MP3 creators made CDs useless
Fraunhofer IIS, better known as the creators of the MP3 format, have invented a way to compress audio without data loss so that its quality is better than that of an audio CD, and the file size will allow you to exchange recordings over the Internet . The institute said in a press release that the new technology renders CD collections useless.
In fact, a new format called HD-AAC is based on the MPEG 4 SLS lossless compression mechanism and allows you to store a 24-bit audio recording at a sampling rate of 96 kilohertz. Audio CD stores 16-bit audio at a sample rate of 44.1 kilohertz.
Simply put, HD-AAC lets you listen to modern studio recordings, while the Audio CD makes them a bit worse. Music lovers are expected to convert their CDs to HD-AAC and then discard the CD.
Peaceful revolution
This is not to say that this is the first attempt for audiophiles to hear high-quality sound on a computer. There are other lossless audio compression formats. These are FLAC, which allows you to compress CD data by 30-50 percent, Monkey’s Audio, which is ahead of FLAC in this parameter, and several others. There are two reasons for the relatively low prevalence of these formats.
The first reason is the poor compatibility with portable devices. In many cases, to support FLAC or other formats, the consumer must upgrade the purchased player or mobile phone. Especially popular, for example, is the Rockbox project, which provides gamers with features that its creators have forgotten.
HD-AAC has partially circumvented this problem. Modern audio codecs are something like onions, consisting of several layers. The new format is no exception. One of its layers is AAC-LC recording, which is compatible with many cell phones and the super popular iPod (its market share exceeds 70 percent in the US).
It’s worth noting here that AAC is a lossy audio compression format. All “clippings” are placed on another layer. Therefore, although iPod owners will be able to listen to HD-AAC files without an update, they will still not be able to enjoy the promised high quality.
All the delights of HD-AAC can be listened to in a multimedia center that supports this format. However, they say that in the future, players and mobile phones will learn to support high-quality HD-AAC sound. It is very good for companies to inform the consumer that for the extra money, their audio collection will sound better.
The second reason for the low popularity of high-quality audio is the size of the resulting files. If a normal uncompressed audio CD has more than 600 megabytes of data, then the same CD in FLAC has more than 300 megabytes. At the same time, MP3 with a more or less acceptable quality is able to fit data from a CD in 100 megabytes.
Now, Apple marketers write that the iPod Touch player with 8 gigabytes of flash memory fits 1,750 songs. If FLAC were used instead of MP3 or AAC, the number would decrease several times.
German researchers also found a compromise here. Multiple lower quality files can be muted from one HD-AAC file. For example, a server might contain an archive file consisting of a basic AAC recording with a bit rate of 128 kilobits per second (one second of sound takes 16 kilobytes) and a supplementing “queue” before recording without loss. .
If ultra-high quality is not required, then the “tail” with a relatively fast connection can provide a bit rate of 384 kilobits per second (one second of sound is 48 kilobytes). And if you need to transfer sound over a slow connection, then the basic part is used for this: AAC.
The usual formats are deprived of these possibilities with rare exceptions.
Conjectures and assumptions
IIS in Fraunhofer IIS stands for Integrated Circuit Institute. So it doesn’t end with math, a couple of programs, and a dry press release. At the CES 2008 Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Fraunhofer offered software for personal computers and microprocessors and DACs from ARM, MIPS, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Intel, AMD and IBM.
The statement of the German inventors is suggestive. In late 2007, rumors and clues emerged that Apple would begin selling lossless compressed music through its online iTunes store within the next 12 months.
The HD-AAC announcement was the only thing missing from audiophiles to start buying music on iTunes. The year the rumors spoke of is long enough to add an HD-AAC set-top box to iTunes and update iPods.
And CDs alone cannot be updated
