High-Def Audio Question!!!!!

[PS34EVER]

Lord help me. After finally realizing how good Blu-ray's VQ was on a High-def TV compared to a TV, I then get to experience Hi-Def Audio. My cousin had a burned disk which he said the audio format was in .WAV format. I looked on my Windows Media Player, and it indeed desribes it as the following: .WAV format (lossless).

He said wait until you hear how great this audio is, and I'm thinking no big deal. He then showed me something. He downloaded a song off of iTunes and then played it on his surround sound system in his basement. It sounded just like any other song that I've heard. Then, he plays the same song on a burned CD in .WAV format, and I about crapped my self. It sounded AWESOME.

My question is, is iTunes only letting download compressed songs and not lossless, and how do you get high-def songs? I never asked, and he's now at work.

Thanks!

[Dogdvr]

If you want High end audio always buy the cd. they are recorded in .WAV

If you want real high end audio and your ps3 is hooked up to a receiver with HDMI then buy an SACD... it will knock your socks off

[J_UNTITLED]

Originally Posted by Dogdvr

If you want High end audio always buy the cd. they are recorded in .WAV

If you want real high end audio and your ps3 is hooked up to a receiver with HDMI then buy an SACD... it will knock your socks off

One thing to keep in mind though is that SACD is a very underperforming format in the business and could very well be a dead one at that sooner than later. Plus, only a select group of current artists/bands elect to put out their stuff on SACD.


In short, CD's are the safest option at this point I'd think until someone finds a way to bring high-end-audio to the masses without a loss in quality over the internet.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by J_UNTITLED

One thing to keep in mind though is that SACD is a very underperforming format in the business and could very well be a dead one at that sooner than later. Plus, only a select group of current artists/bands elect to put out their stuff on SACD.


In short, CD's are the safest option at this point I'd think until someone finds a way to bring high-end-audio to the masses without a loss in quality over the internet.

This is true. SACD is not dead yet -- the hardware continues to come out (in the last couple months Yamaha introduced a new SACD player, Sony an in-car model) -- and it _might_ stick around as a niche format mainly for classical music. It seems however that it failed absolutely as a mass-market format for pop/rock.

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by PS34EVER

Lord help me. After finally realizing how good Blu-ray's VQ was on a High-def TV compared to a TV, I then get to experience Hi-Def Audio. My cousin had a burned disk which he said the audio format was in .WAV format. I looked on my Windows Media Player, and it indeed desribes it as the following: .WAV format (lossless).

He said wait until you hear how great this audio is, and I'm thinking no big deal. He then showed me something. He downloaded a song off of iTunes and then played it on his surround sound system in his basement. It sounded just like any other song that I've heard. Then, he plays the same song on a burned CD in .WAV format, and I about crapped my self. It sounded AWESOME.

My question is, is iTunes only letting download compressed songs and not lossless, and how do you get high-def songs? I never asked, and he's now at work.

Thanks!

You have to rip your CDs to .WAV sound, not mp3. They take up much more space on disc and sound correspondingly better, just like CD. AFAIK iTunes and similar download services only offer lossy mp3s.

Also check your digital music player supports .WAV playback (not all of them do). I use the PSP because it sounds terrific for a portable player (though that will be too bulky for some people).

[WickyWoo]

The better compromise is to use FLAC, which is lossless compression. If you must MP3, use 320kbps

[w_tanoto]

what is the bitrate of wav? (I mean the one that is used in BD's PCM)?

My musics are all MP3 in 128kbps or lower, although some is 192kbps (maximum)

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by w_tanoto

what is the bitrate of wav? (I mean the one that is used in BD's PCM)?

My musics are all MP3 in 128kbps or lower, although some is 192kbps (maximum)

CD: 16/44.1 (16-bit word depth sampled at 44.1kHz) = 705.6 kbps * 2 channels = 1.4 Mbps

(I _think_ that's right; 44.1 is _per channel_; somebody please correct me if I'm wrong!)

BD PCM varies; usually it's 16/48, sometimes 24/48 and of course you have more than two channels ...


Another remark for PS3 users: if you want to rip your CDs to .WAV I think you'll have to use your PC since the PS3 "import CD" feature, last time I checked, limits you to 320kbps mp3.

[WickyWoo]

320 is the limit for MP3

[Teazle]

Originally Posted by WickyWoo

320 is the limit for MP3

Right; but I meant that IIRC it does not let you rip a CD to WAV on the PS3 (prob. for copyright reasons).

[Brandon B]

THe PS3 does not let you rip uncompressed, which would be .WAV or .AIFF.

BB