TAK: Difference between revisions

From Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase
VisualWikitext
mNo edit summary
No edit summary
Line 17: Line 17:
* High compression
* High compression
* Fast compression and decompression speed
* Fast compression and decompression speed
* Streaming support
* Streaming support (necessary headers for decompressing the audio are written to the stream every 2 seconds)
* Error tolerance
* Error tolerance (single bit error will never affect more than 250 ms)
** Single bit error will never affect more than 250 ms
* Error detection (each frame protected by a 24-bit checksum (CRC))
* Error detection
** Each frame protected by a 24-bit checksum (CRC)


=== Pros ===
=== Pros ===
* Fast encoding speed
* Fast encoding speed (while providing better compression TAK encodes as fast as [[FLAC]] -8 in TAK's “Extra” and several times faster in “Turbo” mode)
** TAK “Extra” encodes as fast as [[FLAC]] -8 while providing better compression
** TAK “Turbo” encodes several times faster than [[FLAC]] -8 while providing better compression
* Fast decompression speed (on par with [[FLAC]] / [[WavPack]])
* Fast decompression speed (on par with [[FLAC]] / [[WavPack]])
* Good compression levels (on par with [[Monkey's Audio]] High)
* Good compression levels (on par with [[Monkey's Audio]] High)
Line 35: Line 31:
* Closed Source (at the moment)
* Closed Source (at the moment)
* No hardware support
* No hardware support
* Very limited software support (Only [[Winamp]] & [[foobar2000]] plugins at the moment)
* Very limited software support (playback: [[Winamp]] & [[foobar2000]] plugins, tagging: Mp3Tag)


== Hardware and Software That Support TAK ==
== Hardware and Software That Support TAK ==
Line 44: Line 40:
* TAK SDK 1.0.3 – Software Development Kit for TAK [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54159 here]
* TAK SDK 1.0.3 – Software Development Kit for TAK [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54159 here]
* Winamp Plugin 1.0.2 [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54159 here]
* Winamp Plugin 1.0.2 [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54159 here]
* foo_input_tak, TAK decoder for [[foobar2000]] [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54087 here]
* foo_input_tak, TAK decoder for [[foobar2000]] [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=54087 here] (supports tagging and [[Replay Gain]])
* [[Mp3tag]] – universal tag editor with support for TAK
* [[Mp3tag]] – universal tag editor with support for TAK


Line 88: Line 84:


* What can I compress with TAK?
* What can I compress with TAK?
: TAK 1.0 can compress any integer-format (up to 24 bits per channel) PCM Windows Waveform file (.wav). Since piping support has not been added yet, you must convert your lossless files to wav first to convert to TAK.
: TAK 1.0 can compress any integer-format (up to 24 bits per channel) PCM RIFF WAVE file (.wav). Since piping support has not been added yet, you must convert your lossless files to wav first to convert to TAK.


* What about hardware support?
* What about hardware support?
: None at the moment. Although, Turbo, Fast and Normal are the candidates for hardware playback.
: None at the moment. Although, ''Turbo'', ''Fast'' and ''Normal'' are the candidates for hardware playback.


* When will the source be opened?
* When will the source be opened?

Revision as of 14:13, 13 June 2007

This article is a stub. You can help the Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase by expanding it.

Tom's lossless Audio Kompressor
File:TAK-logo.png
lossless audio compression.
Developer(s) Thomas Becker
Release TBC
Type Lossless
Recommended encoder TAK v1.0.1
Website ThBeck.de/Tak/Tak.html (german)

Description

Tom's lossless Audio Kompressor (TAK) is a lossless audio compressor which promises compression performance similar to Monkey's Audio “High” and decompression speed similar to FLAC. While the basic format is ready and safe to use, many features such as internal tagging, playback support for other players are yet to be implemented.

Features

  • High compression
  • Fast compression and decompression speed
  • Streaming support (necessary headers for decompressing the audio are written to the stream every 2 seconds)
  • Error tolerance (single bit error will never affect more than 250 ms)
  • Error detection (each frame protected by a 24-bit checksum (CRC))

Pros

  • Fast encoding speed (while providing better compression TAK encodes as fast as FLAC -8 in TAK's “Extra” and several times faster in “Turbo” mode)
  • Fast decompression speed (on par with FLAC / WavPack)
  • Good compression levels (on par with Monkey's Audio High)
  • Error Robustness
  • Fast Seeking

Cons

  • Closed Source (at the moment)
  • No hardware support
  • Very limited software support (playback: Winamp & foobar2000 plugins, tagging: Mp3Tag)

Hardware and Software That Support TAK

Hardware

  • None

Software

  • TAK SDK 1.0.3 – Software Development Kit for TAK here
  • Winamp Plugin 1.0.2 here
  • foo_input_tak, TAK decoder for foobar2000 here (supports tagging and Replay Gain)
  • Mp3tag – universal tag editor with support for TAK

Recommended Settings

  • Default compression: “Normal” is the most attractive setting, providing an excellent compromise between compression and encoding speed. (At compression levels close to Monkey's Audio High (<0.4% difference), it is able to encode more quickly.)

takc -e [input file]

  • Highest compression: “Extra” preset with “Maximum” switch. (This will create files which are comparable in size to file created using Monkey's Audio High. Decompression speed is comparable to WavPack Normal.)

takc -e -p4m [input file]

  • Fastest compression: “Turbo” preset (This will create files which are comparable in size to Monkey's Audio Fast or WavPack High. Decompression speed is comparable to FLAC 0.)

takc -e -p0 [input file]

TAK Performance Graph

Graph showing encoding and decoding rate against compression, using data from Synthetic Soul's test on TAK 1.0.1
(see External Links)

Using TAK

TAK with foobar2000

  • Copy the takc.exe to your foobar2000 directory
  • Go to File -> Preferences -> Tools -> Converter
  • Set it up as shown:
TAK Encoder with foobar

Note: replace the -p4 with the desired compression level.

  • Use APEv2 tagging (will be used as internal tagging)

TAK with EAC

Please read the wiki guide, which details how to create TAK files with EAC.

Future Features

  • Unicode support
  • Piping support
  • MD5 audio checksums for verification and identification
  • A German version
  • Embedded cue sheets
  • Embedded cover art
  • Multichannel audio

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Is the codec safe for use?
Yes. To check, convert a WAVE to TAK and back and compare the two (or use foobar's bitcompare tool).
  • Why should I use TAK?
TAK offers high compression ratios with great decoding rates.
  • What can I compress with TAK?
TAK 1.0 can compress any integer-format (up to 24 bits per channel) PCM RIFF WAVE file (.wav). Since piping support has not been added yet, you must convert your lossless files to wav first to convert to TAK.
  • What about hardware support?
None at the moment. Although, Turbo, Fast and Normal are the candidates for hardware playback.
  • When will the source be opened?
Yes, TAK will be open-source, as soon as the code is ported to C or C++ and documented. However, Thomas has mentioned that he would like to improve the codec before opening the source.

External Links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.hydrogenaud.io/index.php?title=TAK&oldid=17126"