The MP3 Format And The Successors To Digital Audio
You most likely listen to digital music. If you download using peer-to-peer (P2P) apps the most popular format used is MP3. There was news that MP3 audio formats will no longer be continued. However, it is not gone. Since the early 2000’s, MP3 started a craze of a music format available with Napster and then WinAmp. Then with the iPOD MP3 became portable. It was much more convenient to store MP3 formats on smartphones too and soon it replaced tape, radio and even CD.
In 2017, the Fraunhofer Institute has decided not to continue the format they developed and opt for other more superior formats like AAC, which happens to be the default for iTunes. This is actually best for the type of content being created now, making MP3 take the path of obsolescence.
Originally the MP3 format was encoded with Pentium III processors which shows how far things have moved since then. The truth is MP3 audio quality is not even hi-fidelity. Though convenient and easy to download and play, MP3 is an example of compressed audio formats that take away a lot of the hi-fi details audio freaks love.
MP3 was done for due to more advanced audio formats being used by broadcasting on today’s networks. AAC or lossless formats like FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) can store more information and deliver higher quality audio but require high speed networks because they are larger file sizes for streaming.
Due to it’s popularity, many DJs also use MP3 and will continue to do so. They don’t have to stop using MP3 and move to WAV or AAC right away. So long as their equipment can play MP3 it is the music that is important, not worrying about the format. MP3 may have been fine during the early age of the Internet, before broadband, when dial-up and DSL were the fastest networks.
The fact that the Fraunhofer Institute is discontinuing support for MP3 does not mean it is dead. Instead, it will stop licensing the technology while favoring its newer developments. By not continuing to license MP3 related patents, there will be less demand for it.
AAC is the standard that is being encouraged as the de facto for music and video on smartphones. This is because it has better quality at almost the same bit rate as MP3. You get better audio quality, but processing AAC files is more complex and they do generate larger file sizes.
Despite what some people think, CD audio format is more superior to MP3 any day. CD encoding uses PCM 44.1 KHz and a depth of 16 bits at 1,411 kbps. 16 bits refers to 16,536 increments of audio amplitude with an SNR of 96 dB. MP3 on the other hand starts off the same with the encoding process but a compression algorithm is used to limit the bit rate to 320 kbps (depending on compression ratio). So you lose some of the fidelity in the audio quality.
AAC, which I now use to encode audio for videos, is also a lossy compression audio format like MP3. AAC at the same given bit rate as MP3, tends to sound better due to it’s encoding process. I do not really notice much difference with most songs, so it seems the playback mechanism is also a consideration.
We cannot really hear everything in a hi-fi recording anyway since our audible range is only between 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Losing 80% of analog audio does not really mean you lose 80% of a song, it can still be heard when digitized. If the song is also poorly encoded, whether AAC or MP3, then the difference is noticeable.
Synopsis
Like vinyl is to analog audio freaks, in the future there will probably be a niche of MP3 lovers. Will they be playing tunes on the Zune like Starlord or the first gen iPOD with wired headphones? When it gets to that point then we realize we are getting too old.
MP3 will continue being used despite this in much the same way we have audiophiles who love their vinyl. There are also so many MP3 files floating on the Internet, it doesn’t seem likely to disappear into oblivion that fast. Another strong point for MP3 is that is an open format, so developers can use it anytime no matter how obsolete the format is. As long as creatives can convey their art or story digitally, their use of MP3 keeps it alive.
