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is where ogg vorbis has stepped in. it is similar to the
mp3 format, in that it involves 'lossy' compression,
although using entirely new algorithms. however, it differs
in two major aspects.
the first is that it is not only open source, but is an
entirely free technology and format. this means that there
are no charges to the artist or developer, and anyone can
examine and edit the code to their liking.
secondly, it is arguably more advanced technology. although
audio quality is a subjective 'argument', it is possible
to make some comparisons. kick the nation is available
in both mp3 and ogg formats. at 128kbps,
mp3 has approximately an 11:1 compression ratio, resulting
in a file of about 3.5mb. at 128kbps, ogg also
has a compression ratio of aproximatelty 11:1, although
a slightly smaller file size (coming in at 3.4mb).
so far, they are approximately the same. however, ogg
vorbis really comes into its strength at lower bitrates
- in this case, 92kbps. here the resultant file size was
2.5mb, a compression ration of aproximately 14:1. what separates
this out from mp3's at lower bitrate is that there
was hardly any further degredation of the sound - it was
still as clear as the 128kbps mp3, yet it was 1mb smaller.
everyone has heard dodgy mp3's - especially ones
encoded at lower bitrate. they tend to give a far worse
representation of the original track, being more muffled,
and full of audio artifacts. the same cannot be said of
ogg files, which retain high quality audio at lower
bitrates.
however, you will not find mp3's vanishing from
this site. it is the most ubiquitous audio file format around
- it's stupidly popular. it is also one of the most widely
supported audio file formats around; every media player
under the sun supports it, so to refuse to use that format
would simply be reducing the available audience.
however, it is definitely not the only hard hitter around,
and more and more people (both amateur and professional)
are beginning to see the advantages of this new format. |
