In the late 1980s, MPEG (“Moving Image Expert Group”) joined the “International Organization for Standardization” (ISO), or “International Organization for Standardization”. Its function is to develop compression standards for audio and video. In the last year of the decade, Karlheinz Brandenburg presented the OCF algorithm (“Optimal coding in the frequency domain”) in his doctoral thesis. OCF already has several features of what would become MP3.

1990s: The key year of that decade is 1991, as this is the date the OCF algorithm is perfected, resulting in an extremely powerful codec, called ASPEC (“A Dptive Spectral Perceptual Entropy Coding”), with contributions from the University of Hannover, AT&T and Thomson, who had already proposed in 1989 that ASPEG be adopted by MPEG as the coding standard.

Understand the algorithm as a script capable of performing a certain task or, to put it simply, how it would explain to a tourist how to get to the nearest shopping center.
After receiving numerous different proposals, including the one from ASPEC, and another one called MUSICAM, MPEG performs several format tests and suggests the creation of a family of coding schemes, which we could define as “the three layers”, based on codecs ASPEC and MUSICAM. They are: Layer 1, which is a variation of MUSICAM, but of low complexity; Layer 2, which is an improved version of MUSICAM; and Layer 3, completely based on ASPEC.

Because Layer 2 has low complexity, DAB (“Digital Audio Broadcasting” or “Digital Audio Broadcasting”) chooses it as the standard for streaming digital music. Layer 3, on the other hand, due to its great complexity and, therefore, greater efficiency in encoding and compression, is the format of choice for audio transmission over ISDN (“Digital Service Network”) lines. Integrated “or” Integrated Services Digital Network “).

Keep in mind that at this point no one has dreamed of using Layer 3 to distribute digital music to end users. In fact, end users were happy and content, very busy filling the shelf (and emptying their pockets) with the super-revolutionary newcomer CDs.
After some tweaking and adding improvements to the ASPEC codec, the new format was almost ready to be officially standardized. In December 1991, the technical development of the MPEG-1 standard was completed, and Layer 3 enables music encoding with a quality almost identical to that of CD. MP3 was born, but still without the name we know today.

The pioneers had no idea that in 2009 it would be possible for end users to standardize songs to their liking.

In 1992, MPEG completed the first compression standard, MPEG-1, with the three-tier family. As layer 3 is the most efficient. Subsequently, the music in the format would begin to populate the very limited hard drives of the time, transferring over the Internet through the miraculous 28.8 kbps modems. The format explosion had begun, and its creators had no idea of ​​the repercussions the technology would have.

Still, in 1995 alone, the name MP3 was unanimously suggested, voted, and approved. Files encoded in MPEG-1 Layer 3 must have the extension “.mp3”. Until now, the codec was only managed by its developers, but in 1995, it was released for the PC platform and distributed as shareware.

In the late 1990s, MP3 would hit the home user’s home, like a tsunami of compressed music. Hundreds of people now had their eyes sparkling as they could listen to their favorite songs without having to change CDs multiple times. The Internet kept pace with the growth and further facilitated the dissemination of MP3 information.

In 1998 Diamond Multimedia surprises the world with the launch of the Rio 100 in the United States (remember?). Being able to upload your music downloaded from the Internet or ripped from CD was not yet cheap, but it was becoming part of the wish lists of music lovers around the world. The hunting season was opened by the MP3 player. Everyone wanted to have one. Everyone wanted to be able to download songs and take them with them, listen to them in the car, on the bus, in short, anywhere.