Whats the deal with MP3 encoding?

[mosc]

One of the first things mp3 encoders do is reduce stereo information. If there is bass in the file, that is the first place the stereo is reduced. So, if your recordings have stereo bass content, it can have an unwanted side effect of bass reduction.

[emdot_ambient]

[emdot_ambient]

And as a side note...the major labels have announced that they're going to stop producing music CDs by the end of 2012 (except for limited edition runs by specific artists), opting instead for downloads only.

I find it fascinating that society at large has collectively decided that portability, accesibility and speed of downloading is more important that sound quality. When CDs first came out, sound quality was a major selling point (disputed though that claim has become). Holds more music, less distortion, wider frequency range, less prone to audio degredation due to repeated plays.

Now it's like, F-- that, gimme lossy digital files!

I wonder what that says about our culture (and whether it will spur the continued comeback of vinyl).

[mosc]

I once worked on HDTV back in the early 90s. The techies were working on making the picture beautiful. There was a huge international poll taken about HDTV in 1990. The result was that when people asked what they would like in next generation TV, the VAST majority said: better programs. No one was interested in better quality pictures.

The irony is, even though the new TVs can produce better pictures, virtually all delivery mechanisms (cable, broadcast, etc.) use just awful compression resulting in really shitty pictures, and the programs are still shitty.

[emdot_ambient]

It's always somethin', innit? That's how they git yuh.

[pyrosonic]

[audiodef]