High Definition iTunes Music Downloads May Be on the Horizon

[DesterWallaboo]

Oh man, you're going to try to argue with audiophiles? It's a lost cause. Have you seen the magic rocks? That's a real product. Don't forget to re-cable everything with silver, because *waves hands*! ****ing electrons, how do they work?!

Sure there's no scientific reason to believe that 24/192 could ever improve audio quality in any way (nor are there any legitimate blind tests which show people successfully picking the 24/192 file over the 16/44.1). Doesn't matter; Bigger numbers are very impressive to consumers. The target market isn't experts in sonic science, it's people with disposable income who want the best quality audio and aren't interested in doing the research. 192 is a way bigger number than 44, case closed. The files are like 5-6x larger than standard lossless, imagine all the extra magic you can fit in there.

Lossless is a different story though. It's true that not many can pick the lossless file in a blind test, but the fact remains that any lossy compression is going to (by definition) lose data. The biggest impact of this is that you can't freely re-encode the file into the format you want because you'll be doubling up on compression artifacts (and then it becomes far more likely that you'll notice the quality degradation).

So personally I'd prefer lossless formats when I buy music simply so that I have a re-compressible permanent backup. I don't particularly need the files to also be 6x larger because they contain audiophile magic.

I work in the AV world of broadcast film/video/sound....... and there is a very clear, audible difference between 16-bit and 24-bit.... particularly true in acoustic recordings. However, you're right that the majority of consumers likely won't know the difference... just like most consumers leave motion-smoothing turned on on their flatscreen TV's.... or are unable to distinguish the difference between 720p and 1080p.

 

[unibodydesign]

Yeah, no.

Yeah, yes.

 

[Nunyabinez]

http://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=14195
http://people.xiph.org/~xiphmont/demo/neil-young.html

"This paper presented listeners with a choice between high-rate DVD-A/SACD content, chosen by high-definition audio advocates to show off high-def's superiority, and that same content resampled on the spot down to 16-bit / 44.1kHz Compact Disc rate. The listeners were challenged to identify any difference whatsoever between the two using an ABX methodology. BAS conducted the test using high-end professional equipment in noise-isolated studio listening environments with both amateur and trained professional listeners.

In 554 trials, listeners chose correctly 49.8% of the time. In other words, they were guessing. Not one listener throughout the entire test was able to identify which was 16/44.1 and which was high rate"​

Thank you. Interesting reading.

 

[LordVic]

Wha? Have you heard of wi-fi. Did you even read my post? Data caps are MOOT since you can download files from your streaming service to your device. So it's not like you're going to use all this data just to listen to music.

There's no bubble I live, just reality without hyperbole.

you literally have no clue how the internet actually works do you? "wi fi" isn't some free internet that magically comes out of nowhere.

 

[jshulman10]

This is why people torrent. $2 for a file that cost Apple virtually no more overhead than a lower quality counterpart. More absurd that some of Apples accessory.

Not to mention you'll have to go for at least 64gb phone models. Maybe they'll finally restructure storage pricing and capacity to 128gb.

 

[jettredmont]

I'm sorry, but such a statement requires a citation. Please provide a source. No, it's not my responsibility to Google it when you state it as a scientific fact.

The main paper I'd reference is this one:

Nishigichi et al, ‘Perceptual Discrimination between Musical Sounds with and without Very High Frequency Components’. NHK Laboratory Note No 486. AES 115th Convention 2003 NY October​

... but I can't find a good online source of it (the most I can find online is the abstract and first page, at http://www.deepdyve.com/lp/elsevier...-high-frequency-components-in-wide-XiA8BR0pgM ). You can, of course, rent the article there (or buy it for $40 from Science Direct) but that is probably not going to happen.

This review of research gives a pretty good overview of recent research (and hints at the fact that while there were legitimate claims that ultrasound "flavors" normal-range sound, upon further refinement of the test to apply a more strict high-band filter to the audio that effect disappeared):

http://www.hificritic.com/downloads/Archive_A10.pdf​

 

[carmenodie]

A gimmick to drive the sales of sagging downloads sales up.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

At $1 extra per track I'll stick to dinosaur CDs.

 

[AppleScruff1]

I just might to this. If I do, I'll let you know. I'll have to get things set up just right as I'll want to capture the audio on the first pass through the record.

Thanks. I think it might be a fun experiment. Vinyl has made a bit of a comeback and now some of the remastered sets are including vinyl and CD. I believe the upcoming Zeppelin remasters will have such a set.

 

[cRuNcHiE]

If they do this, awesome!

However, they better vastly improve the way itunes transcodes files to a lower bitrate when syncing to iphone/ipod.

At the moment it takes ridiculously long to sync music and transcode a lower bitrate ( to fit more songs on ipod) yet doesn't hardly tax the CPU or use all the cores so could be faster.

 

[csbo]

The problem is that in the source material, there are frequencies higher than we can hear, so in limiting the sampling rate by human hearing, there are audible frequencies that get distorted.



It's called aliasing. It's a bit like the audio version of the Moire Effect.

It may get distorted. But the distortion isn't audible

----------

Your statement is accurate, but it's a little more complex than that:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/news/9462448/The-quest-for-higher-quality-digital-music.html.

This was a problem for early converters. With modern converters the effects of the filter are generally above 20k, so still outside of human perception

 

[Chrisedge]

we bought zeppelin on

vinyl
reel to reel
8-track
cassette
cd
mini disc
sa cd
hd dvd
blueray
mp3
m4a
aiff
wav
ringtone
flac
and now they want to make a new format ?!

No Thanks!

Would love to see those official store bought mini disc, SA CD, WAV and flac files YOU bought.

 

[\-V-/]

Yeah, yes.

Enjoy your 480p resolution then.

 

[larrybeo]

Too Much!

Who would pay that much for a song they already own? I could understand .69 cents to upgrade a song you already own.. But $2.29? I own 18,000 songs. Do the math.

 

[unibodydesign]

Enjoy your 480p resolution then.

Life's too short, and if SD is the ONLY resolution available (I prefer HD, obviously) then I'm not going to NOT watch it for the sake of being pedantic.

 

[\-V-/]

Life's too short, and if SD is the ONLY resolution available (I prefer HD, obviously) then I'm not going to NOT watch it for the sake of being pedantic.

Nobody said not to watch it. You implied nobody will notice the resolution because the movie is entertaining. Nobody is being pedantic. You just said yourself you prefer HD. If it's the only thing available then I couldn't care less and I'll happily watch it. 480p just tends to make my eyes bleed on a 60" TV.

 

[lehoffboss]

Its funny watching some of you baulk at paying $2 for a HD track, yet here in Aus we pay $2.20 for a STANDARD track, and our exchange rate is only slightly below

 

[unibodydesign]

Nobody said not to watch it. You implied nobody will notice the resolution because the movie is entertaining. Nobody is being pedantic. You just said yourself you prefer HD. If it's the only thing available then I couldn't care less and I'll happily watch it. 480p just tends to make my eyes bleed on a 60" TV.

Fair enough

----------

Its funny watching some of you baulk at paying $2 for a HD track, yet here in Aus we pay $2.20 for a STANDARD track, and our exchange rate is only slightly below

Lolstralia, catch up

 

[TalkAboutApple]

This is great. I wouldn't miss ripping CD's at all (which is typically what I "still" purchase on music I care about).

 

[rols]

Sorry if this has already be covered.

But, what device are we playing this great new option Apple is giving us?

Is there a current device Apple makes that can play 24bit files natively?

I'm sure they can update the iOS to allow it, but will they or just wait for the next iPhone to come out?

Neil Young's Pono player which we were all ridiculing on here a few weeks ago.

 

[iBreatheApple]

If they charge a premium I'm going to be PISSED. Sure, Apple won't care if I'm pissed or not. But this isn't right.

Also, this needs to kick off a 32/64/128GB model and drop the 16GB option.

 

[Mockenrue]

Sorry if someone already said it, but I'd love to see High Def surround mixes like those on DVD-A, SACD, and BluRay Audio - to AirPlay HD/5.1 audio to my home theater.

 

[ArcaneDevice]

Still looking for a good reason to not buy CDs.

The best anyone can come up with is that they take up space, but I'm quite happy having a dedicated cabinet when I get a hard copy of the music, tangible artwork and the ability to rip music into any format at all with no additional costs, no DRM and send it to any device I want to.

Usually for less than the cost of digital music too.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

I would be happy with lossless 16-bit/48kHz.

Let's just kill off the 44.1kHz format so that we can standardize on multiples of 48kHz. There's also studies that at 44.1kHz, the sample rate still isn't quite high enough to prevent noticeable aliasing.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I think Apple will settle on 24-bit 96 kHz sampling rate for their new high-definition audio download format. The reason is simple: compatibility with digital master tapes that record audio also in 24-bit 96 kHz sampling rate

Besides, with 24 bits and 96 kHz sample rate, there's another advantage: treble frequency sounds will be vastly clearer, since you have a lot more data bits to record high frequencies. As such, musical instruments like cymbals, piccolo and the high notes on a piano will sound way more natural.