192 kbit/s listening test at SoundExpert
Reply #90 –
I would like to somment on the usability:
AAC-LC - I agree, there are many iPods, but how many other players can play AAC? Some mobile phones, maybe.
Ogg Vorbis - Almost every good HW player supports it (Cowon - iAudio, iRiver even iPod with Rockbox firmware). It's a sad true, that there is almost no Ogg Vorbis support in car players and cellphones. There are probably no SW players (or only very few) without Ogg Vorbis support. And don't forget it's the only free fromat from the contenders.
AAC+ - Very poor HW support.
WMA 9.1 - Almost no HW support, very poor SW support.
MPC - Supported in HW only via RockBox. SW support isn't very good neither.
MP3 - Supported everywhere.
Actually the post dipped me into serious thinking. Finally I realized that SoundExpert has no resources and (what is more important) no desire to monitor coders popularity and usability. This is just not our business (at least at the moment). The project is entirely about sound quality and nothing else. So it is just irresponsible to make recommendations according to something we are not sure of.
From now SE recommendations on coders choice will concern sound quality only, revealed during SE listening tests. This policy will be clearly stated in short disclaimer. Corresponding changes have been already made on the site.