Developers of the MP3 Have Officially Killed It

[tubemonkey]

Your MP3s are going to be just fine

Let us now praise old music-file formats, and the music cultures that begat us.

The Internet is spilling many pixels over the fact that the MP3, the music file used on the original iPod, has been abandoned by its inventors at the Fraunhofer Institute. The German organization, a division of the group that helped develop the MP3, is letting its licensing hold on the format expire. The group is also responsible for the MP3's successor, the AAC file format used widely by services such as iTunes.

But the “death” of the MP3 is really not much of a death at all. The files will not spontaneously combust. You'll still be able to buy and use MP3s. They will not suddenly stop playing. (Your ripped Hootie & the Blowfish tracks are safe.) All this really does is move the classification of MP3 from being recognized as a file format of the moment to being a file format of the past.

Still, some nostalgia is understandable. The MP3 was, in its day, the spark of a revolution. The file format, created in 1993, changed the way we listened to music as it liberated people from tapes and compact discs.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Catlady

So ... since I have all my audiobooks and music backed up as mp3 files, should I format shift?

Nope, no one is going to drop mp3 support, from an industry point of view all this means is that companies no longer need to pay for licencing.

[spindlegirl]

I don't purchase albums anymore since I use streaming services, and watch youtubes, but I do have a lot of archived mp3s that we ripped from our old cds. As long as mp3 isn't dead it's all good.

[The Old Man]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

Nope, no one is going to drop mp3 support, from an industry point of view all this means is that companies no longer need to pay for licencing.

So, now we will see the price of all mp3 songs and audio books come down - right? Right!

[Dopedangel]

They are just declaring mp3 dead as they make money from aac patents. Reality is without need for mp3 licensing it will grow.

[underscore]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

I don't purchase albums anymore since I use streaming services, and watch youtubes, but I do have a lot of archived mp3s that we ripped from our old cds. As long as mp3 isn't dead it's all good.

Mp3 was great 20 years ago when we had space issues on hard disks.
So was divx for movies.
If you still use those mp3 in house as a substitute for your original cd's on the shelves, i suggest you to do rip them again in lossless formats like flac.

The quality of the cd with the advantage of computer management.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I only buy free books

[puts on pedant hat]

No, you don't. You can't buy something that's free.

[/pedant hat]

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by underscore

Mp3 was great 20 years ago when we had space issues on hard disks.
So was divx for movies.
If you still use those mp3 in house as a substitute for your original cd's on the shelves, i suggest you to do rip them again in lossless formats like flac.

The quality of the cd with the advantage of computer management.

MP3 is still great now.

Storage is still an issue on portable devices for those of us with extensive collections. There's also the problem of internet services in some areas having caps and excruciatingly slow upload speeds that already make it difficult for some (like me) to use online backups. By the end of the year, I expect my music collection to exceed the limits of a 256GB SD card (which I carry with me as an off-site backup since online isn't feasible) in MP3 format.

Then there's the time spent syncing my collection to the server and backups over the network each time I add to it and updating the SD card, which would increase greatly with larger files...

I have too many new things to add to my collection to justify re-ripping the shelves and shelves of CDs that I've already spent tons of time on. Switching to a lossless format at this point just isn't worth it when I can barely tell the difference. Your ears and needs may vary, of course.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by underscore

Mp3 was great 20 years ago when we had space issues on hard disks.
So was divx for movies.
If you still use those mp3 in house as a substitute for your original cd's on the shelves, i suggest you to do rip them again in lossless formats like flac.

The quality of the cd with the advantage of computer management.

Well, it's a bit of a balance between
a) re-ripping all my CD's to a lossless format that I wont be able to tell the difference of anyway
b) Not bothering
c) creating an island base in a volcano with a giant laser so I can take over the world.

I'll be honest b) looks kinda tempting, I'd go for c) but it's just sooo 70's.

[ApK]

I'm very confused.

The cite said this is "mostly symbolic." In what way ISN'T this only symbolic?
Is there ANY practical effect of this?
Is it merely a sign post to mark where history may see mp3 start to be treated as a "legacy format" or is there something I'm not getting?

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by ApK

I'm very confused.

The cite said this is "mostly symbolic." In what way ISN'T this only symbolic?
Is there ANY practical effect of this?
Is it merely a sign post to mark where history may see mp3 start to be treated as a "legacy format" or is there something I'm not getting?

The whole thing reads to me as "Fraunhofer instigates fearmongering when faced with losing a source of revenue". I don't really see any practical effect at all. Many people who want lossless are already using lossless. We've seen growth in portable music devices designed for those who want the best in lossless / hi-def audio playback (and the ones I've looked at also support MP3 in addition to lossless formats). I do think we'll see an impressive new generation of lossless devices and other implementation but that was happening anyway.

We may also see more download music offerings coming in higher quality flavors, but again, that market segment was already growing due to demand so I don't know that this will do anything but possibly speed it up by an unknown amount. (That takes time, effort and money on behalf of the vendors so it won't be overnight, especially since the number of customers who would be willing to pay more for those formats is limited.)

There are those who care about codecs for quality reasons, those who care for compatibility reasons, and those who don't think about it at all. I don't see the proportions changing much in those groups. MP3, especially now that it will be free of licensing costs to implement, is still going to be available, just like all the freaky a/v codecs and wrappers that are still floating around to be used as desired.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Shane R

[puts on pedant hat]

No, you don't. You can't buy something that's free.

[/pedant hat]

Amazon says I buy free books.
I bought half and half for free yesterday. My receipt shows I got half and half.

Buy: to acquire the possession of, or the right to, by paying or promising to pay an equivalent, especially in money; purchase. 2. to acquire by exchange or concession: ... to be the monetary or purchasing equivalent of: Ten dollars buys less than it used to.

If Amazon sets the price at $0.00. I paid $0.00 to acquire it so I bought it and now own it.
If the grocery store gives me a coupon for free half and half, I still bought the half and half, I didn't steal it.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

If Amazon sets the price at $0.00. I paid $0.00 to acquire it

You didn't pay anything, therefore you didn't buy anything.

You accepted a free item. Your click didn't initiate an exchange; it represented your acceptance of their offer.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Shane R

You didn't pay anything, therefore you didn't buy anything.

You accepted a free item. Your click didn't initiate an exchange; it represented your acceptance of their offer.

I even get a receipt showing that I bought it.

Oh and back to MP3, I think my cds are in WAV because I forgot to change formats when I started ripping them. But most players will play them.

[Shane R]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I even get a receipt showing that I accepted it.

T, FTFY.