MP3 files set to be phased outMay 16, 2017 - 11:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The MP3 audio file is set to be phased out. The Fraunhofer Institute, which developed the early digital audio format and licenses it to software developers, has ceased its licensing agreement. As NME reports citing Gizmodo, the institute states that newer, MPEG codecs such as AAC files “can deliver more features and a higher audio quality at much lower bitrates compared to MP3.” While the impact on the music and audio industries will be largely minimal, due to most streaming services already using newer formats, the MP3’s impact on the digitisation of music is undeniable. Most notably, the MP3 allowed for Apple to become the dominant force in music distribution it is today, through the proliferation of downloadable music and the iPod. These days, Apple is a market leader through Apple Music. It was recently discovered that MP3s can make your music sound “more depressing”, with researchers at the Audio Engineering Library revealing that MP3 compression tended to strengthen neutral and negative emotional characteristics of a song, which the study defined as “mysterious, shy, scary and sad”. On the other hand, MP3s can dull positive emotional characteristics, such as “happy, romantic or calm”. However, they had no effect on songs that were categorised as “angry”. Last December also saw vinyl sales outweigh digital downloads for the first time ever. Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |