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Thread: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

  1. #1
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    Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    Just reading over a old thread someone necro'd the heck out of. But it got me thinking. With so many music formats out these days and the process of encoding in the older ones getting better. What is the best over all format to store your digital music in these day?

    I have been content to store mine in MP3s for years, I did try for a short time to go OGG. But after running compatibility issues with commercial appliances like my car radio, I went back to MP3 on everything. Lately I have been using iTunes more then before because I have multiple iPods & iPads and my main computers are Macs. I have noticed apples AAC and its supposed to be lossy and better then MP3s. But I hate to re encode 500ish albums. Most of which I have lost..

    But all in all what do you think if the better choice for format and why?

    Cheers,
    Joe
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  2. #2
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    This is assuming you don't have the space or desire to store lossless FLACs. Use OGG if the devices you want to use it with support it. If you rely on Apple products that refuse to support open standards, use AAC/M4A. MP3 is third choice in my opinion, but still does the job fine. Most importantly, do not reencode from one lossy format into another. Like if you have a bunch of MP3s, do not reencode those MP3s into M4As, as you will lose quality. Just leave them as MP3. Of course, if you have the originals on FLAC or CD, you can do this, but it's not really worth redoing everything, because MP3 (assuming a good bitrate, like 256 kbps or more) is still just fine.
    Last edited by CharlesA; January 16th, 2013 at 06:49 AM. Reason: Apple slang
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  3. #3
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    I just do 320 MP3s. That is unless I am ripping classical music or a game soundtrack (Skyrim comes to mind), then I rip them to FLAC.
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  4. #4
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    I use AAC/m4a its compatible with nearly everything, a good tagging system, and very clear at lower bitrates.
    Toshiba Satellite L875-s7230 / A6 2.7ghz dual-core piledriver w/ ATI Radeon HD 7520G / 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 RAM / 500 GB Seagate Momentus XT formatted JFS. >Wifi Drivers for this machine< My Deviant Screenshots

  5. #5
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    For archival purposes I would go with FLAC. For just playback/listening mp3 320kbs CBR (VBR will also be fine)

  6. #6
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    AAC ~300kbs, using Foobar2k and Nero codecs (they are also available for Linux, I've never tested them 'thou).
    Easy, quick, foolproof.

  7. #7
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    I use OGG. Sounds great, is an open codec, and is virtually indistinguishable from lossless formats such as FLAC.
    "Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities."
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  8. #8
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    if you have the storage space (and most people have more than enough storage space nowadays), i would say go for flac lossless if you're just ripping cd's or if you can download flac online (kind of hard to find sometimes).

    if you use apple products, go for the apple formats or mp3.

    there really is no reason to not encode in flac if you use linux and have plenty of storage space. highest quality + open source

  9. #9
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    I like to use FLAC for home use, but if I want to take music with me somewhere, I use high-quality VBR MP3s for best compatibility.
    If you can't be bothered writing coherently, I can't be bothered reading your post.

  10. #10
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    Re: Whats the best format to encode music in today?

    AAC, or MP3 if it can't be read. OGG just doesn't have enough support for it to be practical (in my world, at least).

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