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An Introduction
to FLAC & What Exactly is Lossless Compression
One of the best forms of audio compression processes used
today is the FLAC. This is the acronym of Free Lossless Audio
Codec that has an audio format that is like MP3. The only
difference here is that the compression is lossless which
means that there is no loss in quality when audio is
compressed with FLAC. You can get an exact idea of its
application when you look at a zip file when all documents are
compressed into a single zip file.
With FLAC it is possible to get better audio compression as
this is compression that is designed for use in high end audio
systems. It is possible to play your favorite music in FLAC
files in your favorite player, as you would an MP3 file. Most
operating systems support FLAC like Windows, BeOS, Amiga and
‘UNIX’.
Today, FLAC is the fastest form of lossless audio codec that
is widely supported in many programs and FLAC supporting
devices. In addition to this, FLAC has an open-source
reference implementation, follows a well documented format,
and is non-proprietary and other implementations. The main
FLAC project maintains a format while providing programs and
libraries of the working of FLAC files.
The word ‘free’ in FLAC does not only indicate that it is
available free of cost. It also means that its format
specification can be used by anyone in public, for any
purpose. In addition to this, it also means that the FLAC
format and any of its implemented encoding and decoding
methods are covered by a known patent.
By ‘free’, it also means that the source code of FLAC is
available under open-source licenses. In records, this is
truly the first form of open and free lossless audio format
available in the market today.
Continue reading this article.
For more information about
the FLAC codec, click here.
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