Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

DBpoweramp

2010-09-14T10:23:32Z

Chortos-2: letter case corrections

{{DISPLAYTITLE:dBpowerAMP}}
{{Infobox Software
| name = dBpowerAMP with AccurateRip
| logo =
| screenshot = [[Image:Cdrippersmall.png‎]]
| caption = fully featured CD ripper with C2 error support, AccurateRip, and PerfectMeta™
| maintainer = dBpowerAMP Team
| stable_release = 13.2
| preview_release = n/a
| operating_system = Windows, Linux/BSD (Wine Emulation)
| use = Digital Audio Extraction
| license = Free, Shareware
| website = http://www.dbpoweramp.com/
}}

=Introduction=
dBpowerAMP is a secure cd ripper, which features [[AccurateRip]]. It's often called a Swiss army knife of Audio.

==Features==
* Secure Ripper.
* PerfectMeta™.
* AccurateRip.
* Correct C2 utilization.
* Rip digitally sound from Audio CDs and store in a multitude of formats, dMC is the Fastest CD Ripper
* Convert from one format to another, just about every audio type is supported: MP3, AAC, Windows Media Audio (WMA), Ogg Vorbis, AAC, Monkeys Audio, FLAC and many others [Codec downloads], whilst preserving ID Tags.
* Multi-CPU Aware rips and encodes using all CPU cores simultaneously
* [[HTOA]] (hidden track one audio) ripping - if CD drive is capable.
* HDCD's can be decoded to 24 bit with DSP Effects
* Volume Normalize audio files.
* Windows Explorer Integration - right click Convert To & popup useful information on audio files (such as bitrate, length).
* ID tag editing.
* Record from LPs or anything [optional Auxiliary Input install].

==AccurateRip==

The philosophy behind AccurateRip is quite simple, each time an audio track is ripped (recorded by computer) it is compared with rips from other people, consequently this allows a confidence report to be generated. The conclusion that could be reached would be that four other people had exactly the same results. These results in turn would guarantee your rip was without error. The report may say hypothetically that three other people disagree with your rip, the likelyhood is that your CD has a scratch and should be cleaned.

==PerfectMeta™==

dBpoweramp pulls metadata from 4 providers: AMG, GD3, MusicBrainz and freedb simultaneously, including high resolution Album Art. It then compares the results and eliminates most errors

==Guides==

* [http://www.dbpoweramp.com/cd-ripper-setup-guide.htm]

==External links==

* [http://www.dbpoweramp.com/ dBpowerAMP official website]
* [http://www.accuraterip.com/ AccurateRip official website]

[[Category:Software]]
[[Category:CD Rippers]]

ALAC

2010-09-14T10:17:06Z

Chortos-2: added CUETools

'''Apple Lossless''' (also known as ''Apple Lossless Encoder'', ''ALE'', or ''Apple Lossless Audio Codec'', ''ALAC'') is a [[Lossless]] audio codec developed by Apple Computer.

Apple Lossless data is stored within an [[MP4]] or [[MOV]] container with the filename extensions .m4a or .mov. It is not a variant of AAC, but a totally new codec. [[Apple iPod]]s with a dock connector and recent firmware can play Apple Lossless encoded files. It does not utilize any DRM scheme, but by the nature of the container, it is thought that DRM can be applied to ALAC much the same way it can with other files in QuickTime containers.

Apple claims that audio files compressed with its lossless codec will use up ''"about half the storage space"'' that the uncompressed data would require.

The Apple Lossless Encoder was introduced as a component of [[QuickTime]] 6.5.1 on April 28 2004 and thus as a feature of Apple iTunes 4.5. The codec is also used in the AirPort Express's AirTunes implementation.

David Hammerton and Cody Brocious have analyzed and reverse-engineered this codec without any documents on the format. On March 5 2005 Hammerton published a simple open source decoder in the C programming language on the basis of their work.

=== Player support ===

==== Hardware ====

* [[Apple iPod]]
* iRiver iHP-120/iHP-140 with the open source [http://www.rockbox.org Rockbox firmware]

==== Software ====

* [[iTunes]]
* [[QuickTime]]
* [[dBpowerAMP]]
* [[foobar2000]]
* [[XMplay]]
* [[CueTools|CUETools]]

===Addional Reading===

* [http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html Apple - iTunes - Import]
* [[Lossless_comparison|Lossless Codec Comparison]] by Rjamorim
* [http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html Open Source Decoder]

[[Category:Codecs]]
[[Category:Lossless]]

CUETools

2010-09-14T10:13:22Z

Chortos-2: /* Supported formats */ updated ALAC info

{{Software Infobox
| name = CUETools
| logo =
| screenshot = [[Image:CUETools 2.0.9.png|250px|CUETools 2.0.8]]
| caption =
| maintainer = [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showuser=2227 Moitah],[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showuser=59035 Gregory S. Chudov]
| stable_release = 2.0.9
| preview_release = ''none''
| operating_system = [[Wikipedia:Microsoft Windows|Windows]] via native [[Wikipedia:.NET Framework| .NET]], [[Wikipedia:Cross-platform|Cross-platform]] via [[Wikipedia:Mono (software)|Mono]]
| use = Audio CD rip conversion and verification, multi-codec encoder and decoder
| license = [[Wikipedia:GNU General Public License|GNU GPL]]
| website = [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=66233 Hydrogenaudio], [http://www.cuetools.net/doku.php CUETools]
}}

'''CUETools''' is a tool for [[lossless|lossless audio]]/[[Cue sheet|CUE sheet]] format conversion. The goal is to make sure the album image is preserved accurately. Lossless disc image must be lossless not only in preserving contents of the audio tracks, but also in preserving gaps and CUE sheet contents. Many applications lose vital information upon conversion, and don't support all possible CUE sheet styles. For example, [[foobar2000]] looses disc pre-gap information when converting an album image, and doesn't support gaps appended (noncompliant) CUE sheets.

==Supported formats==
Supports [[WAV]], [[FLAC]], [[APE]], [[LossyWAV]], [[WavPack]] and [[ALAC]] audio input/output.
Audio must be 16-bit, 44.1kHz samples stereo (i.e. [[Wikipedia:Red Book (audio CD standard)|CD]] PCM).
Supports every imaginable [[Cue sheet|CUE sheet]] style (embedded, single file, gaps appended/prepended/left out).
It is also possible to process a set of audio files in a directory without a CUE sheet, or use a RAR archive as an
input without unpacking it.

==Use cases==
* Convert a single file album image with CUE sheet to a file-per-track album image
* Convert a file-per-track album image with CUE sheet to a single file album image
* Convert a file-per-track album image without a CUE sheet to a single file album image with simple CUE sheet
* Convert an album image from one lossless codec to another, preserving CUE sheet structure
* Verify a (possibly non offset-corrected) album image against AccurateRip database
* Apply offset correction to a rip made without offset correction
* Prepare an album image for burning with software, which does not handle drive write offsets, by applying offset
* Extract an album image directly from a RAR archive without unpacking it, and save it in a different format
* Fix filenames in a CUE sheet, if the files were renamed or converted to a different format.
* Compress to [[LossyWAV]], creating a lossy output + correction file.
* Convert a [[HDCD]] image to 24-bit / 20-bit / [[lossyWAV]] 16-bit audio files (irreversible).

==AccurateRip support==
Since version 1.9.2, CUETools can verify album images using [[AccurateRip]] database. ARCue and TripleFLAC were an inspiration. The unique feature of CUETools AccurateRip verification is offset detection. Rip that was made without offset correction can still be verified against the database, offset can be found and corrected.

Sample log:

[Disc ID: 000d44e3-005781a4-6b09df03]
Track [ CRC ] Status
01 [4a3fc0dd] (00/118) No matches
02 [a9382641] (00/118) No matches
03 [ebf74add] (00/116) No matches
Offsetted by -738:
01 [fd79d20e] (08/118) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1
02 [a0b20dcc] (08/118) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1
03 [44bacfd7] (08/116) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #1
Offsetted by -265:
01 [b5d7e187] (05/118) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #4
02 [29867165] (05/118) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #4
03 [380c013d] (05/116) Accurately ripped as in pressing(s) #4

==What's wrong if I'm sure the CD is present in the database, but CUETools doesn't find it?==
CDs in the AccurateRip database are identified by the track lengths. Pregap and data track included. If you rip to separate tracks without a .cue sheet, this information is lost. If the CD had a pregap and/or data track, you won't find it in the database without a .cue sheet (or using dummy .cue sheet, or using Foobar2k-generated .cue sheet). Sometimes you will find a wrong set, e.g. if the disc was released in two versions - with and without data track. You rip a version with data track, and verify it without a .cue sheet, and your files look like the version without a data track. Or you rip a CD which has a pregap, and try verify it without a .cue sheet, your files look like a CD-R which someone made from such a rip, and then ripped it.

So make sure you have original .cue sheet and EAC .log available. Keeping the original .cue ensures that you don't lose the pregap length.
Data track length is not stored in .cue sheet, but if you have an EAC log made by the recent versions of EAC, CUETools can find the data track length from it. For this to work, the .log file should have the same filename as the .cue file, aside from the extension. If you don't have a .log file, but your .cue sheet contains original DISCID (like all .cue sheets made by recent EAC versions), CUETools can detect that the datatrack was present and hint for a possible data track length range. You can try to enter 75 different values in that range manually to find an exact length.

==Command line options==
* CUETools.exe /verify <filename> - verify an image using AccurateRip database.
* CUETools.exe /convert <filename> - convert an image to the default output format.
* CUETools.exe <filename> - open CUETools dialog, with input file set to <filename>.
* ArCueDotNet.exe <filename> - console version of AccurateRip verification.
* LossyWAVSharp.exe <filename> - console lossyWAV compression utility

==Supported platforms==
CUETools is a [[Wikipedia:.NET_Framework|.NET]] application, written in [[Wikipedia:C Sharp (programming language)|C#]]. Binaries are available for 32 bit (x86) and 64 bit (x64) Windows versions. .NET Framework 2.0 and Visual C++ 2005 SP1 runtime are required.
Users report they have been able to use it under GNU/Linux, using [[Wikipedia:Mono (software)|Mono]], but in this scenario only WAV audio is supported, as other codecs are not yet ported to C#.

==External links==
*[http://moitah.net/ Moitah's website] - Currently hosts stable (outdated) version 1.9.1;
*[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=50113 Original thread] - Original discussion;
*[http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=66233 1.9.5 Development Thread] - Latest development version;
*[http://cuetoolsnet.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/cuetoolsnet/ SVN repository]
*[http://sourceforge.net/projects/cuetoolsnet Sourceforge project page]
*[http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856EACB-4362-4B0D-8EDD-AAB15C5E04F5&displaylang=en .NET Framework 2.0 (x86) download]
*[http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=200B2FD9-AE1A-4A14-984D-389C36F85647&displaylang=en Visual C++ 2005 SP1 runtime (x86) download]

[[Category:Software]]
[[Category:Encoder/Decoder]]
[[Category:CD Rippers]]

Lossless comparison

2010-09-14T10:11:20Z

Chortos-2: updated ALAC info

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" | Replay Gain
| 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: #FF9900" | no
| 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" | Replay Gain
| 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
* [[Replay Gain]] 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 [[Replay Gain]]

'''''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/wer/liebchen/lpac.html

[[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 [[Replay Gain]]

== 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 ([http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/17/gemei-x-21-offers-ape-support/ Gemei X21])
* Doesn't support [[Replay Gain]]

=== 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 Replay Gain 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://losslessaudiocompression.com/

[[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
* [[Replay Gain]] 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 [[Replay Gain]]

== 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 [[Replay Gain]]

== 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]])
* [[Replay Gain]] 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
* [[Replay Gain]] 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
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
* Tagging support (proprietary)
* Pipe support

=== WMAL cons ===
* Closed source
* No hybrid/lossy mode
* Limited hardware support ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
* Doesn't support [[Replay Gain]]

=== 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 [http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/ ReallyRareWares]

=== Advanced Digital Audio (ADA) ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/ada.html

=== Bonk ===
* http://www.logarithmic.net/pfh/bonk

=== Marian's a-Pac ===
* http://www.marian.de/en/downloads#APAC
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/apac.html

=== AudioZip ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/audiozip.html

=== Dakx WAV ===
* http://www.dakx.com/
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/daxwav.html

=== Entis Lab MIO ===
* http://www.entis.gr.jp/eri/frame.html
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/mio.html

=== LiteWave ===
* http://www.clearjump.com/products/LiteWave.html
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/litewave.html

=== Pegasus SPS ===
* http://www.krishnasoft.com/sps.htm
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/pegasussps.html

=== RK Audio (RKAU) ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/split2000.html

=== Sonarc ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/sonarc.html

=== VocPack ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/vocpack.html

=== WavArc ===
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/wavarc.html

=== WaveZip/MUSICompress ===
* http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/sndspace/
* http://www.rjamorim.com/rrw/wavezip.html

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

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

* [http://uclc.info/LossLess.pdf Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison] - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
* [http://web.inter.nl.net/users/hvdh/lossless/lossless.htm Hans Heijden'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)
* [http://uclc.info/lossless_audio_compression_test.htm Johan De Bock's size oriented comparison] - aimed only at the maximum compression setting for each codec (based on a somewhat limited set of samples, however) (last updated 2006-05-19)
* [http://guruboolez.free.fr/lossless/ Guruboolez'] -- 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 ===
* [http://losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog] - 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]]