How can I get an mp3-encoder activation code?

Easy - get cwenc - it's free! Available at http://cwenc.sourceforge.net/

That's one of my biggest gripes with Cakewalk. Here I buy Steinberg's "Get it on CD" for a mere $19 and it includes a free MP3 encoder with al the bells and whistles. Yet I spend several hundred dollars on Sonar 3 Producer and I have to shell out more $ for their encoder! What's up with that?

Yo Jacko, is it safe to use this encoder with S3Pro, and is it legal? Thanks for the link though I like the free stuff for a change.

ORIGINAL: Anubis

Yo Jacko, is it safe to use this encoder with S3Pro, and is it legal? Thanks for the link though I like the free stuff for a change.

Totally safe to use with S3 Producer - lot's of people here use it. That's how I found out about it.
Why would it be illegal? You're not monkeying about with Sonar's code, just using another program to do what part of their code does. It'd be like using another sampler instead of VS3 or another plug in that does compression instead of the Sonitus effect provided.

Yo Jacko, is it safe to use this encoder with S3Pro, and is it legal?

Yes it is a) safe, and b) legal.

Re. a), then no bits have yet been reported harmed by the cwenc tool
Re. b), see the cwenc FAQ at http://cwenc.sourceforge.net/faq.html regarding MP3 license issues.

Cakewalk definitely has no problems with cwenc. A guy actually told me recently than Cakewalk support had e-mailed him a copy of cwenc, when he could not get his licensed copy of the original Cakewalk encoder to work.

Mikkel Elmholdt
(cwenc author)

Mikkel, thanks for making a great plug available to us.

CAKE provides a (free) Lame based encoder as part of their (much) cheaper Pyro and Mediaworks apps. (Maybe other apps as well, I don't know). Cakewalk's philosophy is that they provide the Fraunhofer encoder and charge a license fee for those users who want it, rather than adding the cost of this to SONAR for every user. I think this makes sense, especially since there are other options including using free standalone encoders, using the encoders provided in audio editors, and using mikkele's excellent CWENC app (LAME based).

I purchased the mp3 encoder from cakewalk years ago an now have a new daw does anyone know the nameof the program so I can find it?
 

jerry@macwood.com
I purchased the mp3 encoder from cakewalk years ago an now have a new daw does anyone know the nameof the program so I can find it?
 

Gerald -
 
The license for the encoder in the older versions, PA9 for example, are still good.  However, the little app doesn't work with the new SONAR versions.  If you send an email to support with the info for whatever previous version you bought that includes the encoder, they will hook you up with a new utility to get you going with the Cake encoder.