The personal website of James Heine

Welcome

Ever wonder just what it is that you're doing here? I do, all the time.

@

There was recently an article about MP3 players in the newest edition of Trendy (April, 2000). What follows is a compilation of some of the information that it contains, as well as other data from external sources. There has been a lot of fingerpointing lately between MP3.com and the music companies, and even between the music companies and the retail outlets... I'm going to call it a finished situation, mostly because the MP3 format is several years old. Here in Japan, though, it's a little different. But, let's get a good picture of the overall scenario.

In the center of all this there are really 5 major factors:

The audio format itself.
The copyright protection issues.
The ripping software and algorithms.
The storage and playback devices.
Electronic Distribution.

By no means am I an expert on this, but, I do have a little bit of knowledge as I do burn my own CDs to create "favorites." But, I don't have an MP3 device, and I don't have a smart-card compatible device. But, I do see a lot of problems with what's out there. One of those is what happens with the copyright protections on personal use. As an example, the other day I was in Bic Camera, a major electronics store, looking at MP3 devices, and I saw Sony's "cell phone" style player. Looking at the software, though, the specifications tell me that it will prevent me from recording the same song more than 4 times to smart media, to prevent me from potentially infringing on the artist's rights (yeah, Sony's rights). But, I _own_ that music for personal use, don't I???? I bought the CD? I can play it anywhere, as long as I don't do it for commercial use. Why should Sony track what I listen to? My stereo maker doesn't.
So, there are a bunch of issues that still need to be determined, and yes, privacy and protection of the artists' rights are big ones.

The Audio Format

**Various Audio Formats, Developers, and Specifics**
Format	Developer	Details
MP3	--	easy to handle; compression to 1/10th; 1 min. of audio = 1 MB
AAC	AT&T, and others	1.4 times better compression than MP3. Newest standardized format (1997)
Dolby Digital (AC-3)	Dolby Research	Liquid Audio Player adopts this format
ATRAC3	Sony	developed from the ATRAC used in MD players. MS64MB can hold 80 min. of normal audio.
TwinVQ	NTT, NTT East Japan, Kobelco (Kobe Steel)	compresses to 1/18th; 1 min = about 550kb

Disclaimer, fine print, and all that: The site owner, or any other person mentioned in this website are not responsible for any inaccuracies, loss due to any inaccuracies, or any other bad ju-ju that may happen from the use of this information, including but not limited to the meltdown of your CPU, usage of a lot of ink cartridges, or <gasp!> financial loss. If, however, you find it very useful, or make a lot of money from it, you are encouraged to share.

—> Home

—> The ClueTrain Manifesto (ENG)

—> The ClueTrain Manifesto (JPN)

—> Riding

—> About Me

—> Other Photos

—> Jokes, Humor, etc.

—> Useful Links, etc.

—> Contact

@

The Audio Format

@