Saturday, October 6, 2012

Audio Formats - Comparing FLAC vs. MP3 @320

So I wanted to download a collection of music and found that the collection in question can be obtained in FLAC or in MP3 @320, I decided to download both and to compare them.

Are you also trying to figure which is better for you to keep?

Well, let's start with the obvoius:
MP3 @320: is a lossy format meaning some of the sounds will be omitted from the original.
FLAC: is lossless meaning it is identical 1:1 to the original.

The problem is that a song on FLAC will take about x2 x3 more storage than MP3 @320

So most of us are quality driven people - we don't care it takes more space and we sure as hell don't want to loose or forfeit any sounds!!

But honestly, I have a very good hearing and I listen to music few times a week - I could not tell the diffrence... I tried very hard to justify a 43mb FLAC encoded song vs. the 15mb MP3 @320.
But they were identical!

Conclusions:

Listening to Music = MP3 @320
I promise you, your audio expirence will not be any less.
Processing Music = FLAC
Use it only if planning to process the music, analyse it or remix it in order to create somthing new.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

open-source vs. closed-source.

For quite some time I'm struggling to explain to myself why am I not feeling comfortable with open-source platforms which are usually also free! and yet prefer the closed-source platforms.

Well I think I finally found a way to explain it in a manner anyone can understand:

Do you know anyone who would be willing to buy a refrigerator which was designed by the mass and assembled by the mass yet you will have no warranty on it.. off course you won't!

But what if I give it to you for free??? now you probably thinking "hell, why not?",
I mean, it's free! you can not loose anything cause you never paid for it - right? WRONG.

Consider what happens when you start using it and few days later it is broken...
You have no one to call to, you can not replace it and all your food will be rotting.

So, maybe refrigerator is a bad example - how about an open-source car?
That is even worse! the worst thing that can happen is that you die in car accident and no one going to take responsibility..

When I continued this line of thinking I understood that I don't actually want anything which is important to me or vital to me in the form of open-source. the only things I would be accepting as open-source are the things that I don't need to share my trust with.

Can it be that this line of thinking is right to everything except programming?
No, I don't think so.