Engine (builtin), which synthesizes 2-op and 4-op FM voices, custom Mtsu/Mtsq/EXVO SysEx FM patches, and direct 43 02|03 90 hardware register notes natively in C++ (YamahaMaFmSynth with 29 waveforms and embedded 2-op/4-op GM FM preset banks), synthesizes MA-3/MA-5 WaveTable tracks via fluidsynth or timidity, and mixes embedded 4-bit Yamaha ADPCM / PCM (Mwa*/Awa*) streams into 44.1 kHz stereo PCM; (2) MIDI Synth + ADPCM (midisynth), which renders all score tracks via fluidsynth or timidity and mixes embedded 4-bit Yamaha ADPCM / PCM (Mwa*/Awa*) streams on top; and (3) an optional Native 32-bit DLL Loader (dll, qddbconv-smaf32), which loads 32-bit M5_EmuSmw5.dll and M5_EmuHw.dll directly into a 32-bit helper process (natively on Linux x86_64 without Wine, and on 64-bit Windows) when a directory containing those DLLs is configured. For Standard MIDI (.mid, .kar, .rmi) and SMAF WaveTable tracks, Auto mode tries fluidsynth first (requiring a valid .sf2/.sf3 SoundFont) and falls back to timidity. You can configure the preferred MIDI synthesizer, custom fluidsynth and timidity binary paths, and an optional custom .sf2 SoundFont file (passed to fluidsynth and loaded into timidity -c with prior bank/drumset mappings cleared).

Title formatting

The Output file name field supports DeaDBeeF-compatible Title Formatting placeholders and conditional brackets:

%a, %artist%

Track artist.

%t, %title%

Track title.

%b, %album%

Album title.

%B, %band%, %album artist%

Album artist.

%n, %tracknumber%

Zero-padded 2-digit track number (e.g. 01).

%N, %totaltracks%

Total track count.

%y, %year%, %date%

Release year / date.

%g, %genre%

Genre.

%c, %comment%

Comment tag.

%f, %filename%

Original file base name without extension.

[ ... ]

Conditional block: evaluated and included in the output filename only if at least one placeholder inside the brackets resolves to a non-empty string (for example, [%tracknumber%. ]%title%).

Keyboard shortcuts

Ctrl+O

Add audio files.

Ctrl+Shift+O

Add folder recursively.

Ctrl+U

Add CUE sheet (.cue).

Ctrl+E / Double-click

Open the Track Metadata & Properties dialog (tags, technical info, cover art preview/override).

F2

Edit cell inline in the track table (Track#, Title, Artist, Album, Year).

Delete / Backspace

Remove selected tracks from the queue.

Ctrl+Shift+Delete

Clear the entire track queue.

Ctrl+P

Open the Encoder Presets manager.

Ctrl+M

Toggle the top menubar on/off (collapses into a Dolphin-style hamburger menu button ~ on the toolbar).

Ctrl+Return / Ctrl+Enter

Start conversion.

Escape

Cancel active conversion.

Ctrl+,

Open Preferences dialog.

Ctrl+Q

Quit application.

Files