Tag Archives: FLAC

How to Make Your Music Streaming App Sound Better

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For a rough estimate, an MP3 file usually transmits 128–192 Kbps. On the other hand, a FLAC file usually transmits 1411 kilobits of data per second. The difference is massive, and hence, a FLAC file is much larger than an MP3 file. – Mihir Patkar, Make Use Of http://ift.tt/2otihLd

What is FLAC? The high-def MP3 explained

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Until recently, the music format FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) enjoyed a similar “pirates-only” reputation to MP3 because of its lack of DRM, but it has the potential to reach a larger audience than just audiophiles and tech enthusiasts. Currently, record labels like Merge and Warner are on board with the format, and consumers can buy music from acts such as M. Ward and the Grammy-winning Arcade Fire — for the same price as the iTunes Store. – Ty Pendlebury, CNET

Jay Z’s streaming service isn’t for everybody (i.e. the poors)

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“This service is not for everybody,” company CEO Andy Chen told The Verge in October. “Spotify is for everybody. You don’t even have to pay! But for quality, you have to pay.” While Spotify freeloaders belly up to the streaming trough, shoving garbage, 320kpbs-quality audio into headphones so crusted with cannery grime and gizzard grease, they can’t tell the difference anyway, TIDAL users are pouring fizzy aural champagne into the flutes of their ear canals. They also enjoy high-definition music videos, “expertly curated” editorial content from Talkhouse Music, and its own Shazam-like service (which presumably not only identifies the song you’re looking for, but compliments you on your taste). – Sean O’Neal, The A.V. Club

Tidal brings high quality audio streaming to everyone — for a price

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Today a Swedish company named Aspiro is releasing a similarly high-end service called TIDAL, […] You can listen on iOS, Android, or a web app, along with 34 home audio systems including Sonos, all for $19.99 a month. […] you can absolutely tell the difference in sound quality between existing services and this one, and at times its 16-bit FLAC files can be stunning. Tidal is built on the back of WiMP Music, a goofily named Spotify competitor in Europe, and so it comes with a catalog of 25 million tracks that so far has had most of what I’ve searched for. […] What Tidal doesn’t have is great design […] Tidal’s black-and-white hodgepodge likely won’t impress you. And those huge files you’re streaming have downsides of their own: there’s a noticeable lag when you skip tracks as the file buffers; saving files to your mobile device can quickly chew through your storage; and streaming for even a few hours over LTE could be hell on your data plan. – Casey Newton,The Verge
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Look out Spotify: CD-quality streaming service Tidal hopes to make a splash this fall

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When [TIDAL] launches sometime this fall, new subscribers to Tidal will be greeted by a $20/month subscription fee — twice the cost of most low-res services. For the heftier investment, Tidal users will get commercial-free access to 25 million lossless audio tracks streamed in FLAC or ALAC format, over 75,000 HD music videos, and “tailor-made editorial” from music journalists. Along with its impressive list of audio partners, Tidal will also be available for both iOS and Android devices, as well as offering Web players for Mac and PC. And the company claims its first 16 partners are just the start. Tidal will look to garner more audio partners in the future and is looking to expand to as many as 50 countries worldwide. – Ryan Waniata,Digital Trends 
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Deezer comes to America with new streaming music service for audiophiles

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Deezer, a 7-year-old French company that competes with Spotify and other streaming music services around the globe, is coming to the United States at last. But the US version of Deezer’s service has a twist: it’s a premium offering aimed at audiophiles, and for starters, you’ll need a Sonos speaker system to try it out. Deezer Elite, which launches Sept. 15th, will stream tracks from Deezer’s catalog of 35 million songs in 16-bit FLAC. FLAC files are similar to MP3s, but they’re lossless, meaning that the song’s audio quality is not degraded despite being compressed. Spotify, by comparison, streams at a maximum of 320 kbps; Deezer says Elite songs stream at five times the quality. […] At launch, Deezer Elite will be available exclusively through Sonos — at a nice discount. You can try the service for $9.99 if you commit to a year, or $14.99 a month otherwise. The company won’t say exactly how many songs are on Elite; instead, [Tyler Goldman,U.S. CEO] says 90 percent of the songs that have been played on Deezer will be available in 16-bit FLAC. The company plans to bring Elite to more platforms over time, along with the regular version of Deezer. – Casey Newton,The Verge 
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Spotify has a new rival – a lossless music streaming service called Tidal

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Instead of serving up compressed MP3, AAC or OGG files, Tidal streams lossless FLAC files that offer several times the bitrate of most other music services. When Tidal launches in the US and UK in the next month or so, it will boast more than 25 million lossless FLAC tracks, all encoded at 44.1kHz / 16 bit / 1411 kbps and you’ll be able to stream them over the internet as well as download them for offline listening. […] The service comes at a price, costing twice as much as rival streaming services like Spotify and Deezer. In the UK that means a subscription of £19.99 per month and in the US a price of $19.99. – James Rivington,TechRadar  
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Dotcom’s Disruptive Music Service First to Support FLAC Streaming

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Last summer Kim Dotcom resigned as Mega director to focus on other projects, including his Internet Party and upcoming music service Baboom. […] By providing free music and compensating artists through advertising revenue, […] Chief Technology Officer Marco Oliveira stresses that closing the gap between artists and fans is one of the main goals. One way to do this is by providing the best quality music possible, through lossless streaming of FLAC music files. – Ernesto, TorrentFreak http://ift.tt/Ti60Vw