NEW - chromeTone free iPhone ringtone maker for Windows

[chromecast]

Hey all, I whipped together a quick little app to create iPhone compatible ringtones from existing MP3's. Its still under development, but here is the download site if anyone wants to try it out. Please make sure you meet the requirements first to ensure it will run successfully.

Currently there is no real documentation, but its pretty simple to use:

select a song in iTunes and click the encode button in chromeTone to create the ringtone. There are some other options including setting the output directory (should be done first) by clicking the options button. If you have iTunes automatically import music when played, you can also check the option for chromeTone to play it as soon as its done converting.

requirements:
-Windows Vista or XP
-dotnet 2.0 framework
-iTunes 7.7 (program will fail if no iTunes found)

download page:
Please see jamesus' post below for the download link, or,
chromecast[dot]com[slash]content[slash]software[slash]chromeTone[dot]html
(iLounge wont let me use url's or images since I'm a new user, sorry folks)


license:
free to use. registration based on the honor system... beta expires oct 30...

bugs:
I have only tested chromeTone on my machine running Windows Vista and iTunes 7.7. Please let me know if there are any problems getting it to work. thanks!

[chromecast]

reserved for later use

[jamesus]

Looks promising. Will download and test once I get home tonight.

EDIT:PS...here is the link for those who don't feel like typing the above URL. ;)

http://chromecast.com/content/software/chromeTone.html

[chromecast]

thanks for posting the URL, you rock!

QUICK UPDATE:

version 1.01 is complete and on my site for download. all users of 1.00 should install 1.01 as it fixes a few issues.
see jamesus post above for download link

IMPORTANT:
Ensure that the output folder is selected first before doing anything.
The output folder can be changed by clicking Options to reveal the rest of the window.

[chromecast]

-chromeTone 1.01 is out now. fixes a few issues.
-New thread on Howard forums, Apple iPhone section. iLounge is too restrictive and I cant edit my old posts.

--


A few have emailed me and mentioned that its a bit confusing, here is a quick start guide for first time users:

1. For the first time running chromeTone, click the 'show Options' button and immediately choose an output directory (desktop is fine). It should remember this directory for the next time you run chromeTone.

2. Select a song in your iTunes library (sorry, it must be an mp3 for this version)

3. Adjust the start time of the song by typing in a decimal value or use the up/down arrows. the start value should allow you to specify in seconds where the ringtone will begin. so if you used a start of '6' and a length of '40', it should use 0:06 - 0:46 of your original song for the ringtone.... its a decimal number, so try values like 6.0, 15.567 or 12.3 etc.

4. click the encode button in chromeTone. After a few seconds, chromeTone should have created the ringtone and you are ready to import it.

5. Import the ringtone into iTunes by dragging the song into your library or if you have iTunes automatically import music when played, you can also check the option for chromeTone to open it for you, and as long as the .m4r extension is accociated with iTunes, it should import it and begin to play.

[Anachronism]

Here is the Howard forums thread - http://www.howardforums.com/printthread.php?t=1417015

Does this program basically automate the manual process of shortening a file and renaming it to .m4r? If apple 'fixes' the ability to create your own ringtones in an iTunes update will this program stop working?

It is definitely a great idea but I get lots of errors, mostly 'this file is in use'. I also sometimes get ringtones that are completely silent or play for a few seconds then become silent. Also the default window size does not allow me to see all the buttons, I cannot resize the windows by dragging the edges so my only option is to expand the window to full screen. I am using windows XP.

Interestingly if I trim the file down first (using start and stop time in the options, then right clicking and selecting 'convert to mp3') chrometone seems to work all the time. Of course this defeats about half the reason for using chrometone.