Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

Foobar2000:Foobar2000

2012-12-17T16:47:49Z

81.157.221.211: Word change (stable to Preview).

{{title|foobar2000}}

{{Software Infobox|
|name = foobar2000
|logo = [[Image:foobar2000 Logo.png|48px]]
|screenshot = [[Image:Foobar2000-1.0-default-ui.png|250px]]
|caption = Screenshot of foobar2000 v1.0 using the default user interface
|maintainer = Peter Pawlowski
|stable_release = 1.1.18
|preview_release = 1.2 beta 1
|operating_system = Windows
|use = Media Player
|license = Proprietary, BSD
|website = [http://www.foobar2000.org/ www.foobar2000.org]
}}

'''foobar2000''' is an advanced freeware audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support and native support for several popular audio formats.

'''The latest stable version is:''' [http://www.foobar2000.org/download v1.1.18]

'''The latest Preview version is:''' [http://www.foobar2000.org/download v1.2 beta 1]

== Platforms ==

foobar2000 has been written specifically for the Windows platform, and there are no plans to port it to any others. However, although not officially supported, it is known to run on [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54933 Linux] and [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=77261 Mac OS X] through Wine and WineBottler, respectively.

== Features ==
* Powerful open component architecture allowing third-party developers to extend functionality of the player, including the ability to fully replace the user interface.
* Full Unicode support: File names, user interface, tagging, etc.
* [[ReplayGain]] support: Both playback and writing ReplayGain information to file tags.
* [[Gapless playback]].
* Advanced [[tagging]] capabilities - through built-in [[foobar2000:Properties|Properties dialog]] and various optional tagging-related components.
* Built-in [[foobar2000:Preferences:Media Library|Media Library]] functionality.
** Intuitive [[foobar2000:Query syntax|query syntax]] for searching the Media Library.
** [[foobar2000:Autoplaylist|Autoplaylist]] support: Generate dynamically updating playlists based on queries.
* [[foobar2000:Preferences:General:Keyboard Shortcuts|Customizable keyboard shortcuts]].
* Support for transcoding all supported audio formats using the [[Foobar2000:Converter|Converter component]] (requires external command-line encoder executables for different output formats).
* [[Secure_ripping|Secure]] [[foobar2000:Ripping CDs|CD ripping]].
* Streaming support.
* Efficient handling of large playlists.
* [[foobar2000:Components/Default_user_interface_%28foo_ui_std%29|User interface]] with simple configuration to create even complex layouts quickly and easily.
* Highly customizable display of track information using [[foobar2000:Titleformat_Introduction|title formatting scripts]].

==Supported audio formats==
Natively supported ("out-of-the-box"):
* [[MP1]], [[MP2]], [[MP3]], [[MP4]], [[Musepack]], [[AAC]], [[Ogg Vorbis]], [[FLAC]] / Ogg FLAC, [[Speex]], [[WavPack]], [[WAV]], [[AIFF]], [[AU|AU/SND]], [[CDDA]], [[WMA]], [[Matroska]], [[ALAC]], [[MMS]], [[RSTP]], [[Opus]].
Supported through optional components:
* [[TTA]], [[Monkey's Audio]], [[MOD]], [[SPC]], [[Shorten]], [[OptimFROG]], [[AC3]], [[DTS]], [[PSF]], [[NSF]], [[XID]], [[XA]], [[TAK]], [[AMR]], ''etc.''

In addition, foobar2000 can also play audio files within ZIP and RAR archives (typically compressed) directly, ''i.e.'' without requiring the user to extract the files first. More archive formats are supported ''via'' additional components: [http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_unpack_lha LHA/LZH], [http://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_unpack_7z 7-Zip], [http://kode54.foobar2000.org/ JMA]

== Using foobar2000 ==

=== Important pages ===
* [http://www.foobar2000.org/FAQ foobar2000 FAQ]
* [[foobar2000:components|foobar2000 Components]]
* [[foobar2000:Encouraged Tag Standards|foobar2000 Encouraged Tag Standards]]
* [[foobar2000:FAQ|foobar2000 FAQ (unofficial)]]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Category:Foobar2000_Guides foobar2000 Guides (category)]
* [http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Category:Foobar2000_Preferences foobar2000 Preferences (category)]

=== Specific guides ===

'''Preferences'''
* [[foobar2000:Preferences|Preferences dialog]]

'''Metadata'''
* [[foobar2000:Properties|Tag editing: the Properties dialog]]
* [[foobar2000:Query syntax|Query Syntax]]: details of Syntax for querying metadata.

'''Title formatting'''
* [[foobar2000:Title Formatting Introduction|Introduction to titleformat scripts]]
* [[foobar2000:Title Formatting Reference|Titleformat Reference]]: reference guide to all fields and functions
* [[foobar2000:Titleformat Examples|Titleformat Examples]]: user-submitted code for various purposes; submit your own!

'''Others'''
* [[foobar2000:File operations|File operations dialog]]: move, copy, rename, and delete files from within foobar2000
* [[foobar2000:Commandline Guide|Commandline usage]]

=== External Guides ===
* [http://foobar2000.xrea.jp/ fb2k Wiki Page] for Japanese users.
* [http://winamp2foobar.blogspot.com Winamp To Foobar Guide] with information relevant for general users also.

=== Technical information ===
* [[foobar2000:ID3 Tag Mapping|ID3 Tag Mapping]]
* [[foobar2000:Metadata Compatibility|Metadata Compatibility]]: information about compatibility with metadata written by other applications

== Important Links ==
=== Official Site ===
* [http://www.foobar2000.org foobar2000.org: Homepage]
* [http://www.foobar2000.org/download foobar2000.org: Download]
* [http://www.foobar2000.org/components foobar2000.org: Components]

=== Community ===
* Official IRC Channel: #foobar2000 on [http://freenode.net/ freenode]
* [http://forums.foobar2000.org/ Official foobar2000 forum]
* [http://foobar-users.de/ German Support Forum]
* [http://foobar2000.pl/ Polish Support Forum]
* [http://www.fforum.ru/index.php?showforum=59 Russian-language forum]
* [http://www.foobar2000.ru/forum/ Another Russian-language forum]

=== Appearance ===
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=61333 Default UI .fth Thread] Fast way to clone another's DUI Configuration.
* [[foobar2000:Preferences:Columns UI/Appearance|Columns UI appearance customization guides]]
* [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=31027 Columns UI configurations]

[[Category:foobar2000]]
[[Category:Media Players|foobar2000]]
[[Category:CD Rippers]]
[[Category:Software]]
[[Category:Tag editors]]

Lossless comparison

2012-12-17T16:37:23Z

81.157.221.211: Updated the OptimFROG link , Plus Removed some Dead Url Links from the "External" section.

The '''lossless comparison page''' aims to gather information about lossless codecs available so users can make an informed decision as to what lossless codec to choose for their needs.

== Introduction ==
Given the enormous amount of [[lossless]] audio compressor choices available, it is a very difficult task to choose the one most suited for each person's needs.

Several people only take into consideration compression performance when choosing a codec. But as the following table and article shows, there are several other features worth taking into consideration when making that choice.

For example, users wanting good multiplatform compatibility and robustness (E.G, people sharing live recordings) would favour [[WavPack]] or [[FLAC]]. Another user, looking for the very highest compression available, would go with [[OptimFROG]]. Someone wanting portable support would use [[FLAC]] or [[ALAC]], and so on.

En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn't the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.

'''Note:''' for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].

== Comparison Table ==


{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | FLAC
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WavPack
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TAK
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Monkey's
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | OptimFROG
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | ALAC
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | WMA
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression*
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 58.70%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 58.0%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 55.50%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 54.70%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 58.50%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 56.30%
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Flexibility**
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
|-
|style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Seeking
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
|align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #00FF00" | Vorbis tags
| style="background: #00FF00" | ID3/APE
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | APEv2 (exp.)
| style="background: #00FF00" | ID3/APE
| style="background: #00FF00" | ID3/APE
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | iTunes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ASF
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #FF9900" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FF9900" | limited
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | good
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | ReplayGain
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | sort of
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Pipe support
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes (third-party)
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | High resolution
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Linux Wine
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Mac
|}

''(table continued below)''

{| cellspacing="2" style="text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;"
|width="120px"|'''Features'''
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Shorten
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | LA
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | TTA
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | LPAC
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | MPEG-4 ALS
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | MPEG-4 SLS
| width="95px" style="background: #00FFFF" | Real Lossless
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Encoding speed
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Decoding speed
| style="background: #00FF00" | very fast
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | fast
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Compression*
| style="background: #FF9900" | 63.50%
| style="background: #00FF00" | 53.50%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.10%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.20%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.10%
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ?
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | 57.0%
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Flexibility**
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
|-
|! style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Error handling
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Seeking
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | slow
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Tagging
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3v1
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | ID3
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | proprietary
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hardware support
| style="background: #FF9900" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | limited
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Software support
| style="background: #00FF00" | very good
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FFFFFF" | average
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
| style="background: #FF9900" | bad
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Hybrid/lossy
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | ReplayGain
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | RIFF chunks
| style="background: #FF9900" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Streaming
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Pipe support
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FFFFFF" |  
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Open source
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | Multichannel
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | High resolution
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #00FF00" | yes
| style="background: #FF9900" | no
|-
| align="left" style="background: #FFFF99" | OS support
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Linux
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #CCFFCC" | Win/Linux/Sol
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | All
| style="background: #00FF00" | Win/Mac/Linux
|}

<nowiki>*</nowiki> The Compression ratio is calculated with the division of compressed size by uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.

Encoding speed, Decoding speed and Compression ratio are based on each encoder's default settings.

<nowiki>**</nowiki> Flexibility refers to the amount of encoding choices offered to the users (Fast/low compression, Slow/high compression and everything inbetween)

These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:

== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ==
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.

=== ALAC pros ===
* Very fast decoding
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (QT tags)
* Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with [[iTunes]]/iPod.
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s

=== ALAC cons ===
* Limited software support
* No hybrid/lossy mode

=== ALAC Other features ===
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container
* Can be used with the AirPort Express gadget

== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ==
http://flac.sourceforge.net/

[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].

=== FLAC pros ===
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Fast encoding
* Hardware support ([[Rio Karma|Karma]], Phatbox, etc.)
* Very good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

=== FLAC cons ===
* No hybrid/lossy mode

=== FLAC Other features ===
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Fits the [[Ogg]] and [[Matroska]] containers

== LosslessAudio (LA) ==
http://www.lossless-audio.com/

[[LA]] is a lossless codec developed by Michael Bevin.

=== LA pros ===
* Very high compression
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support

=== LA cons ===
* Closed source
* Very slow encoding and decoding
* Doesn't support [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* No hardware support
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Bad software support
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

'''''It's important to mention that the LA foobar plugin is buggy and doesn't produce lossless streams!'''''

== Lossless Predictive Audio Coder (LPAC) ==
* [http://www.nue.tu-berlin.de/menue/mitarbeiter/ehemalige_mitarbeiter/tilman_liebchen/lpac_-_lossless_audio_codec_for_windows_and_linux/ LPAC website]

[[Lossless Predictive Audio Coder]] (LPAC) is a lossless codec developed by Tilman Liebchen. Development of it has been halted in favour of development of [[MPEG-4]] ALS.

=== LPAC pros ===
* Reasonable compression ratios
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks

=== LPAC cons ===
* Closed source
* No error robustness
* Slow seeking
* No tagging
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* No hardware support
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

== Monkey's Audio (APE) ==
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.

=== APE pros ===
* [[Open source]]
* High efficiency
* Good software support
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
* Java version (multiplatform)
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)

=== APE cons ===
* No [[multichannel]] support
* No error robustness
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks]
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

=== APE Other features ===
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

== MPEG-4 SLS ==
MPEG-4 SLS allows audio encoding from lossless scalable to [[AAC]].

=== SLS pros ===
* Transcoding to standard AAC or any higher lossy bitrate at the speed of copying a file
* Scalable decoding from lossless, to any bitrate down to the AAC core track
* Best lossless compression available when you count the AAC track (~5% gain over any other lossless compression + AAC)
* [[High resolution]] audio support
* Multi channel audio support
* [[Open source]] (MPEG-4 Reference code)
* Embedded in standard MP4 files, so supports same tagging and ReplayGain features as AAC does.

=== SLS cons ===
* No usable software available yet
* Pure lossless compression not the best there is
* Seems to be slow in encoding and decoding, but we have to wait for released software

=== SLS Other features ===
* Transform based lossless codec with optional LC AAC core track

== OptimFROG (OFR) ==
http://www.losslessaudio.org/

[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.

=== OFR pros ===
* Very high compression
* Good software support
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Supports [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

=== OFR cons ===
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
* No hardware support
* Quite slow decoding

=== OFR Other features ===
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking

== RealAudio Lossless (RAL) ==
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/codecs/realaudio.html

RealAudio lossless is the lossless codec developed by Real Networks for their multimedia portfolio

=== RAL pros ===
* Very fast decoding
* Streaming support
* Tagging support (proprietary)

=== RAL cons ===
* Closed source
* No [[multichannel]] and [[high resolution]] audio support
* Little software support (Real Player)
* No hardware support
* Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* No pipe support
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

== Shorten (SHN) ==
http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shorten/

[[Shorten]] is a very old and featureless lossless codec developed by Tony Robinson at SoftSound.

=== SHN pros ===
* [[Open source]]
* Fast decoding
* Very good software support
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Pipe support

=== SHN cons ===
* Quite inefficient
* No [[multichannel]] or [[high resolution]] audio support
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* No error robustness
* Not streamable
* No hardware support
* No native tagging
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

== True Audio (TTA) ==
http://www.true-audio.com/

[[TTA]] is a new lossless codec developed by a team of russian programmers.

=== TTA pros ===
* [[Open source]]
* Good efficiency
* Hardware support (obscure DVD player)
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Tagging support ([[ID3]])
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
* Error robustness

=== TTA cons ===
* No streaming support
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* No pipe support

=== TTA Other features ===
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

== WavPack (WV) ==
http://www.wavpack.com/

[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.

=== WV pros ===
* [[Open source]]
* Very fast decoding
* Very fast encoding
* Good efficiency
* Error robustness
* Streaming support
* Hardware support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
* Hybrid/lossy mode
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
* Pipe support
* Good software support
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible

=== WV cons ===
* Limited hardware player support

=== WV Other features ===
* Supports 32bit float streams
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
* Can encode in both symmetrical and assymmetrical modes.
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container

== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ==
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx

WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.

=== WMAL pros ===
* Streaming support
* Very good software support
* Hardware support (All Microsoft Zunes though older models may need firmware updates, also supported by some non-Microsoft devices like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba].
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

=== WMAL cons ===
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]

=== WMAL Other features ===
* Fits the [[ASF]] container

== Oddball Formats ==
There are several old lossless formats that aren't being featured in the article above. Reasons are: lack of widespread support, lack of features, bad efficiency and, most importantly, it seems no one is really interested in them.

Most of those would have disappeared by now, but they are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]'s

Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)

Bonk

Marian's a-Pac

AudioZip

Dakx WAV

Entis Lab MIO

LiteWave

Pegasus SPS

RK Audio (RKAU)

Sonarc

VocPack

WavArc

WaveZip/MUSICompress

== See also ==
* [[Lossless]]

== External links ==
=== Other lossless compressions comparisons ===
''Sorted based on last '''update''' date.''

* <s>Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison</s> - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* <s>Hans Heijden's</s> -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/ Synthetic Soul's comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous' lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
* <s>Jhan De Bock's size oriented comparison</s> - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* <s>Gruboolez'</s> -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek's] (last updated 2005-02-07)

=== More on lossless compressions ===
* <s>The Lossless Audio Blog</s> - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.

[[Category:Guides]]