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Topic: Best format for high quality compressed audio (Read 5443 times) previous topic - next topic
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Best format for high quality compressed audio

Hi!

I was wondering what people's views on which is the best codec for high quality tunes..

MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WMA etc?

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #1 –
I'd vote for musepack ... once again
The name was Plex The Ripper, not Jack The Ripper

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #2 –
The answer depends on your application.  For a dedicated jukebox on a high quality playback system with a big hard drive lossless (ape or flac) would be fine.

Musepack is not supported by any portable.  Do you want a portable?

Like the iPod?  Then it has to be MP3 or AAC.  And so on....

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #3 –
Well, I make tunes and I would like to sell them from my site for a small fee..

I suppose I could offer up 256kbps MP3s as it's well supported and all that.

FLAC's nice but it still only cuts the size to half of the original wave.

Ogg Vorbis is probably my best bet up 'til now as it just sounds better at the same bitrate vs. MP3.

Hmm... dunno...

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #4 –
If you pretend to sell your music, then compatibility and hardware support are main concerns. Thus, MP3 is your best option.

LAME --preset standard might be the best choice regarding quality, size and support.
Just a thought...

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #5 –
According to the topic and not thinking of spread of codec and portability, I think priority list is:
1. MPC (also known as MusePack, MP+)
2. Ogg Vorbis GT3b1
3. AAC
4. MP3 (using LAME 3.90.3 APS)
5 WMA 
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #6 –
MPC far and away. However it lacks portable player support at this time. But other then that it is HANDS DOWN the best codec IMHO. You can go to the MPC forum and check out my thread for links and email addresses to companies to encourage them to add MPC support to their portable players!

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #7 –
Quote
and email addresses to companies to encourage them to add MPC support to their portable players!

As I know it is impossible due patent and license problems.
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #8 –
If the application is to publish your music mp3  using the Lame codec and alt preset standard compression (or alt preset extreme if you have the bandwith).  Most people can't tell such tracks from the original and mp3 is compatible with nearly everything.

Outside of this forum Musepac is almost unknown.

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #9 –
Quote
Quote
and email addresses to companies to encourage them to add MPC support to their portable players!

As I know it is impossible due patent and license problems.

And of course, the fact that AAC is being developed while MPC is not, and already has hardware support (and you can only count on more and more of it).

I think to sell music the best, most sensible and smart choice is to use plain-old (but good quality) MP3.
I'm the one in the picture, sitting on a giant cabbage in Mexico, circa 1978.
Reseñas de Rock en Español: www.estadogeneral.com

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #10 –
please mod please mod make a sticky telling people which format is the best lossless which one compressed etc ect adavantages disatvantages because this question gets asked every 2 weeks at least once.

mpc  is the way to go for me 

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #11 –
If you want listen to your music in 10 or 20 years too, choose a industry supported codec like AAC, MP3 or AC3

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #12 –
Quote
And of course, the fact that AAC is being developed while MPC is not, and already has hardware support (and you can only count on more and more of it).

But as I know there is no hardware support for HE AAC.
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #13 –
Quote
If you want listen to your music in 10 or 20 years too, choose a industry supported codec like AAC, MP3 or AC3

Industry supported? I don't think it matters.
Examples:
MP3 - Fraunhofer Institute developement. After reaching popularity FH didn't make any considerable work. Any not LAME users here? Huh?
MP3 PRO - no comments
WMA - it is for ever but... cursed
AAC - giving and giving a birth for HE AAC hardware support
There were also LQ and VQF. Now they are not.
Could you predict things being as they are now 2 years ago? As you can see any predictions are insecure.

And again:
1. If there is no need in compatability and portability the answer is MPC.
2. If you need compatability and portability today the answer is MP3 with LAME 3.90.3 APS
3. If you need compatability and portability in near future - I WOULD advise you to go with AAC HE or Ogg Vorbis GT3b1. But Ogg Vorbis has an advantage over AAC HE. It already has hardware support.
Ogg Vorbis for music and speech [q-2.0 - q6.0]
FLAC for recordings to be edited
Speex for speech

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #14 –
Maybe you may want to earn a reputation in quality, in this case pick Musepack, the only thing better is Lossless like flac/wavpack/etc.

There are people already purchasing songs in wma/aac and they transcode them to mp3 when they need to use a portable. Also you could find a hardware manufacturer willing to make an mpc player and you can offer your own player for your customers.

Hmm wait a minute, isn't there an oem chip in China capable of decoding mpc? There is a thread about it somewhere, hehehe contact those ppl

If you are worried about licensing fees for using audio compression technology, then i think ogg vorbis is the most safe.

And about being able to decode something in the future, only a fully documented (ie open) format can stand the test of time, especially when the software is open source, like the musepack decoders are. It is the propietary (closed) ones that will die.
She is waiting in the air

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #15 –
Quote
please mod please mod make a sticky telling people which format is the best lossless which one compressed etc ect adavantages disatvantages because this question gets asked every 2 weeks at least once.


I 100% agry with you.

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #16 –
probably your best bet would be to offer multiple formats/bitrates, depending on the amount of web space you got of course, one way would be:

1. low quality vorbis or/and he acc (around 45 kbps) preview

then to buy:

2. high quality vorbis
or/and
hq mpc
or/and
hq mp3
or/and
hq aac
or/and
...

3. uncompressed
flac (charge extra? - for bandwidth  )
PANIC: CPU 1: Cache Error (unrecoverable - dcache data) Eframe = 0x90000000208cf3b8
NOTICE - cpu 0 didn't dump TLB, may be hung

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #17 –
Though I do use and like MPC, I'd drop it if I were you as it isn't exactly the best format for distribution, and maybe go with aps/ape/api Lame mp3.. It might not be the best quality but hey, who doesn't have mp3 player software?

If you really do intend to offer very good quality then you might want to consider providing both mp3 and mpc files and allow the user to choose one or maybe download both if bandwith is not a problem



edit: rephrasing

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #18 –
If it's best as in best sounding, then MPC.
If it's best hardware support, perhaps MP3 or WMA.
 

Best format for high quality compressed audio

Reply #19 –
Quote
Quote
And of course, the fact that AAC is being developed while MPC is not, and already has hardware support (and you can only count on more and more of it).

But as I know there is no hardware support for HE AAC.

But in this case we are talking about good quality and that means AAC-LC and HW support.