> > I thought the number of bits refers to the number of variations in volume
> > from silence to maximum. 16-bit providing 65536 steps and 8-bit providing
> > only 256. I would think it would be difficult to hear the volume change on
> > an 8-bit tone when moving up 1 step, from say 128 to 129. It would be like
> > a TV having 256 volume positions. I've come across some annoying TV's with
> > only about 16 volume positions. Increase a notch and it's too loud and
> > decrease and it's too quiet. I don't notice much difference changing my
> > Winamp to 8-bit MP3 decode.
> >
> > So it begs the question; would reducing the audio bits provide more space to
> > increase sound quality on lower bitrates?
>
> Greg Maxwell wrote:
> No the bits are what represent the shape of the waveform from -max to
> +max. I.e. if you had 1bit output all you could make is a square-wave.
Yes that is another way of describing what I said. 2 bits would have 4 steps of
audio volume per sample - 25%,50%,75%,100%. Would there not be more room in an
MP3 frame if the number of audio bits were reduced?
Ross.
--
MP3 ENCODER mailing list ( http://geek.rcc.se/mp3encoder/ )
