Difference between revisions of "Lossless comparison"

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(Changed headings so TOC is much more readable. Changed introduction too)
(Updated lists to conform to table, removed Apple-specific references (that's really part of hardware/software support))
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'''ALAC pros'''
 
'''ALAC pros'''
−
* Very fast decoding
+
* Fast encoding
 +
* 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])
 
* [[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)
 
* Hardware support ([[Apple iPod|iPod]], AirPort Express)
 +
* Software support (iTunes, Quicktime)
 
* Streaming support
 
* Streaming support
 
* Tagging support (QT tags)
 
* Tagging support (QT tags)
−
* Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with [[iTunes]]/iPod.
 
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
 +
* Used by a few online stores
  
 
''' ALAC cons '''
 
''' ALAC cons '''
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* No error detection/robustness
 
* No error detection/robustness
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 +
* Not very efficient
  
 
''' ALAC Other features '''
 
''' ALAC Other features '''
 
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container
 
* Fits in the [[MP4]] container
−
* Can be used with the AirPort Express gadget
 
−
 
  
 
=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
 
=== Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) ===
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* [[Open source]]
 
* [[Open source]]
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Very fast decoding
−
* Fast encoding
+
* Very fast encoding
−
* Hardware support ([[Rio Karma|Karma]], Phatbox, etc.)
+
* Very good hardware support (Android, Marantz, Sonos, [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html many others])
 
* Very good software support
 
* Very good software support
 
* Error robustness
 
* Error robustness
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* Pipe support
 
* Pipe support
 
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
 
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
 +
* Used by a few [http://xiph.org/flac/links.html#music online stores]
  
 
''' FLAC cons '''
 
''' FLAC cons '''
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
−
* No support in iTunes (or other Apple products)
 
  
 
''' FLAC Other features '''
 
''' FLAC Other features '''
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags limitations])
−
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
+
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
 
* Fits the [[Ogg]] and [[Matroska]] containers
 
* Fits the [[Ogg]] and [[Matroska]] containers
  
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* Bad software support
 
* Bad software support
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
 +
* No updates since 2004
  
 
'''''It's important to mention that the LA foobar plugin is buggy and doesn't produce lossless streams!'''''
 
'''''It's important to mention that the LA foobar plugin is buggy and doesn't produce lossless streams!'''''
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''' APE pros '''
 
''' APE pros '''
−
* High efficiency
+
* High compression
 +
* Fast encoding
 
* Good software support
 
* Good software support
 
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
 
* Simple and user friendly. Official GUI provided.
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''' APE cons '''
 
''' APE cons '''
 
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
 
* Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
 +
* Slow decoding
 
* No [[multichannel]] support
 
* No [[multichannel]] support
 
* No error robustness
 
* No error robustness
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
−
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks]
+
* Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see [http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/SoundCodecMonkeysAudio MP3 player benchmarks])
 
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
 
* Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
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* Transcoding to standard AAC or any higher lossy bitrate at the speed of copying a file
 
* 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
 
* 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)
+
* Best lossless compression available when you don't count the AAC track (~5% gain over any other lossless compression + AAC)
 
* [[High resolution]] audio support
 
* [[High resolution]] audio support
 
* Multi channel audio support
 
* Multi channel audio support
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* Pure lossless compression not the best there is
 
* Pure lossless compression not the best there is
 
* Seems to be slow in encoding and decoding, but we have to wait for released software
 
* Seems to be slow in encoding and decoding, but we have to wait for released software
 +
* No news or developments in last few years
  
 
''' SLS Other features '''
 
''' SLS Other features '''
 
* Transform based lossless codec with optional LC AAC core track
 
* Transform based lossless codec with optional LC AAC core track
−
 
  
 
=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
 
=== OptimFROG (OFR) ===
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* No [[multichannel]] audio support
 
* No [[multichannel]] audio support
 
* No hardware support
 
* No hardware support
−
* Quite slow decoding
+
* Very slow decoding
 +
* Slow encoding
 +
* No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)
  
 
''' OFR Other features '''
 
''' OFR Other features '''
 
* Supports 32bit float streams
 
* Supports 32bit float streams
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
−
 
  
 
=== RealAudio Lossless (RAL) ===
 
=== RealAudio Lossless (RAL) ===
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''' RAL cons '''
 
''' RAL cons '''
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 +
* Slow encoding
 
* No [[multichannel]] and [[high resolution]] audio support
 
* No [[multichannel]] and [[high resolution]] audio support
 
* Little software support (Real Player)
 
* Little software support (Real Player)
 
* No hardware support
 
* No hardware support
−
* Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
 
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No pipe support
 
* No pipe support
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
−
 
  
 
=== Shorten (SHN) ===
 
=== Shorten (SHN) ===
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* [[Open source]]
 
* [[Open source]]
 
* Fast decoding
 
* Fast decoding
−
* Very good software support
+
* Very fast encoding
 +
* Good software support
 
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
 
* Supports [[RIFF]] chunks
 
* Pipe support
 
* Pipe support
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* No native tagging
 
* No native tagging
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
 
* Doesn't support [[ReplayGain]]
−
 
+
* No news or developments since 2007
  
 
=== True Audio (TTA) ===
 
=== True Audio (TTA) ===
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''' TTA pros '''
 
''' TTA pros '''
 
* [[Open source]]
 
* [[Open source]]
−
* Good efficiency
 
−
* Hardware support (obscure DVD player)
 
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3]])
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3]])
 
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
 
* [[ReplayGain]] compatible
 
* Error robustness
 
* Error robustness
 +
* Average compression and decoding speed
 +
* Fast encoding
  
 
''' TTA cons '''
 
''' TTA cons '''
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* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
 
* Doesn't support [[RIFF]] chunks
 
* No pipe support
 
* No pipe support
 +
* No update since 2007
 +
* Limited hardware support
  
 
''' TTA Other features '''
 
''' TTA Other features '''
 
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
 
* Fits the [[Matroska]] container
−
 
  
 
=== WavPack (WV) ===
 
=== WavPack (WV) ===
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''' WV pros '''
 
''' WV pros '''
 
* [[Open source]]
 
* [[Open source]]
−
* Very fast decoding
+
* Fast decoding
 
* Very fast encoding
 
* Very fast encoding
 
* Good efficiency
 
* Good efficiency
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* Streaming support
 
* Streaming support
 
* Very good software support
 
* Very good software support
−
* Hardware support (All Microsoft Zunes though older models may need firmware updates, also supported by some non-Microsoft devices like the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba].
+
* Hardware support (Microsoft Zune, [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigabeat Gigabeat V and S line from Toshiba])
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
 
* Supports [[multichannel]] audio and [[high resolution]]s.
 
* Tagging support (proprietary)
 
* Tagging support (proprietary)
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''' WMAL cons '''
 
''' WMAL cons '''
 +
* Rather low efficiency
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
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''' WMAL Other features '''
 
''' WMAL Other features '''
 
* Fits the [[ASF]] container
 
* Fits the [[ASF]] container
−
 
  
 
=== Oddball Formats ===
 
=== Oddball Formats ===
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== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
* [[Lossless]]
 
* [[Lossless]]
−
 
  
 
== External links ==
 
== External links ==

Revision as of 20:11, 2 April 2014

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. Some 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 a 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 Links section of this page.

Comparison Table

Features FLAC WavPack TAK Monkey's OptimFROG ALAC WMA
Encoding speed[A] very fast very fast very fast fast slow fast fast
Decoding speed[A] very fast fast very fast slow very slow fast average
Compression[A] 57.0% 57.1% 56.0% 55.1% 54.6% 57.8% 58.4%
Flexibility[B] very good very good very good very good very good bad bad
 
Error handling[C] yes yes yes no yes no yes
Seeking yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Tagging Vorbis tags ID3/APE APEv2 (exp.) ID3/APE ID3/APE iTunes ASF
Hardware support very good limited no limited no good limited
Software support very good good average good average average good
Hybrid/lossy LossyWAV yes LossyWAV no yes no LossyWAV
ReplayGain yes yes yes no yes sort of no
RIFF chunks yes yes   yes yes   no
Streaming yes yes yes no yes yes yes
Pipe support yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
Open source yes yes no yes no yes no
Multichannel yes yes yes no no yes yes
High resolution yes yes yes yes yes yes yes
OS support All All Win/Linux Wine All Win/Mac/Linux All Win/Mac

(table continued below)

Features Shorten LA TTA MPEG-4 ALS MPEG-4 SLS Real Lossless
Encoding speed[A] very fast very slow fast average slow slow
Decoding speed[A] fast very slow average fast slow very fast
Compression[A] 62.3% 53.3% 56.6% 56.6%  ? ~56%
Flexibility[B] bad average bad very good bad bad
 
Error handling[C] no no yes yes yes  
Seeking yes yes yes yes yes yes
Tagging no ID3v1 ID3 yes yes proprietary
Hardware support limited no limited no no no
Software support very good bad average bad bad bad
Hybrid/lossy no no no LossyWAV yes no
ReplayGain no no yes yes yes no
RIFF chunks yes yes no      
Streaming no   no yes yes yes
Pipe support yes yes no     no
Open source yes no yes yes yes no
Multichannel no no yes yes yes no
High resolution no no yes yes yes no
OS support All Win/Linux All All All Win/Mac/Linux
A 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 and are taken from the most recent lossless codec comparison mentioned at the links section of this page. Encoding speed is very fast if > 150x, fast if >75x, average if >40x, slow if >20x, very slow if <20x. Decoding speed is similar but thresholds are doubled, i.e., very fast if >300x, fast if >150x etc. Thresholds for compression are at 56% and 58%
B Flexibility refers to the amount of encoding choices offered to the users (Fast/low compression, Slow/high compression and everything inbetween)
C Error handling means that a codec can detect a corruption in a file and warn the user about it, but still decode most of the file, only leaving a small gap of silence where the error was detected. Corruption in this sense means bits that are flipped, not removed


Codecs

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 iPod and AirPort Express.

ALAC pros

ALAC cons

  • Limited software support
  • No error detection/robustness
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Not very efficient

ALAC Other features

  • Fits in the MP4 container

Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)

https://xiph.org/flac/

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

FLAC cons

  • No hybrid/lossy mode

FLAC Other features

  • Supports embedded CUE sheets (with limitations)
  • Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking as standard
  • 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 resolutions
  • No hardware support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Bad software support
  • Doesn't support ReplayGain
  • No updates since 2004

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

Monkey's Audio (APE)

http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

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

APE pros

  • High compression
  • Fast encoding
  • 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 special version)

APE cons

  • Problematic license (source provided, no modification or redistribution rights)
  • Slow decoding
  • No multichannel support
  • No error robustness
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Limited hardware support (Rockbox, some Cowon players); poor battery life due to complicated decoding (see MP3 player benchmarks)
  • Higher compression levels are extremely CPU intensive
  • Doesn't support ReplayGain

APE Other features

  • Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
  • Supports APL image link files (similar to CUE sheets)

MPEG-4 SLS

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

SLS pros

  • Transcoding to standard AAC or any higher lossy bitrate at the speed of copying a file
  • Scalable decoding from lossless, to any bitrate down to the AAC core track
  • Best lossless compression available when you don't count the AAC track (~5% gain over any other lossless compression + AAC)
  • High resolution audio support
  • Multi channel audio support
  • Open source (MPEG-4 Reference code)
  • Embedded in standard MP4 files, so supports same tagging and ReplayGain features as AAC does.

SLS cons

  • No usable software available yet
  • Pure lossless compression not the best there is
  • Seems to be slow in encoding and decoding, but we have to wait for released software
  • No news or developments in last few years

SLS Other features

  • Transform based lossless codec with optional LC AAC core track

OptimFROG (OFR)

http://www.losslessaudio.org/

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

OFR pros

OFR cons

  • Closed source
  • No multichannel audio support
  • No hardware support
  • Very slow decoding
  • Slow encoding
  • No updates since 2011 (last non-Windows release in 2006)

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
  • Slow encoding
  • No multichannel and high resolution audio support
  • Little software support (Real Player)
  • No hardware support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • No pipe support
  • Doesn't support ReplayGain

Shorten (SHN)

http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shorten/

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

SHN pros

  • Open source
  • Fast decoding
  • Very fast encoding
  • Good software support
  • Supports RIFF chunks
  • Pipe support

SHN cons

  • Quite inefficient
  • No multichannel or high resolution audio support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • No error robustness
  • Not streamable
  • No hardware support
  • No native tagging
  • Doesn't support ReplayGain
  • No news or developments since 2007

True Audio (TTA)

http://www.true-audio.com/

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

TTA pros

TTA cons

  • No streaming support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Doesn't support RIFF chunks
  • No pipe support
  • No update since 2007
  • Limited hardware support

TTA Other features

WavPack (WV)

http://www.wavpack.com/

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

WV pros

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 asymmetrical 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

WMAL cons

  • Rather low efficiency
  • Closed source
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Doesn't support RIFF chunks
  • Doesn't support ReplayGain

WMAL Other features

  • Fits the ASF container

Oddball Formats

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

Most of those would have disappeared by now, but some of them are being preserved for posterity at rjamorim's

  • Advanced Digital Audio (ADA)
  • Bonk
  • Marian's a-Pac
  • AudioZip
  • Dakx WAV
  • Entis Lab MIO
  • LiteWave
  • LPAC
  • Pegasus SPS
  • RK Audio (RKAU)
  • Ogg Squish
  • Sonarc
  • VocPack
  • WavArc
  • WaveZip/MUSICompress

See also

External links

Other lossless compressions comparisons Sorted based on last update date.

  • Martijn van Beurden's comparison - tries to compare all codecs and settings with a balanced pool of music (last updated 2013-08-10)
  • Synthetic Soul's comparison (last update 2007-07-28)
  • Johan De Bock's speed oriented comparison - best choices speedwise are indicated in green, mostly electronic music (last updated 2006-07-22)
  • Hans Heijden's -- used as reference to build the table (last updated 2006-07-07)
  • Josef Pohm's comparison, hosted by Synthetic Soul (last update 2006-05-29)
  • Bobulous' lossless audio comparison — a look at six lossless formats in terms of speed and file size (last updated 2006-05-22)
  • Jhan 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)
  • Gruboolez' -- comparing only classical music (last updated 2005-02-27)
  • Speek's (last updated 2005-02-07)

More on lossless compressions

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