Apple Lossless Codec and ripping CDs

[sdm]

Not a video question, but probably relevant all the same.

I've been thinking for a long time of ripping all my CDs to my hard drive for backup purposes. I am not a big audiophile, and I don't collect/trade/buy mp3s from the internet. I do imagine someday having all my music in one library on a stereo component (not my Mac). If this is anytime soon I guess it would decode MP3s, maybe wma (which I cant imagine encoding with) and possibly AAC.

I could rip and encode straight to MP3 and be fairly confident of forward compatibility - but I might be sorry sometime later that I used a lossy compression. The same goes for AAC.

Now that the Apple Lossless Codec is out I could conceivably rip all my cds and only use half the disk space (compared to AIFF). I'd encode later to whatever format is needed.
My concern is that if this codec doesn't catch on, then maybe I'll be sorry in a few years when it comes time to move all my music to my stereo. I'd have to be sure to keep this codec around and hope that quicktime (or whatever is out then still supports it down the road.

I'm interested in knowing if anyone has any thoughts on this.
Has anyone used this Codec?
What about AAC? Does anyone think it will be a popular format in the future? Right now I think mostly iPod / iTunes users use it. Is that true?

Any comments?

[AntnyMD]

Formats die, no matter what they are. Singles and LPs have all but died. 8-track tapes are dead. Cassettes are dead. Digital compression formats are going to die. CDs will be replaced.

Your safest bet is to keep it in a format that will likely be supported for conversion. Proprietary compression schemes will likely not be supported, especially as digital rights management becomes more of an issue for copyright holders.

I'd say for maximum conversion prospects, save as AIFF or WAV. Secondarily save as ultra high quality MP3 (256kbps or higher). All these other formats are less likely to be supported in future conversion schemes.

Also, be prepared to repurchase your music in future formats. Ask anyone who owns a bunch of LPs with no knowledge of how to convert them to CDs.

[WiseWeasel]

I'm sure QuickTime will always decode Apple's ALE format as long as it exists. They would never abandon a codec they created, and with ever-increasing storage space, they have no incentive to limit the number of codecs supported. As long as QT exists, you'll be able to decode those ALE files. I'd say to go with that, and should Apple ever go out of business, use the latest version of QT to convert the ALE files to WAV for future use. I'm sure some open-sourced decoder for ALE will show up as well, making reencoding unnecessary, even in the case of Apple going bust.

[sdm]

Sounds like good advice. Thanks you guys.
Anymore thoughts from anyone?

[deadsierra]

Lossless is just that, lossless. If (for example) Quicktime Pro 30th Century Edition doesn't support QLE, encode it to something else. No loss. And its not likely that a codec will just disappear, so you'll have adequate warning as to the future of QLE. Always use a lossless compression scheme over plain WAV/AIFF. Because if you don't, your the kinda guy who'll scan in blank pages and save them for 'the future'.

[pants]

you might also check out FLAC, free lossless audio codec.

not sure if it'll be around any longer or what, but just another option.

http://www.danrules.com/macflac/

http://etree.org/macos.html#download

[dotpuppy]

I like FLAC in concept. But it's SLOOOOOOOOW on the mac. On other platforms it seems to be much faster.

But Apple's lossless codec seems pretty zippy. Which is probably due to Altivec optimization.

[badtz]

..... if you want to convert later on to AAC/mp3, or whichever formats exist in iTunes, I believe you can convert straight from Apple Lossless to mp3/aac/etc.


So you're not completely "stuck" with an Apple Lossless file. You can always convert that straight into other formats.

[AntnyMD]

You can always keep your computer that supports all of these crazy formats. Its like those of us to still have a turntable -- can't stick an LP in the DVD drive just yet.

Also be aware that ultimately this doesnt matter, as you can't take it with you when you die.

[deadsierra]

can't stick an LP in the DVD drive just yet.

No, you can't misuse something and expect it to work. You can, however, get the audio from your LP into your computer quite easily, by using the right equipment correctly.

For example, someone looking to archive their photo gallery probably shouldn't use the Apple lossless codec. Use things correctly, and you'll be happy - and remember, your desktop computer does NOT come with a drink holder. 8)

[sdm]

badtz, and everyone

yup, that is what I plan to to. I'll encode to Apple lossless as an archive. When I need another format, I'll re-encode from the Apple Lossless files.

AntnyMD - I plan to be buried with my mac!

[deadsierra]

AntnyMD - I plan to be buried with my mac!

I plan on having sex with Angelina Jolie... I mean, I plan on being buried with my Mac too.

[MerlinMacuser]

Also be aware that ultimately this doesnt matter, as you can't take it with you when you die.

WHAT?!?!?! Where did you hear that? I'm planning for a vault wired for sound with a 5000 watt system running on lithium solar charged batteries to play Yoko Ono's Don't Worry Kyoko, Mama's Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow over and over for as long as the sun still shines.

[RabidDog]

Always use a lossless compression scheme over plain WAV/AIFF

Yeah but yu can play a wav or aiff straight off with no farting about so its not that silly...

[MikieV]

Sounds like good advice. Thanks you guys.
Anymore thoughts from anyone?

I have also started using Apple's loss-less format - since seems more likely to be available long-term than FLAC et al, but who knows for sure.

I have read some discussion about not compressing at all, since hard-drive capacity keeps increasing, but I am leary of losing 250-GB (or more) of files if the drive fails. I'll probably stick with DVD as storage - if they fail, I've only lost a small piece of my archive. Archiving on such small volumes means I'll probably want some compression - and preferably lossless.

Something I noticed: I saved some songs in lossless, and burned an audio CD with some lossless and some iTunes-purchased AAC files => some of the lossless files played with noticeably quieter volume than the rest of the CD. Makes me wonder if the "volume averaging" in iTunes only applies to AAC/MP3??

Mike

[deadsierra]

I have read some discussion about not compressing at all, since hard-drive capacity keeps increasing, but I am leary of losing 250-GB (or more) of files if the drive fails. I'll probably stick with DVD as storage - if they fail, I've only lost a small piece of my archive.

Buy two same size drives, and mirror them. Presto, you're safe. If you lose a drive, you've still got everything.