From: RJ Kirkland <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, January 14, 2000 7:21 PM
Subject: RE: MD: ATRAC-R and Laser Colors
>
> ATRAC can never surpass CD quality since it stores less information than
> CD-DA. For the same reasons, equal quality is also theoretically
> impossible, and practically impossible without increasing the bit stream
> allowed (24-bits/sample I believe).
>
The quality of the sound *could* be increased with ATRAC to surpass CD
quality. It is possible to store the same information by simply not storing
what you don't need. Take this message you are reading for example. You can
still read it, although it is now only 7 bit, despite the fact that before I
sent it, it was an 8 bit message. The unused data was removed without making
any difference to the used data. This means I now have 1 bit of data in
which I can store something else.
A CD is 16 bit and can store all frequencies between 0Hz and 22.05kHz. If I
were to use a different method of storing the same data, it would still give
the same end result. If this method allowed me to remove the inaudible
part - the 0 to 20Hz range for example, I could then use this "spare data"
to store something else.
There's also another method of storing the same data in a smaller space :
compression.
If I take a sound file which is 44.1kHz in 16bit, the same as CD, and ZIP it
with WinZIP, it occupies less space. If I did this with all the music from
one of my CDs, I could probably copy those ZIP files onto another CD and fit
two CDs worth of music onto it (although a normal CD player couldn't play
it). I now have twice as much information stored on the same capacity disc.
If the ATRAC system were improved enough, it is not inconceivable that it
could eventually exceed CD quality.
Magic
--
"Creativity is more a birthright than an acquisition, and the power of sound
is wisdom and understanding applied to the power of vibration."
Location : Portsmouth, England, UK
Homepage : http://www.mattnet.freeserve.co.uk
EMail : [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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