Ubuntu One Music Store Pushed In Rhythmbox

[Wyatt]

You know, I can't speak for everyone that rolls their eyes every time Vorbis is mentioned, but I'm getting sort of tired of the same three or four people in every thread raising a fuss because they think there's any real practical reason to use it over mp3. No, "encumbered format" is not a practical concern. "Works reliably most everywhere" is.

Please, at least go with AAC or something that has any possibility of ever being useful.

[beniwtv]

I want neither MP3 nor Vorbis. FLAC or WAV is the least I expect from a music store. Let me encode it for whatever device I want.

[benmoran]

Agreed, although I don't see it becoming popular with music services in the near future because of bandwidth and storage space issues.
That said, I do love artists who release their own stuff in FLAC format.

[RealNC]

You know, I can't speak for everyone that rolls their eyes every time Vorbis is mentioned, but I'm getting sort of tired of the same three or four people in every thread raising a fuss because they think there's any real practical reason to use it over mp3.

Yes there is. It's called "audio quality."

Please, at least go with AAC or something that has any possibility of ever being useful.

That works too.

But in the end, I don't really care. I don't buy music, I just illegally copy it.

[deanjo]

Users *would* choose Vorbis if they were actually told right there at the download link that it offers the better quality and that mp3 is only intended as the compatible fall-back option (like for portable mp3 players.)

I think you under estimate the power of convenience. People that are worried about sound quality wouldn't be downloading lossy compression formats in the first place.

[yotambien]

Users *would* choose Vorbis if they were actually told right there at the download link that it offers the better quality and that mp3 is only intended as the compatible fall-back option (like for portable mp3 players.)

But that would be missleading. More correct would be to say that Vorbis offers better quality at the same size, or better compression.

Heh, it won't work. I will download a thousand times the ogg format for example

Not very democratic, is it? But let's just make a poll. The options and question could be something like:

What audio codec should Phoronix use for its media?

1. MP3, it's got the greater compatibility.
2. Vorbis, Phoronix should give example.
3. Both, let me decide what's best for me.
4. Other.

Want to give it a shot?

[deanjo]

No, "encumbered format" is not a practical concern. "Works reliably most everywhere" is.

Please, at least go with AAC or something that has any possibility of ever being useful.

Exactly, the other thing to consider is the quality of the devices used for playback as well which will probably have more of a impact on the listeners. When it comes to audio now days, like it or not, mp3 is "good enough" for most people and the power of compatibility outweighs any performance delta.

[yotambien]

Done it.

Here.

[deanjo]

Done it.

Here.

Problem with polls is that they only apply to people using the forums and what people say they would use is often very different then what they do actually use. The only real indicator is tracking the downloads.

[yotambien]

You are right, but for the sake of the discussion it's going to be better than other suggested options such as somehow measuring the reaction in the forum. Also, I expect the most vocal people from both camps to vote, which should give an idea of what the numbers are amongst those of us bitching about this.

At any rate, people who don't care at all won't be counted, so the results will probably be biased towards Vorbis. Regarding your concerns about people not doing what they preach, I hope you are wrong.