The MP3 format, once the gold standard for digital audio files, is now free. The licensing and patents on MP3 encoders have expired, meaning you can now include them in your applications without payin
Yes but still, his argument “MP3 is dead because you can quickly download whatever you got as MP3s in 2005 as lossless files now” is very inaccurate, whatever level of credibility he is aiming for. File sizes are still a concern, which is why YouTube audio streams start at 35 kb/s, and that uses OPUS - it gives pretty much the best-sounding results for low bitrates. If you however need the best quality for audio that was mastered for CD, 44.1kHz 16bit FLAC is the best container because it is a decently efficient way to represent it losslessly, and even though AAC or OPUS could fit barely-lossy 196kHz 24bit audio at the same bitrate, the recording would need to be interpolated for that. And yes, if an uncompressed 196kHz 24bit master then resurfaced, CD-quality FLAC would be worse at representing it than lossy 24bit OPUS at tge same bitrate. This means that modern recordings, which can be mastered at ludicrous specs, should still be distributed online (in say, Spotify Premium) in OPUS rather than lower-spec lossless because bitrate is still their ultimate bottleneck.
Yes, the strive for lossless streaming that FLAC and higher bandwidths allowed for was a contributor to MP3’s demise. However, the niche it once dominated (highest perceived quality to bitrate ratio) never died, it just got outdone by AAC and then OPUS, which now take the space it used to dominate.
Yes but still, his argument “MP3 is dead because you can quickly download whatever you got as MP3s in 2005 as lossless files now” is very inaccurate, whatever level of credibility he is aiming for. File sizes are still a concern, which is why YouTube audio streams start at 35 kb/s, and that uses OPUS - it gives pretty much the best-sounding results for low bitrates. If you however need the best quality for audio that was mastered for CD, 44.1kHz 16bit FLAC is the best container because it is a decently efficient way to represent it losslessly, and even though AAC or OPUS could fit barely-lossy 196kHz 24bit audio at the same bitrate, the recording would need to be interpolated for that. And yes, if an uncompressed 196kHz 24bit master then resurfaced, CD-quality FLAC would be worse at representing it than lossy 24bit OPUS at tge same bitrate. This means that modern recordings, which can be mastered at ludicrous specs, should still be distributed online (in say, Spotify Premium) in OPUS rather than lower-spec lossless because bitrate is still their ultimate bottleneck.
Yes, the strive for lossless streaming that FLAC and higher bandwidths allowed for was a contributor to MP3’s demise. However, the niche it once dominated (highest perceived quality to bitrate ratio) never died, it just got outdone by AAC and then OPUS, which now take the space it used to dominate.