Difference between revisions of "Lossless comparison"

From Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase
Jump to: navigation, search
(CONS: No tagging)
(Changed pros and cons, otherwise TOC anchors wouldn't work.)
Line 21: Line 21:
 
[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.
 
[[ALAC]] is a codec developed by Apple for usage in [[Apple iPod|iPod]] and AirPort Express.
  
===PROS===
+
===ALAC PROS===
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Open source ([http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html decoding only])
 
* Open source ([http://craz.net/programs/itunes/alac.html decoding only])
Line 29: Line 29:
 
* Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with iTunes/iPod.
 
* Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with iTunes/iPod.
  
===CONS===
+
===ALAC CONS===
 
* Closed source (encoding)
 
* Closed source (encoding)
 
* Few software support (iTunes)
 
* Few software support (iTunes)
Line 45: Line 45:
 
[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg Vorbis]] and [[Theora]].
 
[[FLAC]] is a lossless codec developed by Josh Coalson. It's part of the Xiph multimedia portfolio, along with [[Ogg Vorbis]] and [[Theora]].
  
===PROS===
+
===FLAC PROS===
 
* Open source
 
* Open source
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Very fast decoding
Line 56: Line 56:
 
* Pipe support
 
* Pipe support
  
===CONS===
+
===FLAC CONS===
 
* Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
 
* Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
Line 62: Line 62:
  
  
===Other features===
+
===FLAC Other features===
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [url=http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags]limitations[/url])
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets (with [url=http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#general__no_cuesheet_tags]limitations[/url])
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
Line 73: Line 73:
 
[[LA]] is a lossless codec developed by Michael Bevin.
 
[[LA]] is a lossless codec developed by Michael Bevin.
  
===PROS===
+
===LA PROS===
 
* Very high compression
 
* Very high compression
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]])
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3v1]])
Line 79: Line 79:
 
* Pipe support
 
* Pipe support
  
===CONS===
+
===LA CONS===
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* Very slow encoding and decoding
 
* Very slow encoding and decoding
Line 92: Line 92:
 
Lossless Predictive Audio Coder ([[LPAC]]) is a lossless codec developed by Tilman Liebchen. Development of it has been halted in favour of development of MPEG4 ALS.
 
Lossless Predictive Audio Coder ([[LPAC]]) is a lossless codec developed by Tilman Liebchen. Development of it has been halted in favour of development of MPEG4 ALS.
  
===PROS===
+
===LPAC PROS===
 
* Reasonable compression ratios
 
* Reasonable compression ratios
 
* High resolution audio support
 
* High resolution audio support
 
* Supports RIFF chunks
 
* Supports RIFF chunks
  
===CONS===
+
===LPAC CONS===
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* No error robustness
 
* No error robustness
Line 110: Line 110:
 
[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed my Matt Ashland.
 
[[Monkey's Audio]] is a very efficient lossless compressor developed my Matt Ashland.
  
===PROS===
+
===APE PROS===
 
* Open source
 
* Open source
 
* High efficiency
 
* High efficiency
Line 121: Line 121:
 
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)
 
* Pipe support (only in a [http://www.etree.org/shnutils/shntool/ special] version)
  
===CONS===
+
===APE CONS===
 
* No multichannel support
 
* No multichannel support
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hardware support
 
* No hardware support
  
===Other features===
+
===APE Other features===
 
* Supports embedded APL sheets (similar to CUE sheets)
 
* Supports embedded APL sheets (similar to CUE sheets)
  
Line 134: Line 134:
 
[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.
 
[[OptimFROG]] is a lossless format developed by Florin Ghido to become the champion in audio compression.
  
===PROS===
+
===OFR PROS===
 
* Very high compression
 
* Very high compression
 
* Good software support
 
* Good software support
Line 144: Line 144:
 
* Supports RIFF chunks
 
* Supports RIFF chunks
  
===CONS===
+
===OFR CONS===
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* No multichannel audio support
 
* No multichannel audio support
Line 150: Line 150:
 
* Quite slow decoding
 
* Quite slow decoding
  
===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
Line 160: Line 160:
 
RealAudio lossless is the lossless codec developed by Real Networks for their multimedia portfolio
 
RealAudio lossless is the lossless codec developed by Real Networks for their multimedia portfolio
  
===PROS===
+
===RAL PROS===
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Streaming support
 
* Streaming support
  
===CONS===
+
===RAL CONS===
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* No multichannel and high resolution audio support
 
* No multichannel and high resolution audio support
Line 178: Line 178:
 
[[Shorten]] is a very old and featureless lossless codec developed by Tony Robinson at SoftSound.
 
[[Shorten]] is a very old and featureless lossless codec developed by Tony Robinson at SoftSound.
  
===PROS===
+
===SHN PROS===
 
* Open source
 
* Open source
 
* Fast decoding
 
* Fast decoding
Line 185: Line 185:
 
* Pipe support
 
* Pipe support
  
===CONS===
+
===SHN CONS===
 
* Quite inefficient
 
* Quite inefficient
 
* No multichannel or high resolution audio support
 
* No multichannel or high resolution audio support
Line 199: Line 199:
 
[[TTA]] is a new lossless codec developed by a team of russian programmers.
 
[[TTA]] is a new lossless codec developed by a team of russian programmers.
  
===PROS===
+
===TTA PROS===
 
* Open source
 
* Open source
 
* Good efficiency (not as good as Monkey's or OptimFrog, but not as bad as SHN or ALAC)
 
* Good efficiency (not as good as Monkey's or OptimFrog, but not as bad as SHN or ALAC)
Line 206: Line 206:
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3v2]])
 
* Tagging support ([[ID3v2]])
  
===CONS===
+
===TTA CONS===
 
* No streaming support
 
* No streaming support
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
Line 221: Line 221:
 
[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.
 
[[WavPack]] is a fast and featureful lossless codec developed by David Bryant.
  
===PROS===
+
===WV PROS===
 
* Open source
 
* Open source
 
* Very fast decoding
 
* Very fast decoding
Line 235: Line 235:
 
* Good software support
 
* Good software support
  
===CONS===
+
===WV CONS===
 
* No hardware support
 
* No hardware support
  
===Other features===
+
===WV Other features===
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
 
* Supports embedded CUE sheets
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
 
* Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
Line 249: Line 249:
 
WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.
 
WMA Lossless is the lossless codec developed by Microsoft to be featured in their Windows Media codec portfolio.
  
===PROS===
+
===WMAL PROS===
 
* Streaming support
 
* Streaming support
 
* Very good software support
 
* Very good software support
Line 255: Line 255:
 
* Tagging support (proprietary)
 
* Tagging support (proprietary)
  
===CONS===
+
===WMAL CONS===
 
* Closed source
 
* Closed source
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
 
* No hybrid/lossy mode
Line 261: Line 261:
 
* Doesn't support RIFF chunks
 
* Doesn't support RIFF chunks
  
===Other features===
+
===WMAL Other features===
 
* Fits the [[ASF]] container
 
* Fits the [[ASF]] container
  

Revision as of 02:16, 13 April 2005

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 post 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.


http://www.rarewares.org/images/lossless.png

  • Encoding speed, Decoding speed and Compression ratio are based on each encoder's default settings.
  • 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:

==ALAC - Apple Lossless Audio Codec== http://www.apple.com/itunes/import.html

ALAC is a codec developed by Apple for usage in iPod and AirPort Express.

ALAC PROS

  • Very fast decoding
  • Open source (decoding only)
  • Hardware support (iPod, AirPort Express)
  • Streaming support
  • Tagging support (QT tags)
  • Excellent hardware-software-lossy format integration with iTunes/iPod.

ALAC CONS

  • Closed source (encoding)
  • Few software support (iTunes)
  • Doesn't support multichannel audio and high resolutions
  • Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
  • No hybrid/lossy mode

Other features

  • Fits in the MP4 container
  • Can be used with the AirPort Express gadget


==FLAC - Free Lossless Audio Codec== 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 and Theora.

FLAC PROS

  • Open source
  • Very fast decoding
  • Hardware support (Karma, Phatbox, etc.)
  • Very good software support
  • Error robustness
  • Streaming support
  • Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
  • Tagging support (FLAC tags)
  • Pipe support

FLAC CONS

  • Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Doesn't support RIFF chunks


FLAC Other features


==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
  • No hardware support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Bad software support

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

==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 MPEG4 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

==Monkey's Audio== http://www.monkeysaudio.com/

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

APE PROS

  • Open source
  • High efficiency
  • Good software support
  • Error robustness
  • 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

  • No multichannel support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • No hardware support

APE Other features

  • Supports embedded APL sheets (similar to CUE sheets)


==OptimFROG== 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 resolutions
  • Hybrid/lossy mode
  • Tagging support (ID3, APE tags)
  • Supports RIFF chunks

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
  • ReplayGain compatible


==RealAudio Lossless== 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

RAL CONS

  • Closed source
  • No multichannel and high resolution audio support
  • Few software support (Real Player)
  • No hardware support
  • Compression efficiency not on par with other lossless codecs
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • No pipe support


==Shorten== 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


==True Audio (TTA)== http://tta.corecodec.org/

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

TTA PROS

  • Open source
  • Good efficiency (not as good as Monkey's or OptimFrog, but not as bad as SHN or ALAC)
  • Hardware support (obscure DVD player)
  • Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
  • Tagging support (ID3v2)

TTA CONS

  • No streaming support
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • Doesn't support RIFF chunks
  • No pipe support

Other features


==WavPack== http://www.wavpack.com/

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

WV PROS

  • Open source
  • Very fast decoding
  • Good efficiency (not as good as Monkey's or OptimFrog, but not as bad as SHN or ALAC)
  • Error robustness
  • Streaming support
  • Supports multichannel audio and high resolutions
  • Hybrid/lossy mode
  • Tagging support (ID3v1, APE tags)
  • Supports RIFF chunks
  • Hability to create self extracting files for Win32 platform
  • Pipe support
  • Good software support

WV CONS

  • No hardware support

WV Other features

  • Supports embedded CUE sheets
  • Includes MD5 hashes for quick integrity checking
  • Can encode in both symmetrical and assymmetrical modes.
  • ReplayGain compatible


==Windows Media Audio Lossless== 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 resolutions.
  • Tagging support (proprietary)

WMAL CONS

  • Closed source
  • No hybrid/lossy mode
  • No hardware support (but it's likely to appear sooner or later)
  • Doesn't support RIFF chunks

WMAL Other features

  • Fits the ASF container


Some links to lossless format compression comparisions: Hans Heijden's Speek's Guruboolez's - comparing only classical music.