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Non-MP3 Codecs?

Posted by Cliff on from the those-other-audio-codecs dept.

Vanth Dreadstar asks: "While MP3 is okay, I have begun researching other codecs that would be suitable for my home music use. Lossy codecs such as Ogg Vorbis, AAC, and MPC all seem to have promise, not to mention the lossless codecs such as Shorten (otherwise known as .SHN), LPAC, and FLAC. I would like to know what non-MP3 codecs people are using out there, and why."

7 of 544 comments (clear)

  1. Shorten rules by pyite69 · · Score: 0, Flamebait


    lossless compression is the only way to go.

  2. WMA 8 is the way by DamageBoy · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    * Much better than OGG and MP3
    * Picture perfect at 128 kbit/s
    * Supported by hardware (unlike ogg)
    * Next version (Corona) will sport 5.1 Dolby, 24 bit samples, 96khz sampling rate, better compression.
    * Existing hardware will update firmware to support Corona

  3. Re:Windows Media Format... by AA0 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    thats because microsoft pays them to say it sounds better.

  4. Yup, M$ wins this one... by DrBoom · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    No, really! Windows Media kicks the hell out of any other lossy encoding format this side of ATRAC (Sony's MiniDisc codec). 128Kb/s WMA *smokes* MP3's encoded under 200Kb/s. Score one for the Evil Empire.

    --
    --------------- Murphy was an otpimist.
  5. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  6. Re:Abuse of the word lossy. by shinji1911 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    The formats are called lossy because given a compressed file, you cannot perfectly reconstruct the original data file. This applies to both #4, and #5.

    I am relieved to know that you are totally deaf, and thus cannot hear the difference between a badly encoded mp3, and a SACD. If you wish to remedy this problem, you might want to consider getting new batteries for your hearing aid.

    For the rest of us using high-caliber playback systems (clue: this means NOT Bose, NOT Panasonic, NOT Sony, NOT Yamaha, NOT Klipsch), and actually have some sense of hearing, the difference between those so-called lossy files and the original is night and day.

    (clue #2: high-caliber DOES mean:

    Mark Levinson

    Krell

    Plinius

    Nelson Pass

    Manley

    Sonic Frontiers

    Dynaudio

    Sonus Faber

    Avantgarde

    Rockport

    Siltech

    Nordost

    Goldmund

    FMS

    47 Labs

    Catching the drift yet?

  7. Re:There's no integer decoder? - Ahem! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Read the source Luke! - The reference source code _is_ readily adapted to fixed point. One company has done so already.

    I will leave it up to the reader to search the mailing list at xiph.org to find the (recent) thread regarding EXISTING fixed point code.