TNL's Guide to The Music File Formats: Part Three
Part Three: Windows Media Audio
Microsoft being the 800 pound gorilla in the world of computing, it decided it needed to get into the audio game. In order to prevent MP3’s from dominating the musical scene, it included an encoder in its Windows operating system, as part of the Windows Media Player. The files produced are known as Windows Media Audio or WMA’s for short.
Microsoft was not seeking to enhance its operating system, or to provide users with a better computer audio experience. Of course it was looking to make money, and the files that you download from the Wal-Mart music store (and others) are WMA files. They support DRM (Digital Rights Management, a copy protection scheme that restricts the ability to use the file across multiple computers).
WMA’s are encoded at bit rates that are similar to MP3’s. Here’s the twist: Microsoft originally made the claim that its compression scheme was twice as good as the MP3 process -- 64 kbps WMA was equivalent to a 128 kbps MP3. Many portable music player manufacturers who supported the WMA gleefully doubled their player’s track capacity on the box front based on Microsoft’s claim –but added a small asterisk that referred to the ubiquitous fine print on the back where the purchaser was told it was only the case if the WMA format was used.
The catch is that only Microsoft believes that its codec is that good. Most experts believe that the audio quality is roughly equivalent at anything above 128 kbps between MP3 and WMA. At the lower bit rate of 64 kbps, there is a slight edge to WMA, but no one seriously rips at that low quality so this is largely an academic point.
With version 10 of Windows Media Player, music tracks can be converted into regular WMA’s, variable rate WMA’s, and lossless WMA’s (as well as MP3’s). The lossless WMA’s contain all the data from the original CD, and will playback CD quality, however the resulting file size is quite large (200 to 400 MB/CD).
WMA’s can be played back in a variety of devices. Most Panasonic DVD players, and the Ilo DVDR05 DVD Recorder will play WMA files. In addition, most portable music players will play back the files with two large exceptions that control the majority of the market. These are every iPod, and the Sony devices. While WMA’s are as good as MP3’s, lack of support from Apple on its iPod line makes it difficult to recommend this format. Even if you don’t own an iPod, you might want one in the future, and it would mean that your files will not be playable (and don’t even get me started on the many difficulties of converting between formats).
Part One: An Introduction
Part Two: MP3's
Part Three: Windows Media Audio
Part Four: OGG, AAC, and a Preliminary Verdict
Part Five: Popular Software
Part Six: Conclusion & Links To Software
Microsoft being the 800 pound gorilla in the world of computing, it decided it needed to get into the audio game. In order to prevent MP3’s from dominating the musical scene, it included an encoder in its Windows operating system, as part of the Windows Media Player. The files produced are known as Windows Media Audio or WMA’s for short.
Microsoft was not seeking to enhance its operating system, or to provide users with a better computer audio experience. Of course it was looking to make money, and the files that you download from the Wal-Mart music store (and others) are WMA files. They support DRM (Digital Rights Management, a copy protection scheme that restricts the ability to use the file across multiple computers).
WMA’s are encoded at bit rates that are similar to MP3’s. Here’s the twist: Microsoft originally made the claim that its compression scheme was twice as good as the MP3 process -- 64 kbps WMA was equivalent to a 128 kbps MP3. Many portable music player manufacturers who supported the WMA gleefully doubled their player’s track capacity on the box front based on Microsoft’s claim –but added a small asterisk that referred to the ubiquitous fine print on the back where the purchaser was told it was only the case if the WMA format was used.
The catch is that only Microsoft believes that its codec is that good. Most experts believe that the audio quality is roughly equivalent at anything above 128 kbps between MP3 and WMA. At the lower bit rate of 64 kbps, there is a slight edge to WMA, but no one seriously rips at that low quality so this is largely an academic point.
With version 10 of Windows Media Player, music tracks can be converted into regular WMA’s, variable rate WMA’s, and lossless WMA’s (as well as MP3’s). The lossless WMA’s contain all the data from the original CD, and will playback CD quality, however the resulting file size is quite large (200 to 400 MB/CD).
WMA’s can be played back in a variety of devices. Most Panasonic DVD players, and the Ilo DVDR05 DVD Recorder will play WMA files. In addition, most portable music players will play back the files with two large exceptions that control the majority of the market. These are every iPod, and the Sony devices. While WMA’s are as good as MP3’s, lack of support from Apple on its iPod line makes it difficult to recommend this format. Even if you don’t own an iPod, you might want one in the future, and it would mean that your files will not be playable (and don’t even get me started on the many difficulties of converting between formats).
Part One: An Introduction
Part Two: MP3's
Part Three: Windows Media Audio
Part Four: OGG, AAC, and a Preliminary Verdict
Part Five: Popular Software
Part Six: Conclusion & Links To Software
posted by digitaldoc at 10:50 AM
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