46 MA XIMUMPC SEPTEMBER 2004
MP3, AAC, OGG—what’s it all mean?
Codecs (a contraction for coder/decoder) do for audio and video
what ZIP compression does for data; they allow fi les to be reduced
to a fraction of their original size. Data compression schemes rely
primarily on fi nding repeating blocks of information and substitut-
ing them with shorter placemarks, but the massive complexity of
audio and video fi les renders this method ineffi cient and ineffec-
tive for multimedia fi les, at least as a primary approach. MP3 au-
dio compression was developed by Germany’s Fraunhaufer Insti-
tute, which managed to drastically reduce the size of an audio fi le
without seriously degrading the fi delity by tossing out frequencies
beyond the range of normal human hearing and adjusting the
amount of bits used to encode audio every second.
When Fraunhaufer made a killing by demanding royalties forthe use of its technology after it had become a de facto standard,
other companies, salivating at the opportunity to compete in the
future of multimedia distribution and be paid richly for it, began to
create codecs of their own.
The fi rst question people ask about the different codecs avail-
able today is always: Which one is the best? And the answer is, of
course: It depends. Important factors include what kind of player
you have and what formats it supports; what you do with your
fi les (Do you trade them? Is absolute fi delity necessary?); and how
prejudiced you are (“Screw Apple”). Because MP3 remains the de
facto standard, alternative codecs have to offer something MP3
does not, be it higher quality, smaller fi le sizes, or compatibility
with this or that online music service. Here’s an overview of the
most popular alternatives and their advantages.MP3PRO
Extension: MP3
Developed in part by patent-owner Fraunhaufer, MP3Pro was3”3.25”Sony MZ-NH600D
FORMATS: ATRAC (will convert other
formats)
BATTERY LIFE: 21.5 hours continuous
CAPACITY: 256MBThat MiniDisc players are sold at all
these days is something of an anachro-
nism. And as if there weren’t already
enough drawbacks to magneto-optical
technology for porta-
ble music—
slow spinup,
long pauses
during track
searching,
skipping,
etc.—Sony
made this
MiniDisc
player even
more unpal-
atable by
restricting playback to ATRAC-encoded
files. The player “supports” WMA and
MP3 files, but what this means is that
when you transfer your MP3s or WMAs
to the Sony by the only means possible—
the bundled software—your non-ATRAC
tracks are converted to ATRAC. Even
worse, track conversions take an agoniz-
ing 20–30 seconds each, and we won’t
even get started on the issue of taking an
MP3 file that’s already had audio data
stripped out and further degrading it
through recompression.
Although the packaging boasts that
the MZ-NH600D can “store 45 hours of
music,” the fine print notes that this is
based on a 48kb/s bitrate. Upping the
bitrate to a more reasonable 256kb/s
results in a little more than two hours
of music per 1GB disc. The sound qual-
ity was acceptable but not exceptionally
sharp, likely the result of recompression.Navigation on the MZ-NH600D uses
a jog dial that sports a ring of tiny tactile
buttons that feel like sharp pins. It took us
nearly 10 minutes of reading the manual
to figure out how to change the equalizer
settings, and the miniscule joystick in the
center of the wheel kept taking us out
of the menu when we finally got there.
The unit is encased in cheap plastic that
flexed in our grip, and Sony skimped
further by not including a line-in jack for
recording directly to MiniDiscs.
We know there are still MiniDisc fans
out there and the MZ-NH600D is compat-
ible with older iterations, so for the ben-
efit of all three of you, we’ll concede that
the media is rugged. Nonetheless, you
can probably guess our verdict.MA XIMUMPC VERDICT: 4
OBOE: Backward-compatible with older
MiniDiscs.
KAZOO:^ Otherwise unhelpful to music lovers.
$200, http://www.sonystyle.comiRiver iFP-880
FORMATS: MP3, WMA, OGG
BATTERY LIFE: 32 hours
CAPACITY: 128MBApparently, iRiver wants to be to
MP3 players what Plextor is to optical
drives—the company that knows it all
and does it all. But theiFP-880 is most definitely not a showcase
of the company’s tremendous ambitions.
First of all, the capacity is limited to a
pathetic 128MB, just enough for a walk
down to the corner store or a bathroom
break (the iFP-800 series is available in
capacities up to 1GB). Furthermore, the
iFP-880 does not show up in Windows
Explorer as a removable storage device
like Creative’s nifty Muvo NX (which
sports 512MB of storage to boot); as
with so many other players, you’re
forced to use a proprietary app for
operation, which is particularly annoy-
ing—and ridiculous with such a small
capacity player.
The relative competence of most MP3
decoder chips means the quality of the
bundled headphones and earbuds usu-
ally makes the difference in a player’s
sound quality. But we can’t deny that,
even at its default settings, the iFP-880
sounded a cut above most of the other
players in the roundup—absolutely crisp
and clear even at the loudest volume
(which was unfortunately less loud than
we like it).
The weird potato wedge–shape of the
iFP-880 seems gimmicky and attention-
starved at first, but it’s actually practi-
cal and fit comfortably in our hands.
Furthermore, we never inadvertently
pressed buttons while the player was in
our pockets.
Taking a cue from a certain red-col-
ored pocketknife, the iFP-880 folds in
more features than many hard drive–
based players, including a five-band
adjustable equalizer, FM tuner, OGG sup-
port, and the ability to record from the
FM tuner, the built-in microphone, or an
external source via the line-in jack.
It trumps other flash-based players
in terms of sound quality and useful
features (note “useful”), but the limited1.5“Sony MZ-NH600DiRiver iFP-880CODEC-OGRAPHY
3.5“