Wanted to get a discussion going about this. I've read several articles that have kind of debunked the idea that MfiT is a step in the right direction for music downloads. Mainly because it still sticks within the constraints of VBR 256kbps AAC.
While I understand and more or less agree with the thought that Apple should move towards lossless downloads, the reality is still that lossy is where it's at for the masses. So any improvements within that reality are welcome, from where I sit.
That said, I'm really intrigued by Apple's MfiT suite. Not only has Apple begun selling albums that are re-mastered using the specs, as supplied to engineers by Apple, they have provided the software to achieve a MfiT "master". It basically consists of a droplet that you can use to take a .WAV or .AIFF and compress it to AAC. Along with a GUI that allows you to do a quick comparison between the original file and the compressed AAC.
The thing that interests me the most about all of this is that Apple has given (anyone that wants it) the droplet to do the compression of their own music collection. What I am not sure of is how the droplet compression differs from doing a straight rip to iTunes Plus AAC inside of iTunes. I'm assuming that the droplet contains a more current and up to date algorithm for ripping AAC's.
I have done a test "master", using the 2009 Bob Ludwig re-master of "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector". Taking the ripped .AIFF files, I dragged and dropped the .AIFF files on the droplet and it spit out the AAC files in the same folder. One thing I noticed after importing the AAC files into iTunes is that where I would normally expect to see "Created with iTunes 10.6.4" or whatever. There is no mention of that. Just shows up as an AAC file, much like a Purchased iTunes file would.
At any rate, the sound is more than adequate for creating files for the Apple ecosphere. I sure would like to know more about the MfiT droplet though. Would love to hear from others that have used this or care to discuss this.
While I understand and more or less agree with the thought that Apple should move towards lossless downloads, the reality is still that lossy is where it's at for the masses. So any improvements within that reality are welcome, from where I sit.
That said, I'm really intrigued by Apple's MfiT suite. Not only has Apple begun selling albums that are re-mastered using the specs, as supplied to engineers by Apple, they have provided the software to achieve a MfiT "master". It basically consists of a droplet that you can use to take a .WAV or .AIFF and compress it to AAC. Along with a GUI that allows you to do a quick comparison between the original file and the compressed AAC.
The thing that interests me the most about all of this is that Apple has given (anyone that wants it) the droplet to do the compression of their own music collection. What I am not sure of is how the droplet compression differs from doing a straight rip to iTunes Plus AAC inside of iTunes. I'm assuming that the droplet contains a more current and up to date algorithm for ripping AAC's.
I have done a test "master", using the 2009 Bob Ludwig re-master of "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector". Taking the ripped .AIFF files, I dragged and dropped the .AIFF files on the droplet and it spit out the AAC files in the same folder. One thing I noticed after importing the AAC files into iTunes is that where I would normally expect to see "Created with iTunes 10.6.4" or whatever. There is no mention of that. Just shows up as an AAC file, much like a Purchased iTunes file would.
At any rate, the sound is more than adequate for creating files for the Apple ecosphere. I sure would like to know more about the MfiT droplet though. Would love to hear from others that have used this or care to discuss this.