|
The Hardware
Resources That Support FLAC
FLAC is a free audio codec that was developed by Xiph.org and
is used mainly in the compression of audio files. FLAC is the
short form of Free Lossless Audio Codec, is similar in format
to MP3 and is supported by most operating systems.
Though MP3 and FLAC are quite similar in format, there are
some differences between the two. The main fact lies in the
fact that FLAC is lossless. This means that the decoded audio
you receive after compression is very much identical to the
audio file that had first entered the encoder. You can find
out that the original file and the encoded file are similar
with the help of a 16-bit CRC.
It is interesting to learn that there is a large list of
hardware resources that supports FLAC that includes car
stereo, portable devices and home stereos. Ipods like video,
color, mini, photo and nano all support FLAC with the help of
third party Rockbox firmware. In addition to this, most of
Rockbox compatible DAPs like iriver and the Gigabeat range of
devices also support FLAC.
Sonos is a type of slick networked audio system that supports
FLAC. You find that each ZonePlayer used here is connected to
an amplifier or speakers with which it is possible to access
music from all over the network. It is possible to control
these Zoneplayers with the help of wireless remote that has a
color LCD and clickwheel.
These Zoneplayers can be networked either in the wired or
wireless form, in either the independent form or in sync. You
find that FLAC support here is excellent where both mono and
stereo files have sample rates that range from 16 kHz – 48 kHz
which work at 16-bits per sample. All its standard encoding
modes are provided support in FLAC. In addition to FLAC,
gapless playback, FLAC tags and ReplayGain are also supported
in Sonos.
Slim Devices have released a fantastic, networked audio player
called Squeezebox that provides analog and digital outputs for
the connection to amplifiers and receivers. The features of
this system include an easy-to-read vacuum fluorescent
display, multi-room synchronization and both wired and
wireless networking.
The server-side software found here is the Slim Server that is
an open source software that works on Windows, Mac OS X,
Linux, etc. The FLAC support is excellent here where most of
the subset, including standard encoding modes is also
supported. With the help of Slim Server it is possible to
automatically transcoded many audio formats to FLAC on the
server, for its transmission to the box.
Another hardware device that supports FLAC is the transponder,
a networked audio player from Slim Devices. This is a device
that has all the features of the Squeezebox, in addition to
pro-grade connectors, offers a larger display and has top-end
components. In addition to this, the FLAC support offered by
the device is excellent where there is support for all
standard encoding modes and tags.
In addition to all these hardware, there are other home
stereos that work well while supporting FLAC like the Avega
Systems’ wireless Oyster loudspeakers, iMuse audio and video
media servers, Linn Kilmax DS networked digital music player
and Neuros OSD Linux-based set-top box.
Car stereos too support FLAC like the PhatBox and URAL Concert
CDD for increased listening pleasure. When you are on the
move, you could consider getting yourself portable handsets
that support FLAC like the Hyundai NH-260, Portable Media
Player and iPod via the Rockbox firmware replacement.
There are other equipment that also support FLAC like Sound
Devices’ 7-Series recorders, Numark’s DJ equipment that have
integrated hard drive and CD player with an HDMIX mixer.
Source:
http://www.flacsite.com |
