https://wiki.xiph.org/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Dbcalo&feedformat=atomXiphWiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-19T01:39:35ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.40.1https://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=950FLAC2005-01-11T00:16:45Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], Foobar2000, and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]].<br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC FLAC (wikipedia.com)]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=928FLAC2005-01-11T00:16:37Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], Foobar2000, and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]].<br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC FLAC(wikipedia.com)]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=927FLAC2005-01-11T00:16:11Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], Foobar2000, and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]].<br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FLAC FLAC] (wikipedia.com)</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=Vorbis_Hardware&diff=1128Vorbis Hardware2005-01-11T00:13:42Z<p>Dbcalo: /* Non-consumer products */</p>
<hr />
<div>This is a list of hardware of all categories, from mobile players to chipsets, that support Ogg Vorbis.<br />
<br />
There are currently more than 40 different companies offering a total of more than a hundred products that support decoding Ogg Vorbis. Most likely you'll find a product that meets your demands, if not, come back next week. New products are added on a weekly basis, as many companies are working to support it on their hardware.<br />
<br />
If you know of any other hardware or projects, please add them to the list. More hardware info can be found at [http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/hardware.html vorbis hardware page].<br />
<br />
== Consumer products ==<br />
<br />
These players support Ogg Vorbis either out of the box or after a firmware upgrade.<br />
<br />
* [[PortablePlayers]]: mobile players<br />
* [[StaticPlayers]]: installed players<br />
<br />
For hardware that is able to run third-party software (such as PDAs), please visit [[VorbisSoftwarePlayers]].<br />
<br />
== Rumored products ==<br />
<br />
These manufacturers/products are rumored to support "Ogg Vorbis" in the future.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.diasonic.com/ Diasonic] DHD-1000<br />
:Looks like Diasonic is planning to introduce a portable 2GB harddrive player with USB host function and colour display. [http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.434 Source]<br />
<br />
* [http://www.dioneer.com/ Dioneer]<br />
:Their new players due out in July or August will support Ogg Vorbis playback out of the box, according to [http://www.dt.co.kr/print.html?gisaid=2003042402012267701001 <em>The Digital Times</em>] (Korean).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.nextway.co.kr/ Nextway]<br />
:Announced at IFA 2003 in Berlin, Nextway will be selling portables with USB host capabilities. It will have no memory of its own, but will use external memory/external readers to access smartmedia cards, memory sticks, compact flash, external HDDs, and more. Retail price is planned to be around 50,000 KRW, or approx. 42 USD. Vorbis firmware is planned to be released in November, according to [http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/20030917/080300000020030917145246K9.html <em>Yohnap News Agency</em>] (Korean) and [http://www.nextway.co.kr/etc/hostplayer.html a Nextway news article] (Korean).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.mpman.com/ mpman]<br />
:Mpman will be releasing a 1.5Gb 1&#x2033; HDD portable that can play Vorbis. There&#x2019;s no mention of it on the website, but an external [http://www.dapreview.net/comment.php?comment.news.54 preview] is available. Looks like this Mpman is the same what Nextway distributes as DCube NHD-150D. It's questionable if they proceed in that matter, since [http://www.reigncom.com/ Reigncom], the owner of Iriver, [http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200407/06/200407062315464039900090609061.html obtained] Mpman. of the FreeMax FW-960.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.apple.com/ipod/ Apple's] iPod<br />
:Independently of Apple, [http://ipodlinux.sourceforge.net/ some people] have [http://www.uclinux.org/ µClinux] (Linux for CPUs without MMUs) running on this. Right now, they are decoding Vorbis at 80% realtime, with hope for improvement.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.frontierlabs.com/ Frontier Labs]<br />
:Frontier Labs are independently investigating the possibility of Ogg Vorbis support on the Nex IIe. Details are not known at the moment. The [http://www.frontierlabs.com/NEXIA.html Nex iA] is advertised as supporting &#x201c;emerging formats such as Ogg Vorbis through firmware upgrades&#x201d;. At present, the available firmware upgrades do not provide Vorbis support.<br><br />
:Deep in the german knowledgebase you can find:<blockquote>Moderator schrieb am 11-08-2004:<i>"Eine Firmware, die Ogg-Vorbis unterstützt, konnte leider nicht umgesetzt werden, da sich in Tests heraus gestellt hat, dass der im Nex IA+ verbaute Prozessor zu schwach ist, um diesen Codec zu bewältigen."</i></blockquote> Which means that FL discovered that the NEX's CPU is too weak for Ogg Vorbis.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.pontis.de/site_e/produkte/pl_600_e.htm Pontis] SP600<br />
:Pontis announced in the middle of 2002 that they would &#x2018;soon&#x2019; release a firmware upgrade to allow their SP600 portable player to play Vorbis files. Unfortunately, after 18 months of silence, Pontis finally decided (in November 2003) that a firmware upgrade for the SP600 was not possible, due to CPU and memory constraints.<br />
<br />
== Non-consumer products ==<br />
<br />
This is Vorbis in Silicon, meaning chips from which actual consumer products can be built.<br />
<br />
* [http://oggonachip.sourceforge.net/ Ogg On A Chip]<br />
:A hardware/software implementation with a good report showing how to make FPGAs and the like to decode Vorbis streams.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.finearch.com/english FineArch]<br />
:FineArch, Inc. developed a hardware core and control software for decoding Vorbis. This technology can be integrated into portable players or cell phones, and since it runs at only 12MHz, it uses very little battery power. It supports files up to 64Kb/s, but could be scaled to 16MHz and 128Kb/s, at the expense of battery life. For more information, see FineArch&#x2019;s [http://www.finearch.com/english/news/pr_20030715/pr_20030715.htm press release].<br />
<br />
* [http://www.mcslogic.com/ MCS Logic]<br />
:MCS Logic creates single chip decoders that can play Ogg Vorbis. They supply the Vorbis decoding chips for Havin and Freemax.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.telechips.com Telechips]<br />
:Telechips has developed the TCC72x, a single chip decoder that can play Vorbis. The TCC72x series is based on on an ARM940T core, and it is used widely in Korea for players such as Iops or MobiBlu.<br />
<br />
* [http://www.tamulsite.co.kr Tamul Multimedia]<br />
:Tamul Multimedia manufactures decoding chips for Samsung. They claim they have Ogg Vorbis decoding firmware, according to [http://www.dt.co.kr/print.html?gisaid=2003031002011367704002 <em>The Digital Times</em>] (Korean).<br />
<br />
* [http://www.sigmatel.com/ SigmaTel]<br />
:SigmaTel hasn't announced anything that we've heard, but we do like this quote:<br />
<blockquote>"<i>I talked to Deborah Clark, product marketing engineer for audio chipmaker Sigmatel out of Austin, Tex. She is the company's expert in audio decoders. She says there is a growing base of support for Ogg Vorbis. "We can't keep paying these high licensing fees for this. Manufacturers would flock to something that's free." </i></blockquote><br />
:from a 2000 [http://www.forbes.com/2000/09/18/dvorak_index.html column in Forbes]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=922FLAC2005-01-10T21:40:20Z<p>Dbcalo: /* The Project */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], Foobar2000, and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]].<br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=920FLAC2005-01-10T21:37:26Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=919FLAC2005-01-10T21:36:22Z<p>Dbcalo: /* Comparisons */</p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders. It has recently become a favorite trading format of non-live lossless audio traders as well.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://btmusic.org:2710 Pedro's lossless audio tracker] A bittorrent tracker that is dedicated to all lossless audio, and happens to promote the use of FLAC.</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=918FLAC2005-01-10T21:35:00Z<p>Dbcalo: </p>
<hr />
<div>==About==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://btmusic.org:2710 Pedro's lossless audio tracker] A bittorrent tracker that is dedicated to all lossless audio, and happens to promote the use of FLAC.</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=917FLAC2005-01-10T21:34:28Z<p>Dbcalo: /* About */</p>
<hr />
<div>'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://btmusic.org:2710 Pedro's lossless audio tracker] A bittorrent tracker that is dedicated to all lossless audio, and happens to promote the use of FLAC.</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=916FLAC2005-01-10T21:31:39Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>== About ==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]<br />
*[http://btmusic.org:2710 Pedro's lossless audio tracker] A bittorrent tracker that is dedicated to all lossless audio, and happens to promote the use of FLAC.</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=915FLAC2005-01-10T21:26:46Z<p>Dbcalo: /* External links */</p>
<hr />
<div>== About ==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
*[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Project homepage]<br />
*[http://mikewren.com/flac/ Unofficial FLAC installer for Windows]<br />
*[http://www.danrules.com/macflac/ MacFLAC] [[GUI]] frontend to encode/decode FLAC on [[Mac OS X]]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=914FLAC2005-01-10T21:25:53Z<p>Dbcalo: </p>
<hr />
<div>== About ==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==The Project==<br />
<br />
The FLAC project consists of: <br />
* the stream format <br />
* libFLAC, a library of reference encoders and decoders, and a metadata interface <br />
* libFLAC++, an object wrapper around libFLAC <br />
* flac, a command-line wrapper around libFLAC to encode and decode .flac files <br />
* metaflac, a command-line metadata editor for .flac files <br />
* input plugins for various music players ([[Winamp]], [[XMMS]], and more in the works) <br />
<br />
"Free" means that the specification of the stream format is in the [[public domain]] (the FLAC project reserves the right to set the FLAC specification and certify compliance), and that neither the FLAC format nor any of the implemented encoding/decoding methods are covered by any patent. It also means that the sources for libFLAC and libFLAC++ are available under Xiph.org's [[BSD license]] and the sources for flac, metaflac, and the plugins are available under the [[GPL]]. <br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
<br />
* [http://flac.sourceforge.net FLAC homepage]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=913FLAC2005-01-10T21:25:01Z<p>Dbcalo: </p>
<hr />
<div>== About ==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
==Comparisons==<br />
<br />
FLAC is distinguished from general lossless algorithms such as [[ZIP file format|ZIP]] and [[gzip]] in that it is specifically designed for the efficient packing of audio data; while ZIP may compress a CD-quality audio file 20&ndash;40%, FLAC achieves compression rates of 30&ndash;70%. <br />
<br />
While lossy codecs can achieve ratios of 80&ndash;90+%, they do this at the expense of discarding data from the original stream. Though FLAC uses a similar technique in its encoding process, it also adds "residual" data to allow the decoder to restore the original waveform flawlessly.<br />
<br />
FLAC has become the preferred lossless format for trading live music online. It has a smaller file size than [[Shorten]], and unlike MP3, it's lossless, which ensures the highest fidelity to the source material, which is important to live music traders.<br />
<br />
FLAC compiles on many platforms: most [[Unix|Unices]] (including [[Linux]], *[[BSD]], [[Solaris Operating Environment|Solaris]], and [[Mac OS X]]), [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], [[BeOS]], and [[OS/2]]. There are build systems for [[autoconf]]/[[automake]], MSVC, Watcom C, and Project Builder.<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
<br />
* [http://flac.sourceforge.net FLAC homepage]</div>Dbcalohttps://wiki.xiph.org/index.php?title=FLAC&diff=912FLAC2005-01-10T21:23:18Z<p>Dbcalo: /* About */</p>
<hr />
<div>== About ==<br />
<br />
'''FLAC''' stands for '''Free Lossless Audio Codec'''. FLAC is an [[audio compression]] [[codec]] that is [[lossless data compression|lossless]]. Unlike [[lossy data compression|lossy]] codecs such as [[MP3]] and [[Vorbis]], it does not remove any information from the audio stream.<br />
<br />
On January 29th, 2003, Xiphophorus (now called the [[Xiph.org Foundation]]) announced the incorporation of FLAC under their xiph.org banner, to go along with [[Ogg]] Vorbis, Ogg [[Theora]], and [[Speex]].<br />
<br />
== External links ==<br />
<br />
* [http://flac.sourceforge.net FLAC homepage]</div>Dbcalo