Re: 5 Things AppleTV needs to be a MUST BUY by Apple Gazette

[LuKreme]

On 6-Apr-2007, at 21:37, Scot Hacker wrote:
> On Apr 6, 2007, at 8:18 PM, LuKreme wrote:
>> 128Kbps AAC is great.  Sounds exactly like a CD on my computer or  
>> on my ipod.  There is a barely noticeable drop if I listen to a  
>> AAC file on my home stereo, but only if you actually compare two  
>> identical tracks one after the other.
>
> What's barely noticeable to some is a huge delta to others. I share  
> the fear that the quality of all media is going to hell, with data  
> compression and audio compression out of hand all over the place,  
> and people not seeming to care or notice. "Hey, they're paying full  
> price for the content even though we're throwing away 90% of the  
> data!" That's part of why it was so gratifying to see that iTMS  
> will be offering 256kbps AAC on some content soon - they wouldn't  
> be doing it if a sizable chunk of the public wasn't asking for it.  
> Which seems to mean we're not deaf yet.

I doubt the public outcry for 256K AAC has anything to do with this,  
it's about adding perceived value to justify a price increase.

And I bet more than half of those punters clamoring for higher bit  
rate are poseurs who couldn't tell the difference anyway.

Yes, you can tell 128 AAC from a CD on decent equipment.  Anyone  
can.  But the vast majority of music listening is not done on what  
would qualify as decent equipment.


-- 
So now you know the words to our song, pretty soon you'll all be  
singing along, when you're sad, when you're lonely and it all turns  
out wrong...