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  1. #1
    RetroSteve! My location

    Stephen Coates's Avatar
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    Your preferences for audio codecs?

    I've recently been playing with various audio codecs. I have used MP3 for a long time, but I thought I'd try some others, especially as some are a lot more "free-software-like" and a lot more efficient.

    I've decided to use FLAC for ripping CDs. The lossless nature of it is very good and the size of 20-30MB per track doesn't really matter with today's large HDD sizes. My "MP3" player also plays FLAC files although they are a bit too big for the player's flash memory.

    I've been converting a load of the ripped FLAC files into Xiph's Vorbis format, and it is so much better than MP3. MP3 is adequate at 128kbps, but Vorbis is pretty much spot on. Vorbis was even quite usable down at 64kbps.

    Anyone here got any particular preferences?

  2. #2
    Wiseguy Staff Moderator
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    I've preferred FLAC for years for my music collection at home. I use my mobile as an MP3-player and I convert the music to MP3 as I synchronise it with my home collection. There's the size issue you mentioned, and I usually listen to it in noisy conditions like traffic or at work anyway so the increased quality is pretty much lost.

    I also used Vorbis for a while. It certainly beats MP3 but isn't near as widely supported so I dropped it.

    I use Mediamonkey on the PC to organise and synchronise my music collection across devices. It is really powerful with a ton of options and batch editing anything like filenames, file locations or tags across large groups of files is a breeze with it. Highly recommend it.

  3. #3
    Retro Addict Administrator
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    Burger Time Champion, Sonic Champion Harrison's Avatar
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    FLAC is definitely the best format to rip CDs from to retain maximum quality. However for most music I stick with MP3 as 320 bitrate. Only if I have music that needed the extra quality do I use FLAC.. something like Pink Floyd's The Wall for example as I can really hear the difference between the two, especially during the quiet sections.

    I also played around with Verbis OGG for a while but never really used it that much. I think it was actually converted Amiga mod tracker music I mainly had in that format.

    I'm another user of MediaMonkey. I've just it for years and still really like it. As you say, it has a lot of powerful features such as batch file renaming, which is a godsend.. as well as batch tag and filename conversion, such as renumbering tracks. It's also worth noting that is has great device support and blows iTunes out of the water when using an iPod. great product and lifetime updates for each full version release. It is also worth upgrading and buying the gold edition to unlock the extra features.

    Something a lot of people don't know about, or haven't tried, is to share the MediaMonkey library database across your network. You can have all your music and MM library database on one system, then install MM on all your other systems and point them to the same database. This way when you update something on one system it updates across the whole lot. Very nice ability.

    I've also been using Spotify for some time, and recently often tend to be listening to that, rather than my own music collection. You get 320 bitrate quality and it works really well. I can also access it on my smart TV, consoles, mobile, tablet etc, so it is a great streaming service.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


  4. #4
    Wiseguy Staff Moderator
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    Did you try Mediamonkey Remote? It's an unofficial app for your phone or tablet that let's you remote control Mediamonkey's playback features. Works a treat and has all the necessary features. Plus you can also shut down your computer, put it in sleep mode, turn the screen on and off or activate the screensaver and whatnot. Great little thing for me as I have my pc hooked up to my stereo so perfect for listening to my music whithout having to be at the computer. Needs to have a small server program running on the pc to work. This program has a tiny footprint and if you let it launch on startup and leave it running you can just remotely open and close the main mediamonkey program as well whenever you feel like listening to music. Recommend it.


  5. #5
    Retro Addict Administrator
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    Burger Time Champion, Sonic Champion Harrison's Avatar
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    Yes, i have used the app. I don't have it installed at the moment though because I mostly use Spotify or stream via my Smart TV.

    I'm however considering getting some Sonos speakers at some point in the new year for proper streaming music around the house.

    If you haven't played a classic game in years, it's never too late to start!


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