Apparently Neil Young’s record company is filing a patent application for a new audio format. Whether this will compete with mp3 is more likely to be journalist hype than real in my opinion, surely the file sizes of the average track and LP are now asily downloadable via today’s broadband speeds, the only reason we would need more compression is to gain a better quality audio. I’m not sure the average consumer needs that so mp3 will continue. Perhaps it is a format for high quality hi fi or cinema use.

Also worth considering is the availability of a new format, its adoption by audio software manufacturers and the barriers to that such as the cost of licensing the technology. Well, In around a month’s time the details of the technology will become available from the patent office, when the commercial offerings happen is another matter.

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