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Poll

What lossy codecs do you use on a *regular* basis?

AAC (.m4a, .aac…)
[ 151 ] (25.3%)
LossyWAV + lossless (.lossy.flac, .lossy.wv, .lossy.tak…)
[ 13 ] (2.2%)
MP3 (.mp3)
[ 253 ] (42.4%)
Musepack (.mpc)
[ 21 ] (3.5%)
Ogg Vorbis (.ogg)
[ 82 ] (13.7%)
Opus (.opus)
[ 35 ] (5.9%)
WavPack lossy (.wv)
[ 6 ] (1%)
WMA (.wma)
[ 7 ] (1.2%)
Other (please specify in this thread)
[ 1 ] (0.2%)
I don't really use any lossy codec on a regular basis
[ 28 ] (4.7%)

Total Members Voted: 425

Topic: 2013 codec poll (Read 65972 times) previous topic - next topic
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2013 codec poll

Reply #50
FLAC (-8) for archival and home use, since storage and CPU power are cheap and I want a lossless backup of my albums.
MP3 (Lame -V3) for mobile use, since I've only ever been able occasionally ABX specific problem samples or "encoder killers" at that quality, never actual music, and only ever in a very quiet room with headphones. Good enough for me 

I've gone with FLAC and MP3 to be as compatible as possible with players and hardware etc.

2013 codec poll

Reply #51
I figured it would be unfair not to count the codecs that people do use on a regular basis, albeit not the most. They're equally relevant, IMO.


That's fine.  It's just something to consider when you are comparing different polls that had different rules.

@ skamp. I think it's a marked improvement on the previous polls. I remember last year having to choose between MP3 and LossyWAV which was stupid as both were used but for different reasons; so then the question was almost like "which one do you support or favour", since you have to make a false choice anyway. So I'm pretty sure you got a major distorted result from that. Sure you won't be able to compare previous polls with this one, but the results will be more relevant.

C.
PC = TAK + LossyWAV  ::  Portable = Opus (130)

2013 codec poll

Reply #52
Perhaps the third question should be changed. The results always remain the same. I find it quite boring.

FLAC -8
qaac q63, LAME V5 if I need MP3

2013 codec poll

Reply #53
For what it's worth, I'd suggest a third organization option: one file per song (i.e. single tracks with multiple songs, or pregaps, are split into separate files).

2013 codec poll

Reply #54
Still using FLAC for archival purposes.

LAME V2 for portable use.

2013 codec poll

Reply #55
Probably to get a more complete picture it's worth to open a poll like this one but not with only MP3 vs post-MP3 differentiation but also content-dependent.

A possible alternative could be  3 sub-polls in one poll:
1º sub-poll: MP3, what bitrate do you use? 
2º sub-poll: post-MP3, what bitrate do you use for music
3º sub-poll: post-MP3, what bitrate do you use for speech, streaming (radio, podcast etc)?

Such poll would help to understand a current direction.
What do You think?

Users tend to use different codecs/bitrates for different purposes like here

2013 codec poll

Reply #56
ALAC converted on the fly to AAC into the iPod or into a Zune HD (on the Mac).
MP3 CDs for playing in the car.

2013 codec poll

Reply #57
Still archiving with WavPack (thanks a bunch David!) and using encodes minus the correction files on my Android smartphone too, while on pure DAP I go with AAC (thanks to nu774), encoders and settings in my sig.
WavPack 5.7.0 -b384hx6cmv / qaac64 2.83 -V 100

2013 codec poll

Reply #58
Use FLAC for my archive.  From there I go:

  • WMA Lossless for HTPC
  • ATRAC3plus @ 352 while walking, working
  • AAC @ 512 when DJing
  • AAC @ 128 for car via FM transmitter

2013 codec poll

Reply #59
FLAC (one file + embedded cue + cover) for archiving/desktop playback
FLAC (separate tracks) for mobile playback

Was thinking of either using mp3 for mobile playback or switch to wavpack in separate tracks/hybrid mode (= copy the lossy one to my clip+) but that involves re-encoding my whole archive and wavpack is really slow compared to FLACCL so I'm holding off on that. Kinda hoping someone might write an openCL version of the wavpack encoder, if it's even possible/feasible.

The reason I keep using FLAC on my clip+ is because from what I understood from the battery tests on the rockbox site is that the runtime is longer when using FLAC than using MP3. That and I don't keep all my music on my mobile player, just the songs I'm currently listening to, so space is not really an issue.

2013 codec poll

Reply #60
FLAC/MP3/Per Track.

If it ain't broke...

2013 codec poll

Reply #61
Got newer more revealing headphones. flac-8 for archiving, even if space is plentiful, why waste, encoder finishes before next track ripped. with new headphones can _just_ abx fhg aac q3 (winamp included encoder), stepped up to q4. aac works on everything, including my zunehd and rockboxexd clip+. dunno how much more universal you can get. mp3

2013 codec poll

Reply #62
FLAC for my needle drop /  CD rip "masters" / backups.    For the needle drops, it's 24/96 (probably overkill, but storage is cheap).  And of course 16/44.1 for redbook rips.  These are basically for long-term archiving.

AAC 256kps VBR for the CD rip transcodes, and AAC 320kps VBR 48khz for the needle  drop "day-to-day" files -- so my DAP, my music server, my tablet, etc.  I cannot tell the difference between 256kps+ AAC and my source, so it's easier to deal with AAC's for the time being. 

I used to use Nero Encoder for the transcodes, but now for the needle drops I'm using an altered MFIT script that converts to a 32-bit float 48khz CAF first, then down to the 48khz AAC.
---

2013 codec poll

Reply #63
FLAC for archival on an external drive for backup only.
tvbr AAC ~192Kbps for everyday listening on various devices.
Every night with my star friends / We eat caviar and drink champagne
Sniffing in the VIP area / We talk about Frank Sinatra
Do you know Frank Sinatra? / He's dead

2013 codec poll

Reply #64
The calculation of the percentage is not correct, because you allow to select multiple codecs.
In that case, the sum of the percentages does not have to be 100%.

Currently, 205 persons have selected 312 codecs.

What you did:
For MP3 there are 133 votes = 133/312 = 42,63%

Correct would be:
For MP3 there are 133 votes = 133/205 = 64,48% meaning: 64,48% of the voters use MP3.

I don't know what the statement would be for the 42,63%.

To put in an another way:
In your case, if I select N codecs, every codecs gets only 1/N of a vote, which is obviously not fair compared to a person, that uses only one codec.


Nice catch!

For me, I end up with a number of AIFF files that I've imported from CD to use for mastering to various versions with different cuts to use in audio productions. Trying to do everything else as AAC-HE.

 

2013 codec poll

Reply #65
My habits seem very similar to people in this thread.

New rips go to FLAC for archival quality.  Transcode to OGG q9 for my Rockbox'd Clip+.  This is changing though, I'm moving to OGG q6 since I'm downgrading my storage in the Clip+.