<?xml version="1.0"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xml:lang="en">
	<id>https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&amp;feedformat=atom&amp;user=89.14.229.39</id>
	<title>Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]</title>
	<link rel="self" type="application/atom+xml" href="https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&amp;feedformat=atom&amp;user=89.14.229.39"/>
	<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Special:Contributions/89.14.229.39"/>
	<updated>2026-04-29T13:40:50Z</updated>
	<subtitle>User contributions</subtitle>
	<generator>MediaWiki 1.44.2</generator>
	<entry>
		<id>https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless_comparison&amp;diff=25113</id>
		<title>Lossless comparison</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Lossless_comparison&amp;diff=25113"/>
		<updated>2013-05-02T11:41:13Z</updated>

		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;89.14.229.39: /* Comparison Table */&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The &#039;&#039;&#039;lossless comparison page&#039;&#039;&#039; 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.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Introduction ==&lt;br /&gt;
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&#039;s needs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
En fin, this is not a matter worth getting too worked up about. If you later find out the codec you chose isn&#039;t the best for your needs, you can just transcompress to another format, without risk of losing quality.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;Note:&#039;&#039;&#039; for latest comparison of lossless compression, scroll down to the [[Lossless comparison#External links|Links section of this page]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Comparison Table ==&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;!-- Do NOT add links to the table. It&#039;s cluttered and colourful enough as it is. Please add them to the article itself if needed. Thanks --&amp;gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| cellspacing=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|width=&amp;quot;120px&amp;quot;|&#039;&#039;&#039;Features&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | FLAC&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | WavPack&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | TAK&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | Monkey&#039;s&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | OptimFROG&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | ALAC&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | WMA&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Encoding speed&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Decoding speed&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Compression*&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 55.7%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 55.7%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | 53.9%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | 53.7%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | 53.2%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 56.7%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 57.1%&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Flexibility**&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Error handling&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Seeking&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Tagging&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | Vorbis tags&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | ID3/APE&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | APEv2 (exp.)&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | ID3/APE&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | ID3/APE&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | iTunes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | ASF&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Hardware support &lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | limited&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | limited&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | limited&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Software support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | good&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Hybrid/lossy&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | ReplayGain&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | sort of&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | RIFF chunks&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Streaming&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Open source&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Multichannel&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | High resolution&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | OS support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | Win/Linux Wine&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | Win/Mac/Linux&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | Win/Mac&lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;(table continued below)&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{| cellspacing=&amp;quot;2&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;text-align:center; border:1px solid blue;&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
|width=&amp;quot;120px&amp;quot;|&#039;&#039;&#039;Features&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | Shorten&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | LA&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | TTA&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | MPEG-4 ALS&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | MPEG-4 SLS&lt;br /&gt;
| width=&amp;quot;95px&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #00FFFF&amp;quot; | Real Lossless&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Encoding speed&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | very slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow           &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Decoding speed&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | fast&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | slow&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very fast        &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Compression*&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | 60.9%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | 52.1%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 55.3%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 55.1%&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | ?&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | 55.4%            &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Flexibility**&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad              &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
|! style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Error handling&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;            &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Seeking&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Tagging&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | ID3v1&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | ID3&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | proprietary &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | limited&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no              &lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | limited&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Software support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | very good&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | average&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | bad              &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Hybrid/lossy&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | ReplayGain&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | RIFF chunks&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;            &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Streaming&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFFFF&amp;quot; | &amp;amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Open source&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | Multichannel&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | High resolution&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | yes&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #FF9900&amp;quot; | no               &lt;br /&gt;
|-&lt;br /&gt;
| align=&amp;quot;left&amp;quot; style=&amp;quot;background: #FFFF99&amp;quot; | OS support&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #CCFFCC&amp;quot; | Win/Linux&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | All&lt;br /&gt;
| style=&amp;quot;background: #00FF00&amp;quot; | Win/Mac/Linux     &lt;br /&gt;
|}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;nowiki&amp;gt;*&amp;lt;/nowiki&amp;gt; The Compression ratio is calculated with the division of compressed size by uncompressed size * 100. So, lower is better.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Encoding speed, Decoding speed and Compression ratio are based on each encoder&#039;s default settings.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&amp;lt;nowiki&amp;gt;**&amp;lt;/nowiki&amp;gt; Flexibility refers to the amount of encoding choices offered to the users (Fast/low compression, Slow/high compression and everything inbetween)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
These are the most popular lossless codecs, in alphabetical order:&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== ALAC pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Very fast decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]] (encoding and decoding via FFmpeg and [[CueTools|CUETools]], decoding only via [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html a standalone decoder])&lt;br /&gt;
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support (QT tags)&lt;br /&gt;
* Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with [[iTunes]]/iPod.&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== ALAC cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Limited software support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== ALAC Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container&lt;br /&gt;
* Can be used with the AirPort Express gadget&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://flac.sourceforge.net/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It&#039;s part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg]], [[Vorbis]], [[Speex]] and [[Theora]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== FLAC pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Very fast decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Fast encoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Hardware support ([[Rio Karma|Karma]], Phatbox, etc.)&lt;br /&gt;
* Very good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* Error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support (FLAC tags)&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== FLAC cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== FLAC Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])&lt;br /&gt;
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking&lt;br /&gt;
* Fits the [[Ogg]] and [[Matroska]] containers&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== LosslessAudio (LA) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.lossless-audio.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[LA]] is a lossless codec developed by Michael Bevin.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== LA pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Very high compression&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]])&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== LA cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Closed source&lt;br /&gt;
* Very slow encoding and decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
* No hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Bad software support&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;&#039;&#039;&#039;It&#039;s important to mention that the LA foobar plugin is buggy and doesn&#039;t produce lossless streams!&#039;&#039;&#039;&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Lossless Predictive Audio Coder (LPAC) ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.nue.tu-berlin.de/menue/mitarbeiter/ehemalige_mitarbeiter/tilman_liebchen/lpac_-_lossless_audio_codec_for_windows_and_linux/ LPAC website]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[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.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== LPAC pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Reasonable compression ratios&lt;br /&gt;
* [[High resolution]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== LPAC cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Closed source&lt;br /&gt;
* No error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* Slow seeking&lt;br /&gt;
* No tagging&lt;br /&gt;
* No [[multichannel]] support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* No hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Monkey&#039;s Audio (APE) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.monkeysaudio.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Monkey&#039;s Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed by Matt Ashland.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== APE pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]]&lt;br /&gt;
* High efficiency&lt;br /&gt;
* Good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.&lt;br /&gt;
* Java version (multiplatform)&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])&lt;br /&gt;
* [[High resolution]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks (only in the GUI encoder)&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== APE cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* No [[multichannel]] support&lt;br /&gt;
* No error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks]&lt;br /&gt;
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== APE Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== MPEG-4 SLS ==&lt;br /&gt;
MPEG-4 SLS allows audio encoding from lossless scalable to [[AAC]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== SLS pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Transcoding to standard AAC or any higher lossy bitrate at the speed of copying a file&lt;br /&gt;
* Scalable decoding from lossless, to any bitrate down to the AAC core track&lt;br /&gt;
* Best lossless compression available when you count the AAC track (~5% gain over any other lossless compression + AAC)&lt;br /&gt;
* [[High resolution]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* Multi channel audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]] (MPEG-4 Reference code)&lt;br /&gt;
* Embedded in standard MP4 files, so supports same tagging and ReplayGain features as AAC does.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== SLS cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* No usable software available yet&lt;br /&gt;
* Pure lossless compression not the best there is&lt;br /&gt;
* Seems to be slow in encoding and decoding, but we have to wait for released software&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== SLS Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Transform based lossless codec with optional LC AAC core track&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== OptimFROG (OFR) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.losslessaudio.org/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== OFR pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Very high compression&lt;br /&gt;
* Good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* Error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
* Hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support ([[ID3]], [[APE tags]])&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== OFR cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Closed source&lt;br /&gt;
* No [[multichannel]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
* Quite slow decoding&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== OFR Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports 32bit float streams&lt;br /&gt;
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== RealAudio Lossless (RAL) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.realnetworks.com/products/codecs/realaudio.html&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
RealAudio lossless is the lossless codec developed by Real Networks for their multimedia portfolio&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== RAL pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Very fast decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support (proprietary)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== RAL cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Closed source&lt;br /&gt;
* No [[multichannel]] and [[high resolution]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* Little software support (Real Player)&lt;br /&gt;
* No hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
* Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* No pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Shorten (SHN) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shorten/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Shorten]] is a very old and featureless lossless codec developed by Tony Robinson at SoftSound.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== SHN pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Fast decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Very good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== SHN cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Quite inefficient&lt;br /&gt;
* No [[multichannel]] or [[high resolution]] audio support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* No error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* Not streamable&lt;br /&gt;
* No hardware support&lt;br /&gt;
* No native tagging&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== True Audio (TTA) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.true-audio.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[TTA]] is a new lossless codec developed by a team of russian programmers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== TTA pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Good efficiency&lt;br /&gt;
* Hardware support (obscure DVD player)&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support ([[ID3]])&lt;br /&gt;
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible&lt;br /&gt;
* Error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== TTA cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* No streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* No pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== TTA Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== WavPack (WV) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.wavpack.com/&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WV pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Open source]]&lt;br /&gt;
* Very fast decoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Very fast encoding&lt;br /&gt;
* Good efficiency&lt;br /&gt;
* Error robustness&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Hardware support ([http://www.rockbox.org/ RockBox])&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s&lt;br /&gt;
* Hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]], [[APE tags]])&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* Ability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
* Good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WV cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Limited hardware player support&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WV Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports 32bit float streams&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports embedded CUE sheets&lt;br /&gt;
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking&lt;br /&gt;
* Can encode in both symmetrical and assymmetrical modes.&lt;br /&gt;
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMAL) ==&lt;br /&gt;
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/codecs/audio.aspx&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WMAL pros ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Streaming support&lt;br /&gt;
* Very good software support&lt;br /&gt;
* 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].&lt;br /&gt;
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.&lt;br /&gt;
* Tagging support (proprietary)&lt;br /&gt;
* Pipe support&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WMAL cons ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Closed source&lt;br /&gt;
* No hybrid/lossy mode&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[RIFF]] chunks&lt;br /&gt;
* Doesn&#039;t support [[ReplayGain]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== WMAL Other features ===&lt;br /&gt;
* Fits the [[ASF]] container&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Oddball Formats ==&lt;br /&gt;
There are several old lossless formats that aren&#039;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.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most of those would have disappeared by now, but they are being preserved for posterity at [[User:Rjamorim|rjamorim]]&#039;s  &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
 Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Bonk  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Marian&#039;s a-Pac  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 AudioZip  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Dakx WAV  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Entis Lab MIO  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 LiteWave  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Pegasus SPS &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 RK Audio (RKAU)  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 Sonarc  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 VocPack  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 WavArc  &lt;br /&gt;
 &lt;br /&gt;
 WaveZip/MUSICompress&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== See also ==&lt;br /&gt;
* [[Lossless]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== External links ==&lt;br /&gt;
=== Other lossless compressions comparisons ===&lt;br /&gt;
&#039;&#039;Sorted based on last &#039;&#039;&#039;update&#039;&#039;&#039; date.&#039;&#039;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.icer.nl/losslesstest/ Martijn van Beurden&#039;s comparison] - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2013-03-19)&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/lossless/ Synthetic Soul&#039;s comparison] (last update 2007-07-28)&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;lt;s&amp;gt;Johan De Bock&#039;s speed oriented comparison&amp;lt;/s&amp;gt; - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;lt;s&amp;gt;Hans Heijden&#039;s&amp;lt;/s&amp;gt; -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://synthetic-soul.co.uk/comparison/josef/ Josef Pohm&#039;s comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul] (last update 2006-05-29)&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Bobulous&#039; lossless audio comparison] — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;lt;s&amp;gt;Jhan De Bock&#039;s size oriented comparison&amp;lt;/s&amp;gt; - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;lt;s&amp;gt;Gruboolez&#039;&amp;lt;/s&amp;gt; -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)&lt;br /&gt;
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm Speek&#039;s] (last updated 2005-02-07)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
=== More on lossless compressions ===&lt;br /&gt;
* &amp;lt;s&amp;gt;The Lossless Audio Blog&amp;lt;/s&amp;gt; - by windmiller, is a reliable and complete source of news about lossless compression.&lt;br /&gt;
* Go to the [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=33226 Hydrogenaudio thread] to discuss this article.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Guides]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>89.14.229.39</name></author>
	</entry>
</feed>