https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Hydrogenbomb&feedformat=atomHydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T14:10:57ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.22.7https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Free_Lossless_Audio_CodecFree Lossless Audio Codec2016-03-14T02:36:14Z<p>Hydrogenbomb: Add "FLAC is supported by default in Android since version 3.1 and in Windows 10." to lead section</p>
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<div>{{Codec Infobox<br />
| name = FLAC<br />
| logo = [[Image:FLAC logo.gif]]<br />
| type = lossless<br />
| purpose = Popular open source patent free lossless compression scheme.<br />
| maintainer = Josh Coalson, Xiph Community <br />
| recommended_encoder = FLAC encoder<br />
| recommended_text = FLAC v1.3.1 (25-11-2014)<br />
| website = http://xiph.org/flac/<br />
}}<br />
'''Free Lossless Audio Codec''' ('''FLAC''') is a codec for lossless audio compression.<br />
Grossly oversimplified, FLAC is similar to [[MP3]], but [[lossless]], meaning that audio is compressed in FLAC without any loss in quality. This is similar to how Zip works, except with FLAC you will get much better compression because it is designed specifically for audio, and you can play back compressed FLAC files in your favorite player (or your car or home stereo, if supported) just like you would a lossy file.<br />
<br />
FLAC is supported by default in Android since version 3.1 and in Windows 10.<br />
<br />
== General aspects of the format ==<br />
FLAC is freely available and supported on most operating systems, including Windows, UNIX (Linux, *BSD, Solaris, OS X, IRIX), BeOS, OS/2, and Amiga. There are build systems for autotools, MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of:<br />
* the stream format<br />
* reference encoders and decoders in library form<br />
* flac, a command-line program to encode and decode FLAC files<br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for FLAC files<br />
* input plugins for various music players<br />
<br />
When it's said that FLAC is ''free'', it means more than just that it is available at no cost. It means that the specification of the format is fully open to the public to be used for any purpose, although the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance. It also means that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any known patent. And it means that all the source code is available under [http://xiph.org/flac/license.html open-source licenses]. It is the first truly open and free lossless audio format.<br />
<br />
== Features ==<br />
* '''Lossless:''' The encoding of audio (PCM) data incurs no loss of information, and the decoded audio is bit-for-bit identical to what went into the encoder. Each frame contains a 16-bit CRC of the frame data for detecting transmission errors. The integrity of the audio data is further insured by storing an MD5 signature of the original unencoded audio data in the file header, which can be compared against later during decoding or testing.<br />
* '''Fast:''' FLAC is asymmetric in favor of decode speed. Decoding requires only integer arithmetic, and is much less compute-intensive than for most perceptual codecs. Real-time decode performance is easily achievable on even modest hardware.<br />
* '''Hardware support:''' Because of FLAC's free reference implementation, low decoding complexity and popularity, FLAC has relatively widespread hardware support compared to other lossless formats.<br />
* '''Streamable:''' Each FLAC frame contains enough data to decode that frame. FLAC does not even rely on previous or following frames. FLAC uses sync codes and CRCs (similar to MPEG and other formats), which, along with framing, allow decoders to pick up in the middle of a stream with a minimum of delay.<br />
* '''Seekable:''' FLAC supports fast sample-accurate seeking. Not only is this useful for playback, it makes FLAC files suitable for use in editing applications.<br />
* '''Flexible metadata:''' New metadata blocks can be defined and implemented in future versions of FLAC without breaking older streams or decoders. Currently there are metadata types for tags, cue sheets, and seek tables. Applications can write their own APPLICATION metadata once they register an ID.<br />
* '''Suitable for archiving:''' FLAC is an open format, and there is no generation loss if you need to convert your data to another format in the future. In addition to the frame CRCs and MD5 signature, FLAC has a verify option that decodes the encoded stream in parallel with the encoding process and compares the result to the original, aborting with an error if there is a mismatch.<br />
* '''Convenient CD archiving:''' FLAC has a ''cue sheet'' metadata block for storing a CD table of contents and all track and index points. For instance, you can rip a CD to a single file, then import the CD's extracted cue sheet while encoding to yield a single file representation of the entire CD. If your original CD is damaged, the cue sheet can be exported later in order to burn an exact copy.<br />
* '''Error resistant:''' Because of FLAC's framing, stream errors limit the damage to the frame in which the error occurred, typically a small fraction of a second worth of data. Contrast this with some other lossless codecs, in which a single error destroys the remainder of the stream.<br />
<br />
== Pros ==<br />
* Portable to many systems<br />
* Open source and freely licensed<br />
* Hardware support (PhatBox, Kenwood MusicKeg, Rio Karma, etc. See below)<br />
* Streaming support<br />
* Extremely fast decoding<br />
* Supports multichannel and high resolution streams<br />
* Supports [[ReplayGain]]<br />
* Supports cue-sheet (with some limitations)<br />
* Gaining wide use as successor to [[Shorten]]<br />
<br />
== Cons ==<br />
* Compresses less efficiently than other popular modern compressors ([[Monkey's Audio]], [[OptimFROG]])<br />
* Higher compression modes slow, for little gain over the default setting.<br />
<br />
== Hardware and software that support FLAC ==<br />
For a more comprehensive list see the [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html FLAC links page].<br />
<br />
=== Hardware ===<br />
==== Car stereo ====<br />
* Kenwood [http://www.kenwood.com/cs/ce/audiofile/index.php?model=KMM KMM series]<br />
* Pioneer [http://www.pioneer.eu/eur/products/25/121/61/overview.html Car Stereo] (search FLAC)<br />
* JVC [http://mobile.jvc.com/product.jsp?pathId=139 KD-X "Digital Media Receivers" series] (almost all)<br />
* Soundstream [http://soundstream.com/store/car-video/source-units.html Source Units]<br />
* Tesla Model S<br />
* Citroën DS5<br />
<br />
==== Home stereo ====<br />
* Olive's [http://www.olive.us/ Symphony] wireless digital music center<br />
* [http://www.numark.com/ Numark]'s DJ equipment (HDX and CDX turntables, HDMIX mixer)<br />
* [http://www.sonos.com/ Sonos Digital Music System]<br />
* Slim Devices' [http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_squeezebox.html Squeezebox] networked audio players<br />
<br />
==== Portable ====<br />
* [[Apple iPod]] with [[Rockbox]] firmware<br />
* [[iAudio M3]], M5 and X5<br />
* [[iRiver]] iHP-120/iHP-140 with [[Rockbox]] firmware<br />
* [[Iwod G10]]<br />
* [[Rio Karma]]<br />
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk_Sansa SanDisk Sansa]<br />
* TrekStor's [http://www.trekstor.de/en/products/detail_mp3.php?pid=66 Vibez]<br />
* Devices running Android 3.1+<br />
* [[Pono|Pono Player]]<br />
<br />
=== Software ===<br />
==== Players ====<br />
<br />
'''Windows'''<br />
* [[foobar2000]]<br />
* [[MediaMonkey]]<br />
* [[Winamp]]<br />
*[http://mplayerwin.sourceforge.net/ MPlayer] Console player<br />
* [http://www.cyberlink.com/products/powerdvd-ultra/features_en_US.html?&r=1 PowerDVD]<br />
* [http://www.videolan.org/ VLC]<br />
* [http://www.un4seen.com/ XMPlay]<br />
<br />
'''Mac'''<br />
* [http://coppertino.com/ VOX]<br />
* [http://cogx.org/ Cog]<br />
* [http://www.videolan.org/ VLC]<br />
<br />
'''Linux'''<br />
* [http://www.clementine-player.org/ Clementine]<br />
* [http://www.mplayerhq.hu/ MPlayer]<br />
* [http://www.mythtv.org/ MythTV]<br />
* [http://www.videolan.org/ VLC]<br />
* [[XMMS]]<br />
<br />
==== Frontends (Windows) ====<br />
* FLAC frontend - [http://sourceforge.net/projects/flacfrontend/ download] / [http://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=Download_page discussion] (ktf)<br />
* Custom [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/flac.htm Windows Frontend] (by Speek)<br />
<br />
==== Frontends (Mac) ====<br />
* [http://www.sbooth.org/Max/ Max]<br />
<br />
==== Converters ====<br />
* [http://www.dbpoweramp.com/ dBpowerAMP] Music Converter / Audio Player / CD Writer<br />
* [http://www.mediamonkey.com/ MediaMonkey] Music Manager / Audio Player / CD Writer<br />
* [http://www.freac.org/ fre:ac] Music Converter / CD Writer/Ripper<br />
<br />
==== Editors ====<br />
*[http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Audacity]<br />
* [[Adobe Audition]]<br />
* [http://www.goldwave.com/ GoldWave]<br />
<br />
==== CD writers/rippers ====<br />
* [http://www.nero.com/eng/ Nero]<br />
* [http://arson.sourceforge.net/ Arson]<br />
* [http://www.burrrn.net Burrrn] Audio CD burner<br />
* [[Exact Audio Copy]] CD Ripper<br />
* [http://cdexos.sourceforge.net CDex] CD ripper<br />
* [http://www.cdwave.com/ CD Wave]<br />
* [http://cdburnerxp.se/ CDBurnerXP] CD writer<br />
* [http://www.mediamonkey.com/ MediaMonkey] - CD ripper/writer<br />
<br />
==== Taggers ====<br />
* [http://www.mp3tag.de/en/index.html Mp3tag] - Universal Tag Editor<br />
* [http://www.jtclipper.eu/thegodfather/ The GodFather] - Tagger / Music manager<br />
* [http://sbooth.org/Tag/ Tag] - for Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)<br />
<br />
* [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/tag/ Case's Tag] - Command line tagger<br />
* [https://xiph.org/flac/documentation_tools_metaflac.html metaflac] - for general metadata (including Vorbis comments) maintenance<br />
* [[MediaMonkey]] - Tagger / Music manager (Including multiple and linked album art support)<br />
* [http://www.xdlab.ru/en/ TagScanner] - "The Ultimate Tag Editor"<br />
<br />
==== Other tools ====<br />
* [http://www.bunkus.org/videotools/mkvtoolnix/ mkvtoolnix] - tool to multiplex FLAC streams inside the Matroska container<br />
* [https://xiph.org/flac/documentation_tools_metaflac.html metaflac] - for general metadata (including Vorbis comments) maintenance, also to calculate [[ReplayGain]] values for FLAC files lacking such<br />
<br />
for a more comprehensive list use the '''External Links''' bottom of this page to visit flac's download and link page.<br />
<br />
== Frequently asked questions ==<br />
''Question:'' Does the compression level affect decompression speed?<br />
<br />
''Short Answer'': No.<br />
<br />
''Long Answer'': In truth, the compression level does affect the decompression speed, but the difference between the various compress levels can barely be measured and is too small to be noticed, even on low-end machines.<br />
<br />
<br />
''Question:'' What is the best compression level for encoding my music?<br />
<br />
''Short Answer'': The default setting, 5.<br />
<br />
''Long Answer'': Encoding at the default setting will give the best balance between compression and encoding speed. Encoding at 8 can more than quadruple the encoding time, while having an insignificant effect on compression.<br />
<br />
== See also ==<br />
* [[Lossless]]<br />
* [[Lossless comparison]]<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
* [https://xiph.org/flac/ FLAC Homepage] | [https://xiph.org/flac/format.html format description] | [https://xiph.org/flac/documentation.html documentation] | [https://xiph.org/flac/faq.html FAQ] | [https://www.xiph.org/flac/download.html download]<br />
* [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showforum=67 FLAC discussion]<br />
* [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=107611 FLAC 1.3.1 discussion]<br />
* [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=107913 FLAC 1.3.1 non-SSE2 build for older CPUs]<br />
* ktf's [http://www.hydrogenaud.io/forums/index.php?showtopic=107990 Lossless codec comparison] graphs the influence of the chosen encoding level on the encoding and decoding performance of FLAC 1.3.1 and various other lossless codecs. Omion's older test, "[http://web.archive.org/web/20091108104748/http://people.ucsc.edu/~rswilson/flactest File Size vs. Decoding Speed"], covers the influence of the chosen encoding level on the decoding speed of FLAC 1.2.1.<br />
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[[Category:Lossless]]<br />
[[Category:Encoder/Decoder]]</div>Hydrogenbombhttps://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=OptimFROGOptimFROG2016-03-14T02:35:20Z<p>Hydrogenbomb: dBpowerAMP wikilink</p>
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<div>OptimFROG is a free [[lossless]] audio codec, known by its very high compression ratios.<br />
OptimFROG is developed by Florin Ghido.<br />
<br />
OptimFROG usually obtains the best lossless audio compression ratios on comparisons against other lossless encoders (practically a tie with the current champion [[LA]]). It has Windows and Linux versions, fully-featured input plug-ins for the foobar2000, Winamp2, Winamp3, [[dBpowerAMP]], XMPlay and XMMS audio players (with bitstream error resilience, [[ID3v1|ID3v1.1]] and [[APEv2]] read tagging support), optimal support for all integer [[PCM]] [[WAV]] formats up to 32 bits and an extensible streamable (error tolerant) compressed format. <br />
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One of its downsides is that there is no source code available, nor format specifications. Another downside is that it is relatively slow at both encoding and decoding.<br />
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OptimFROG uses a new audio compression technology, the generalized stereo decorrelation concept, which was first introduced with OptimFROG 4.0b in December 2001. At the time of its introduction, the new technology yielded significant better (~1.5%) compression than existing state of the art lossless audio compressors.<br />
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== Playback ==<br />
* [[foobar2000]]<br />
* [[XMMS]]<br />
* [[Winamp]]<br />
<br />
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==Addtional Reading==<br />
* [http://www.losslessaudio.org/ Ghido's Data Compression Page]<br />
* [http://members.home.nl/w.speek/comparison.htm compression benchmark of many lossless codecs]<br />
* [[Lossless_comparison|Lossless Codec Comparison]] by Rjamorim<br />
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[[Category: Codecs]]<br />
[[Category: Lossless]]</div>Hydrogenbomb