[BC] Internet STLs

[Dana Puopolo]

Cmon Goran!

Are you really going to try and convince me that the PAC codec for IBOC is any
better at 32 (AM) or 48 kbps (FM with a single HD2)?

Fact is, people have been cramming audio through perceptual coders for at
least 25 years! It started with SEDAT, continued with Starguide (128 kbps
MP2!), G.722 in the Zephyr and continues with MP3, AAC, PAC and others today!

Yes I agree that WAV/PCM is better, but the fact is that many/most don't have
the reliable 1.3 megabits per second connection (T1 speeds) that is needed for
44.1 PCM. Yes, 128 kbps Mp3 sounds like crap (listen to "Baba O' Reilly" by
the Who at 128 kbps-it sounds like Roger Daltrey has marbles in his mouth the
artifacts are so bad).

BUT  to trash higher bit rates is BS! At maximum quality using 44.1 kHz
sampling the Instreamer 100 streams a 192 kbps VARIABLE bit rate stream using
the Fraunhofer coder. No, it's not quite as good as LAME, but damn close. It
peaks out at about 256 kbps-generally consideredf 'near' CD quality (most
golden ears can not hear ANY difference between 320 kbps MP3 and PCM).

I'll tell you what Goran. I'll set up two 160 kbps streams for NAB. One will
use an Instreamer for MP3 encoding-the other will use a 160 kbps Edcast (LAME)
encoder. Both encoders will be fed digitally from the same source material.
You close your eyes with the Sony (or Grado) headphones on and tell me which
is which. If you can tell the difference three times out of five then I owe
you lunch-and not the crap stuff at the Convention Hall either!

Heck, you just might win-the last time I did one of thse at NAB I did! It was
comparing the input source with the output of a CAT link-and I could hear it
every time! The rep told me that I was the first one-and also the last one
there to be able to identify. That's how good my ears were then-granted
they're not quite so good today-but those who know me also know that I still
have great listening skills!

-D 

 
From: Goran Tomas <gtomas.lists at gmail.com>

Agreed!

And to offer a possible answers your question - they weaken the
product because they don't know better. ,  "listeners can't tell the
difference"...