AacPlus:New Format To Revolutionize Radio

[DudeAsInCool]

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Inside the Internet.

You Can't Be Too Thin

The skinny new audio format that will replace MP3s—and revolutionize Internet radio.

By Paul Boutin

Posted Friday, Jan. 21, 2005, at 4:44 PM PT

It's a given that fat broadband lines are the future of online media. But right now, for Internet radio, the future is about slimming down—creating skinny little streams of data that don't eat up too much bandwidth. The key is a new and better audio compression format called aacPlus, or sometimes HE-AAC, which has been chosen by the industry committee that standardizedMP3 13 years ago (the Motion Picture Experts Group). If you've tried to listen to online stations, you know they sound grainy if they're streamed at any less than 128 kilobits per second—maybe 96 kbps if you're not fussy. That makes a broadband connection a must. But aacPlus sounds nearly as good as a CD, even when it's compressed enough to play through a dialup line. Don't take my word for it—see the results of the European Broadcasting Union's listener tests, in which aacPlus was deemed the "clear winner" at a dialup-friendly 48 kbps.

AacPlus has been around for a while—it's what XM satellite radio has used from the outset—but recently it's been gaining ground. Future digital music players will support the format just as surely as they do MP3, but you don't have to wait—you can listen to it right now. Install the free Winamp player, which added aacPlus support a few months ago. Then click through the channels on the Tuner2 Web site, which all stream aacPlus sound at 48 kbps or less.

http://www.slate.com/id/2112548/

[KiwiCoromandel]

listening to radio x metal station in 24kbps stereo AAC format at the moment...quite clear and crisp...........i`ve heard much worse sound quality on soundcast at 56kbps (and 128) in mp3 format.......

[Redneck4sure]

mp3 is a very old format and compared to almost any other format it sucks. It is totally outdated.

I like it and will keep using it. :)