This mp3 thing

For historic recordings, the traditional cd stereo format is overkill and very poor value in terms of cost, playing time, portability and shelf space. In compressed format, the entire Wagner Ring directed by Furtbungler can fit on a single disc, with no loss in audio quality (which is marginal to begin with) and room to spare. Or so the theory goes.

Fact: Once a new technology has been invented it cannot be disinvented.

Question: How long will it take before we can step into a record store or its online equivalent and buy a cd of historic material in mp3 format, with decent packaging, texts, annotations, etc.?

Technically, it's a very reasonable idea. Too reasonable

One of the biggest bummers for classical listeners. Imagine GOETTERDAEMMERUNG in one single track.

DVD (that is, DVD-Video, but without the video) would be a better choice. You can implement a CD-like usage model with direct access to up to 99 tracks. Audio can be uncompressed PCM or Dolby Digital. 30% of homes have DVD players already.

Remember indexes on CDs?

Better than a hiccup every few dozen bars.

Matthew B. Tepper (if there are backslashes in this address, it is

Yeah, I got a few that are indexed. Problem is, you can access index marks directly with only a handful of players.

Maybe so, but a) many households, e.g. mine, have the TV/DVD setup separate from the music setup, b) I don't know of any DVD players now that can handle MP3-formatted just-audio on a DVD-Video track. There would have to be a standard, followed by another, followed by a standards war, after which everyone would have to buy a new player, c) the amount of MP3 material on a DVD would be staggering (50-100 hours of music), and therefore staggeringly difficult to index, navigate, and package. 'What can I sell you today, sir? Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Mahler, Bruckner, Verdi and Wagner are each complete on a single disk. Haydn, Mozart, Bach and Liszt are on 4 discs each ...'

I'd sooner bet on downloads through an ever-faster internet to ever-larger hard disks on computers with CD/DVD burners.

Tony Movshon

Well, if they could add index points to it...

(Replying to the OP here, but): I'd rather have a lossless format, like FLAC, or APE, or an open-source format such as Ogg Vorbis. The compression ratios are getting better on the lossless front.

There's no technical reason this has to occur. It could easily be buffered. I've not played with portable players much, but will get one when a cheap, nice sounding player which supports MP3 (or better) on DVD becomes affordable.

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Gee, somebody had that idea yesterday. Oh, wait, it was me!