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Almost of MP3 is the popular format for encoding music, it is by no means the only one. There are few basic methods for compressing audio - lossless and lossy, and for each of these methods there are many formats.

Lossless compression means: none of the audio data is removed during compression. Lossy compression means: audio data is permanently removed from the audio file. Lossy compression results in smallest files, but there is no way to rebuild the audio data to its original format. MP3 format is an example of lossy compression.

Lossy Compression Formats

There are very many alternatives to MP3 when it comes to encoding audio files. Microsoft reportedly developed the WMA format to avoid the licensing costs associated with MP3 format. WMA files can be played with the Windows Media Player that is included with the Windows operating system as well as many other good audio players. It features similar encoding rates to MP3 format and similar file sizes.

AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is the format preferred by Apple and is used for its popular iTunes and iPod programms. AAC files can be smallest than MP3 files because it uses more efficient encoding technology. A 96 kpbs AAC files is similar in sound quality to a 128 kbps MP3 files.

Ogg Vorbis is a type of lossy compression and uses .OGG as the file extension. It is an open-source product and unlike MP3 format, there are no patent restrictions on its use.

Lossless Compression

For the audio purist who insists on the very good quality sound possible, lossless compression offers CD quality sound. The tradeoff is larger files sizes – while MP3 can compress audio in the range of 80% - 90%, lossless compression typically compresses the file nearly by half.

Most famous lossless formats include FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, and SHN (Shorten). These formats are supported by many audio players and are famous for archiving CD collections as well as for trading music.


About the author:

Hans is editor of the Audio Howto Section of the Selected Audio Review Guide