For geek audiophiles: MP3Pro, the best thing to happen since, well, MP3

[The Brain]

The <a href=http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1191781,00.asp target=_blank>latest issue</a> of PC Magazine detailed the upcoming MP3Pro audio format.

Why should you care? Simple.

You know all those MP3 music files you've got stored on your hard drive? Even though the compression is still waaaaaaay better than if you had to save them as WAV files, they do start to take up a lot of space once you have enough of them.

Now, what if you could take an MP3 file that was roughly 1 MB per minute's worth of music... and compress even further to about <b>512k in size per minute's worth</b> of music. And <b>not lose any quality in sound</b>.

In fact, a 96-Kbps quality MP3Pro file is comparable to a 128-Kbps MP3 file.

I know I feel like a friggin' infomercial right now, but once this format becomes reality... ah, the fun we shall have.

<font color=5e5e5e>Hell, I'm already deciding which files I want to EMBED in various threads around here... heh.</font>

[reefdwella]

This sounds really good.

[SeeYouNextTuesday]

What's the hitch? What do we lose? I mean, we gotta lose something... or it takes some more time to load the file while its unencrypted, or something. TANSTAAFL, unless somebody came up with some crazy new encryption algorithms.

[The Brain]

Originally posted by SeeYouNextTuesday
What's the hitch? What do we lose? I mean, we gotta lose something... or it takes some more time to load the file while its unencrypted, or something. TANSTAAFL, unless somebody came up with some crazy new encryption algorithms.

I suppose the only true "hitch", as you put it, is that it's not completely backwards-compatible with older MP3-playing devices and software, and I recall the article mentioning that while it works with WinAmp 2 (if you happen to use that), it strangely doesn't work with WinAmp 3. Other than that, it is just an MP3 file squished down to an even smaller size.

[Goatweed]

I recall the article mentioning that while it works with WinAmp 2 (if you happen to use that), it strangely doesn't work with WinAmp 3

which is yet another reason not to use Winamp 3.

[SeeYouNextTuesday]

That's still not a hitch in the theoretical sense. Does it do some more wacky stuff to take advantage of the fact that we, as humans, have crappy senses of hearing? Does it intelligently cut out certain background sounds depending on random shit? We're still not losing any data if it's not compatible with something... thats just a matter of codecs.

Edit: Oh ya, Winamp3 blows crashes and takes an hour to start up.

[Kid Afrika]

I read somewhere that Winamp3 is being shitcanned and they are going back to a new version of Winamp2. This new version is supposed to keep the new skinning functionality, but lose the resource heavy player and long load times.

As for this MP3Pro, is it backwards compatible? In other words, will my portable MP3 player be able to play an MP3Pro file?

[FollowThisLogic]

Yeah Kid, I heard about that too... "Winamp 5". 2+3. Cute.

[The Brain]

<i>Originally posted by SeeYouNextTuesday</i>
Does it intelligently cut out certain background sounds depending on random shit? We're still not losing any data if it's not compatible with something... thats just a matter of codecs.

<b>From the article:</b>
<i>How does MP3Pro preserve audio quality even at high compression levels? It essentially splits a signal and handles lower and higher frequencies differently. The low-frequency portion of the signal (0 to 8 kHz) is compressed using ordinary MP3 at a low bit rate. The high-frequency portion of the signal (8 to 16 kHz) is not actually compressed in the file; instead it is replicated or reconstructed on the playback side. Instructions for re-creating the complex portions of the signal are included in the file, and compatible players decode them and put the whole song together. </i>

Originally posted by Kid Afrika
As for this MP3Pro, is it backwards compatible? In other words, will my portable MP3 player be able to play an MP3Pro file?

Check on the <a href=http://www.mp3prozone.com/products.htm target=_blank>Coding Technologies</a> site for the list of products currently compatible with MP3Pro.

[SeeYouNextTuesday]

sweet! :bouncy: