Sony challenges Apple with 20GB music player

TalkBack 31 of 37:

Next »

« Previous

• Thread View
• Flat View

Re-compression

The issue here is not the quality of ATRAC when encoding a native WAV file, it is that people with LARGE collections of MP3 or WMA encoded music (which IS the target market for a jukebox) will have to RECOMPRESS, probably using Sony's software, at least according to the article. This is what turned me off from a Mini-disc player--great technology, extremely compact, long battery life, relatively cheap removable media, but you're at the mercy of Sony's software when it comes to encoding. Those of us who care about music quality have chosen to encode our collections with a particular algorithm and bit rate based on sound quality plus other aspects of convenience (file size, transportability). Not only is it a hassle to reencode so many files, but you can't take an MP3 or WMA and reencode in another format to make it sound better. An I sure don't want to go back through my collection of 200+ CDs and encode them from scratch. Sony's solution is like converting a JPEG to a TIFF, then to a GIF. I'm not going to spend $400 or $500 on a device to find out what compression artifacts are going to show up when I convert my music from one compressed format into another.

Posted by: Rodney Davis   Posted on: 07/02/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

Alert moderator to an offensive message

Subscribe to this discussion via Email or RSS

SponsoredWhite Papers, Webcasts, and Downloads

• Five Steps to Determine When to Virtualize YourServers VMware Server virtualization isn't just for big companies. Entry-level ... Download Now
• VMware Infrastructure: A Guide to Bottom-Line Benefits VMware Frustrated by the costs of maintain ever larger data centers?or building ... Download Now
• Why Isn't Server Virtualization Saving Us More? A Few Small Changes May Dramatically Increase Your Efficiency VMware Companies have rapidly adopted server virtualization over the past few ... Download Now