iTunes vs Play.com audio quality

All of the major online MP3 music stores compress their music, most opt for MP3, whilst iTunes goes for the more advanced AAC codec.  Regardless of the technology, information is being lost as a result of the encoding process, and the buyer must ask themselves key questions such as; what quality is good enough for me or, can I tell the difference between different bit rates and file formats?

Some people may scoff at iTunes deciding to encode their audio at 128Kbps (iTunes plus songs are 256Kbps), saying there is just not enough information retained to make the song worth listening to. Play.com encodes its MP3s at 320Kbps, a substantially higher bit rate, but is it possible to tell the difference?  As AAC is a more advanced codec than MP3, a song encoded using AAC should sound better than one encoded using MP3 at the same bit rate. But how much higher do you have to encode an MP3 at before it sounds better than AAC?

Source songs and audio test

I downloaded the Alexandra Burke version of Hallelujah from iTunes in AAC format (128Kbps, 3.5MB in total) and also from Play.com in MP3 format (320Kbps, 8.3MB).

I listened to the two versions being played back to back on a variety of audio equipment; standard iPod earbuds, Etymotic ER6i earbuds, Sennheiser headphones, Bose Sounddock and hi-fi separates (Denon amp and Mission bookshelf speakers). 

After careful listening I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t tell the difference, on any of the audio equipment.  I honestly thought I would hear some difference, more detail and frequency range in the Play.com MP3, but no, I couldn’t find anything different.  As well as appreciating music, I’m also a musician, but was it just me who couldn’t tell the difference?

I recruited another pair of ears to listen to both versions of the song being played back to back, and when asked to choose which version was the higher quality recording, they chose the iTunes AAC version.

So is the bit rate marketing all nonsense or is Play.com not using a good enough encoding process?

User Experience of online music stores: iTunes vs Play.com vs Amazon.co.uk

What made you choose your preferred online music store?  Size of library, cost of each MP3, DRM, quality (bit rate) are all likely factors, but what about user experience?  The cost of buying from Amazon varies from 59p – 79p, Play.com is typically 65p and iTunes is the most expensive at 79p per track.  So how much is the user experience worth to you before you change your buying habits?  It’s unlikely that the user experience factor alone will make you change where you buy music, but let’s examine the buying process from each of the three main UK stores (iTunes, Play.com and Amazon.co.uk).

Play.com

Buying MP3 music from Play.com is almost the same process as buying any other physical item from the store.  The difference comes

RROD and Microsoft XBox support

 

XBox 360 RROD

After less than two years of quite light use my XBox 360 has had the RROD (Red Ring of Death). Dead, lifeless, passed on, no more, ceased to exist. 

Day 1

I go to the XBox support website and try to find out how to contact someone helpful.  I sign in with my Live ID (which you must have) and it asks me to complete my gamer card. Eh?  How did I end up here, I thought I’d clicked on a support page.  Annoyance slowly sets in.  

MacBook Air Rev B – iPhone ready.

I’ve been experimenting withing living in the cloud recently, I use Google Docs to create new text or spreadsheets, I use MobileMe and GoogleMail for my contacts / e-mail / cloud disk space and I use Google Reader for my RSS feeds.  What I have enjoyed about the cloud so far is to be able to sit down at any computer and the same consistent experience is available from within Firefox.

I usually take my MacBook Pro to and from work every day, but yesterday I just left it at home.  How would I survive by only using the iMac in work?  Just fine it turns out.  I didn’t need access to any old documents, I’m still looking for a solution on how to manage those, but for e-mail and simple document writing, the cloud was great.

This means that I could use my iMac in work but what about the MacBook Pro?  I still need a laptop for travelling and visiting clients, and to make it desirable enough to take anywhere, the MBP is just a bit too heavy.  I really want the portability of a MacBook Air, but if my documents are all online then I need a connection to the net from anywhere.  I feel that Apple called their laptop the Air because it was a nod to ‘the cloud’ rather than how light it was.  However, despite the Air being a cloud-oriented computer, why did it not have the one essential component, built in 3G or HSPDA?  If Apple would allow Air buyers to use their iPhone 3G’s capability to access the net then they’d have my cash immediately.  Any other features Apple may add would be almost irrelevant, just give us communication.

Higher resolution on the Eee

Since I installed Linux back onto the Eee yesterday (previous post), I’ve noticed that when using the External Display application (display-settings is the command line name of this app), several new modes are available. The highest resolution my Eee would support out of the box was 1024×768, however the following are now available; 1152×864, 1280×1024 and 1680×1050. I have the Eee connected to a Dell 20″ widescreen monitor and 1152×864 is the only one that works. Trying to use 1280×1024 causes the monitor to report a message saying this mode is not supported, and using 1680×1050 results in the screen being out of sync. Still, 1152×864 is not too bad, at least it’s easy to read and performs well while surfing and using any app.

I guess these new modes appeared as a result of the process I went through yesterday when installing VLC. One of the steps was to do a ‘sudo apt-get update’ command, telling the OS to look for updates for the Eee. Buoyed up by these new settings, I had to look to see if any of my others issues had been fixed. Sadly no; my 16GB USB pen still isn’t recognized, the Eee can still only 1GB RAM (despite 2GB being installed), and I can’t use the Eee in lid-closed mode. Despite this however, using the Eee at the new resolution feels great. Coming back to Linux from Windows XP is such a world of difference, my enthusiasm for the Eee has returned with gusto.

By installing my Firefox extensions again, I notice Scribefire has also been updated and now includes a few features which stopped me using it before (having both tags and categories). This is my first blog entry typed on the Eee (I had been using MacJournal on OS X), I imagine the first of many.

If you only do one thing today Eee-fans, do a software update on both your OS and Firefox extensions.