The creators of the MP3 have just put an end to the revolutionary digital audio coding format. The Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits, in Germany, said that they ended the licensing program of the MP3.
The MP3 revolutionized the world about two decades ago. However, a lot has changed since then, and even the Fraunhofer Institute admitted that audio format AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is now the de facto standard to listen to and to download music. The also helped create the AAC.
“The Licensing program for certain MP3 related patents and software of Technicolor and Fraunhofer IIS has been terminated” was announced by the Institute.
The MP3 is obsolete, and the AAC is simply better
The MPEG-1 or MP3 is an audio coding format for digital audio. It was launched to the market in 1993, and it was a revolution in the way people listen to music. The Fraunhofer Institute that funded the development of the audio format has recently announced that they are putting an end to the licensing program for MP3, meaning that this is the official end of the MP3.
Apparently, the engineers that developed the famous MP3 worked with incomplete information about the way the human brain processes sonic information. New research and advances in psychoacoustic have been keys to improving the technology we use to listen to music; therefore, new audio formats have so much more information on the matter compared to the MP3.
Through the announcement made by the director of the Fraunhofer Institute, Bernhard Grill, he said that the AAC, advanced audio coding, is the best way we have to download music and videos on mobile phones nowadays. As well, he stated that the AAC has become the standard audio coding format. He said that the AAC is more efficient than the MP3. They also contributed to its creation.
“Although there are more efficient audio codecs with advanced features available today, mp3 is still very popular amongst consumers. However, most state-of-the-art media services such as streaming or TV and radio broadcasting use modern ISO-MPEG codecs such as the AAC family or in the future MPEG-H. Those can deliver more features and a higher audio quality at much lower bitrates compared to MP3” announced the Fraunhofer institute.
The MP3 had a great impact in the way we listened to music
Curiously, the MP3 became the norm a few years ago, as the internet was also gaining popularity across the world. However, the MP3 had some rough times before, because the Fraunhofer Institute was ahead of its time when they first made the MP3, and it nearly died before it became a sensation.
Clearly, nobody is still using the MP3 format, so the decision announced was mainly symbolic. However, people cannot forget the great impact the MP3 had. It made downloading of audio files so much easier. As well, it helped to integrate people in the internet age, but it is also evident that there are better choices to hear music today that allows us to appreciate more the music and the instruments.
Source: Gizmodo
Umm…. spelling error in the headlines of this article but in the body it correctly mentions “AAC”. Thats besides the point for this comment; So now you have to weigh what you want to buy. MP3 is now free of patent so manufacturers can make it cheaper. On the other hand AAC will have superior audio enhancement as per standard that go along with AAC namely MPEG-H…..not fully developed yet and in the Standards stage. So, I will just wait till it gets ratified for buying decision. In the meantime my MP3 will do just fine.