In the email you're quoting, it says "... and a plugin for the Winamp
media player for Windows PCs for listening to them."
Peter Alan Smith: [email protected] wrote:
Very interesting! Perhaps I didn't notice it, but how would one play
these improved mp3 files? Would one have to buy a better player?
Would Winamp notice the difference in my pc and adjust accordingly?
Or does the sound improve automatically because of this encoding?
Cheers,
Peter
On 3/20/09, Petro T. Giannakopoulos <[email protected]> wrote:
With links
http://www.pcworld.com/article/161561/thomson_pumps_up_volume_with_tools_for_mp3hd_lossles
Article
Thomson has released software for the creation and playback of a new type of
audio file using lossless compression. MP3HD files will be around four times
the size of corresponding MP3 files, but will remain compatible with
existing MP3 players.
The software includes command-line tools for Windows and Linux that convert
standard WAV files into the new MP3HD format, and a plugin for the Winamp
media player for Windows PCs for listening to them. The tools can be
downloaded from the all4mp3.com Web site run by Thomson, which with German
research center Fraunhofer Institute IIS co-developed the MP3 format.
Some people won't be able to hear the difference, but to others,
particularly those interested in high-end audio systems, it will be music to
their ears.
MP3 files are created using a lossy compression algorithm so some of the
audio detail, inaudible to the average listener, is thrown away in the
process of compressing and uncompressing the file.
The new format, on the other hand, uses lossless compression, meaning that
an MP3HD file made from a WAV audio file will contain all the information
required to create a WAV file bit-for-bit identical to the original.
MP3HD files remain compatible with existing MP3 players because they are in
fact standard MP3 files. However, rather than throw away the inaudible
details during the encoding process, the MP3HD encoder saves them in the ID3
Tag, the part of an MP3 file used to store track details such as album and
artist names. Existing MP3 players will read only the standard MP3
information; only MP3HD players will benefit from the additional lossless
information stored in the file.
The additional audio information is saved in an unused field of the ID3 tag,
and should not be disturbed by software that allows editing of album and
artist names, said Thomson's Business Development Director for MP3 and Audio
Technology François Thuilière.
Compared to an audio CD, which contains 1411KB of data per second of audio,
an MP3HD file will contain between 700K bps (bits per second) and 900K bps
of data, according to Thuilière.
"The size of the file will depend on the content, whether its vocals, rock
or a symphony," he said.
Most digital music stores sell near-CD-quality tracks encoded at bit rates
of between 128K bps and 256K bps.
The MP3 format was a hit because it made it possible to store
near-CD-quality audio in about a 10th the space required for the original
uncompressed audio file, or to download it in about a 10th the time.
In 2001 Thomson tried to go even further with MP3pro, another variation on
MP3 intended to offer the same audio quality with around half the data.
However, it didn't catch on because it arrived just as broadband Internet
access was starting to take off in Europe and people no longer felt
constrained by the speed of dial-up connections.
"Today we're moving in the other direction," said Thuilière.
MP3HD files will be around four times bigger than corresponding MP3 files,
he said -- but in an age of 18M bps DSL connections or 100M bps FTTH (fiber
to the home) and terabyte hard disc drives, that size should no longer be a
problem.
The extensions to the MP3 format contained in MP3HD are proprietary and, as
with the original MP3 format, anyone wanting to sell devices containing the
encoder or decoder must obtain a license, Thuilière said.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/161561/thomson_pumps_up_volume_with_tools_for_mp3hd_lossless_codec.html?tk=rss
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