ExtremeTech: "iTunes Bad, WMA Good"

[Jason Dunn]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1525987,00.asp' target='_blank'>http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1525987,00.asp</a><br /><br /></div>"AAC is a perfectly fine audio format. It sounds good. I don't really want the music I pay money for to be encoded at 128k, but none of iTunes' competitors are offering a higher bitrate, so I don't have much choice there. The problem with AAC is that it doesn't really have digital rights management, so songs you buy through the iTunes Music Store have an Apple-specific proprietary digital rights management scheme called FairPlay attached to them. AAC may be a format that many desktop applications (like Winamp) can understand, and it's certainly possible for non-iPod portable players to build in support for it, but iTunes and iPods understand FairPlay. <br /><br />If I buy music through the iTunes store, it will only play on iTunes or an iPod. That's it, until the end of time. I'm sorry, but that doesn't cut it for me. How do I know what music player I'm going to want to buy in four years? How do I know my next car won't have a built-in digital music player? I certainly don't expect Apple to make a CarPod. All those iTunes songs I pay for today are going to be useless tomorrow. I generally don't want to play back my music through iTunes -- I want to use a smaller, faster, less obtrusive playback client like Winamp. With music purchased through iTunes, that's not an option."<br /><br />Oh my - I can see why this article has 170 comments posted to it already! It's quite the bold statement. I'd like to know what DMT readers think - give the whole thing a read and come back and comment. I think there's a lot of truth in what he's saying, but I can understand why it would upset happy iPod owners. :wink:

[mrkablooey]

I'm a Mac user.
I own an iPod.
I have an MP3 player in my car.

Downloaded iTunes songs have to be burned to CD then re-ripped to MP3 to play in my car.

I don't download songs anymore. And all my CDs I burned to AAC are being re-burned to MP3. THey play just fine in either format on my iPod but to listen to them in the car they have to be MP3--or I need to use the original audio disc, but what fun is that?

:?

[Mojo Jojo]

So... which internet music store is it again that I can buy all my music in WM9 format?

How do I know which WM9 player I will want in the future? Will it still be supported?

Will WM10 players be backwards compatible or will I need to rerip all my information moving forward?

What happens if I get a new computer and WM9 DRM says my music is invalid now?

Okay... just a bit of venting there. Everything has its warts. You can't use the future as an argument in technology cause nothing is promised and technology changes so fast. Not to mention that it is an unknown.

Let us put on the 'what if' hat.

What if you buy all your music and convert it all to WM9 and time goes on and MS loses the battle and the format is less and less popular and less supported. His argument against AAC and Apple is now valid against itself. No players, no sellers... no future. I don't think that this argument can be won. He makes an assumption that Apple will lose, an assumption that can not be backed up.

This is like Laser Disc versus DVD, or Beta versus VHS. I am sure the Laser Disc / Beta supporters had the same argument about quality, number of players ect... and now they are a niche.

Currently 70 percent of all legal downloads are from iTunes, 40 percent (and currently growing) of digital music players are iPod. WMA players have been out for awhile and stagnant, growth has been declining. Perhaps he doesn't like AAC but the market is favoring it, leading to a good chance that it will be more of a standard then WMA.

I like the iPod, I like iTunes. They both work for me in the here and now. They will work for me in the next year. Past that I don't have many expectations for the future accept that if the market creates a void someone usually makes a product to elevate the void. (There are already batch converters that will convert AAC to WAV then to MP3 if you wish)

I think the fault often over looked in these arguments is that the masses, being the overall market, do not care about any of the technical issues, will not research what is 'best' or 'better'. Ease of use, design, branding, and cost will dictate this type of market. I looked at both camps and saw a solution that fit my needs. Then I voted with my dollars. =)

[James Fee]

Meh, I have an iPod and it is the digital music player standard.

How is this comparison Jason?

WMP = Linux
iTunes = Windows

The iPod is by far the standard mp3 player and it has the most accessories, the most support and the best music download site. WMP while available at more stores, has a more fractured existance. I use Windows and Office on my work PC because I know I can get whatever I need for it, and that is the same feeling with an iPod. Just like the linux heads want Microsoft to open Windows, the WMA people want Apple to open iTunes/iPod. I don't think either will happen and we are all better off for it.
but I can understand why it would upset happy iPod owners
The only people upset are those who don't own an iPod. Those who do could care less because they know its a better player and a better store.

[possmann]

I disagree that the iPod is the Digital Music Player Standard. It is a fashion statement and nothing more.

Until you can play AAC formated tunes where ever you want - then I would agree it is a standard. MP3 has been the leading standard for some time, but if you notice that CD players are moving to support not only MP3 file formats, but WMA as well. No mention of AAC there...

I've not heard anything on the AAC format so I cannot comment to the quality, but I know that between the quality of an MP3 and WMA - I'll choose the WMA format.

[James Fee]

I disagree that the iPod is the Digital Music Player Standard. It is a fashion statement and nothing more.
Right.... :roll:

Face it, how many articles a week to you read about the next "iPod Killer"?

Until you can play AAC formated tunes where ever you want - then I would agree it is a standard. MP3 has been the leading standard for some time, but if you notice that CD players are moving to support not only MP3 file formats, but WMA as well. No mention of AAC there...
What does MP3 have to do with anything here? The iPod plays mp3. As I said, the WMA market is fragmented and not able to show a unified front. The fact that a few CD players play WMA doesn't make people want to download music from Napster. You still have to convert it to a audio disk, because of the DRM features of WMP (I have yet to read about a CD player that support WMA DRM).
I've not heard anything on the AAC format so I cannot comment to the quality, but I know that between the quality of an MP3 and WMA - I'll choose the WMA format.
Under what circumstances? I can think of many times when a mp3 sounds better than a WMA. I personally always convert my AAC and WMA files to mp3 because then I know I control the music rather than Apple or Microsoft. If you look at a 128 WMA and MP3, I don't think you can tell the difference. But when you go down to 64, the WMA is by far the best sounding format. Simiply put, the quality of the files usually is derived by how it was created, not by a simple bit rate comparison which ignores many other elements that can affect the digital music file.

Fact is the iPod is the best selling mp3 player, it has the most accessories, the most users and the best download store.

Sounds like a standard to me when you consider how many "iPod killers" there are out there.

[Mojo Jojo]

... CD players are moving to support not only MP3 file formats, but WMA as well. No mention of AAC there...

A lot of currently WMA support in newer CD players could possibly be attributed to the CD player market adapting to trends. As technology adoption takes time, and WMA was out first, it makes sense to see it before AAC. A quick search turned up this portable CD player currently on the market and I imagine more to come. Note that it plays 'raw' AAC formats. iTunes AAC have 'fair play' DRM attached so they will not work. Much like Windows DRM encrypted WMA files will not play on a regular WMA player.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000066R5K/104-1803637-6792739

So it sorta brings us back to the complication of things. DRM is hampering the industry more then fractured formats in my opinion. Those in my family who are not savy to such things like the 'push-button-simplicty' of things, just wanting to play music they own. Converting, re-encoding, bit rate are all dark evil juju. Think radio, stanard cds... push power then play...

My guess is that Apple is successful is because they offer a complete solution. They have access to music through iTunes, it transfers easy enough to a well rounded player, it is comparable in cost to the rest of the market so cost isn't keeping them down, it is stylish, and current brand recogonition is through the roof.

And it all comes in a little square box with everything you need in it. Is it a standard? Yes, Apples standard. Is it like Xerox is to photocopying to the public? No... at this time perhaps not but the market currently is on track to make it one.

[Crocuta]

Whatever happens in the future, it would be a real stretch to call AAC a standard today. It's just not; it's a successful proprietary codec. I basically agree with the author and possmann; if you want to futureproof yourself, MP3 is probably the safest bet, with WMA next in line. Of course, there's no guarantee that anything you buy actually will continue on through the future, but these have a better chance IMO than AAC. My money will not be going to the ipod or AAC unless Apple opens it up to others in the market and it gains a mainstream presence. Sorry if that upsets ipod advocates, but it's my money and that's how I intend to (not) spend it.

[Lee Yuan Sheng]

I'd think cageyjames and Mojo Jojo make good points. I'd also like to add that it's amusing to see that MP3 seems to be regarded so poorly.

[James Fee]

Whatever happens in the future, it would be a real stretch to call AAC a standard today.
Oh I agree, I never called AAC the standard, just the iPod. The standard for digial music today is mp3 and most player play that, but the standard for players is the iPod. The only reason we talk about AAC is because the iPod is the big fish in the pond.

[bdegroodt]

I disagree that the iPod is the Digital Music Player Standard. It is a fashion statement and nothing more.


Huh? You mean the one that stays in my bag, never to be seen, connected to the earphones that didn't come with the iPod? That fashion statement? Please.

At what percent penetration of the market would you be willing to call any device a standard? 40% seems to be a bit of a landslide, if you ask me.

I've never given more than a moment of ponder about getting my music from one format to the other. For a variety of reasons, including the fact that I've migrated my music from Windows to Linux to OS X (AAC) to "regular old CD player format" with ZERO issues.

I too join the ranks of the previously guilty. I used to download like a mad thief. I no longer do. I used to have just under 1,000 CDs taking up lots of space in my home (for a product that really uses no space-music). I no longer do. I've ripped them onto my HDD and stashed them into storage. I do still buy CDs, but for the experience of reading the liner notes and the occasional bonus DVD. I use my music in any venue, in any way I desire, without overbearing limitations by DRM. I'm reformed by Apple's understanding of what I wanted and intelligently/fairly applying that need to a business plan.

[possmann]

So what makes the iPod better than similar devices with equal storage capacity?

[Janak Parekh]

So what makes the iPod better than similar devices with equal storage capacity?
- Smaller physical size
- Very fast, simple UI
- iTunes with its syncing capability
- Lots of accessories. :)

I'm not saying the iPod is more featureful than, say, the iRiver iHP-140, but it is a great combination of features and size.

--janak