Does it make sense to use lossy compression at all?
Let’s try to outline the limits of mp3 usage. As long as the sound quality does not have to be exactly the same as the original, and where serious processing of stored data is probably not required in the future, the use of mp3 (or other lossy compression format) is perfectly acceptable. . Not everyone wants to insert a new music disc into a CD drive every hour if the hard drive’s capacity is tens of gigabytes. It is much easier to burn mp3 music to a hard drive or CD-ROM and listen from there. Or use a portable mp3 player, MP3-CD player, car radio with mp3 support. Or you can just download mp3 from the internet to choose from.
In this subsection and subsequent ones, we will describe cases where the use of lossy compression is unacceptable and also try to find out why.
There is no point in creating audio data files for further processing (sample libraries, music libraries, etc.) in mp3. This also applies to MiniDisk (which also uses lossy compression) and other formats – many types of digital processing involve audible distortion. This rule is independent of the bit rate used. Speaking of more sound processing, I mean something more serious than just mixing or fade in / out, for example flange, distortion, dynamic compression, reverb, noise filtering and even the use of an equalizer … For example , you cannot store samples in mp3 (to store them use special lossless compression formats, for example sfArk). Since in the case of lossy encoding it is impossible to recover the data lost at the encoding stage, then in mp3, it is convenient to save only the final versions of sound recordings.
One more argument: do you know how to re-burn an audio disc converted to mp3 to an audio CD so there are no additional pauses or clicks between tracks? I do not know? Visit, say, www.r3mix.net. It’s still a hassle … If you want to say, “But I did it, everything is fine!” – Let’s get the job done: the music should move seamlessly from track to track, and a pause is considered not only an interval of 1-2 seconds, but also small segments of silence in units of tens of milliseconds. In theory, in this case, everything can be done perfectly together, but it may turn out that “the game is not worth it.”
What are the ways to store lossless audio?
I save my music library in wav files (in PCM format). You can also use CD-DA; It is characterized by better compatibility, but lower reading precision during playback. There are other options: regular archiving (ZIP, RAR) or special programs like WavPack, Monkey’s Audio, RK Audio, FLAC, LPAC Archiver, Shorten … However, working with archives compressed in this way is fraught with unpleasant surprises: wav ( PCM) is played by the vast majority of players, but exotic things like RKA … It is known about the existence of a plug-in for RKA under WinAmp, but WinAmp was not found as a wedge: there are people who are not used. Therefore, WinAmp alone is not yet supported (in a broad sense). What about other player programs? What about hardware players? What about MP3-CD players? I don’t know about you, but for me compatibility in the above sense is very important. And using just one encoder / player pair limits your freedom significantly. For example, in order for your friends to be able to listen to a file, you must convince them of the need to use a new player.
What considerations should be taken into account when choosing compression options?
In my opinion, two main compression modes can be distinguished: “maintaining an acceptable level of quality when reaching maximum compression” (for example, for publishing on the Web) and “completely subjective preserving the quality of the source material without the greatest compression “(for regular storing and listening) … It is worth noting that the threshold bit rates for both modes are individual. For me, it’s 128 and 256 kb / s, respectively. Of course, there are many options in between: there is a portable mp3 player with bottom headphones, which is sufficient for 160 kb / s; the car has a radio recorder with mp3 support and better acoustics; here you need, say, 192 kb / s. Therefore, when choosing compression parameters, you must first determine the tasks for which mp3 files are created, and based on this, work out what ratio of sound quality to file size suits you. It should also be noted that the concept of sound quality can vary greatly from person to person.
