

MT9: An mp3 replacement? - Chris8535
http://www.thestandard.com/news/2008/06/17/mt9-next-compressed-music-format
T9 could be the next format for digital music, if the Motion Picture Experts Group (the people behind .MPEG video) approve it. The possible MP3 usurper offers up to six tracks of audio to be compressed together, theoretically allowing different instruments to inhabit their own distinctive tracks.
======
jws
To replace mp3 you need to win on at least one of these fronts:

    
    
      * licensing/royalties
      * quality per bit
      * power consumption to decode
    

The article addresses none of these, but instead talks about being able to
remix an song to suit your tastes because all of the instruments are on
different tracks.

This is just silly. Rounded to one percent, no one wants to do this to their
music. Add to that, it isn't really possible because in any modern musical
production there is audio processing that happens to groups of tracks on the
way to a final mix and then more processing on all of the tracks combined. The
final product is not a linear combination of the inputs.

A poorly thought out gimmicky feature is not going to replace mp3.

Oh, the labels will have to support it since it will require completely new
production techniques and if the cost doesn't cause them an aneurism then the
idea that you can go in and rip out a drum line to sample will.

~~~
hernan7
Also, for the few of us that might want to remix a track, a limit of 6 tracks
is grossly inadequate.

~~~
jrockway
Definitely. For example, a lot of music I like has clipped peaks so that the
bulk of the song sounds louder on the radio. If that's the game they want to
play, fine... but when I'm at home on my expensive audio system, I want the
un-clipped version. I already like your music, so you don't have to market to
me anymore. If I want it to be loud, I will turn up the volume. </rant>

------
yan
Feel free to prove me wrong in two years, but I feel this will /never/ (and I
mean never in the information age sense, i.e. a few years) gain the traction
of or simply replace mp3s.

mp3s have been at a point where an everyday listener is simply not able to
distinguish between a 192kbps mp3 on a player with subpar audio hardware and
the master recording. iPods, audio players and generic computer speakers make
the distinction even less significant. I'd even argue that the industry is
actually hoping to move in the opposite direction and bring music to phones
and other channels of lesser bandwidth and will try to bring down quality (and
size) to a level at which simply won't annoy and keep people buying.

The multi-track technology is purely a gimmick. Most artists do not want you
messing with the levels of their tracks or make creative adjustments to their
music. That's their job after all. Not to mention artists had a fit when
iTunes started selling songs individually and took away their ability to
distribute an album as an atomic piece of music. Also, I don't know how RIAA
will look at bars being able to buy a song and use it for karaoke (the use the
article mentions) without additional licensing.

Calling this an 'mp3 replacement' is as sensationalist as you get.

------
ConradHex
This article actually looks like a pretty good example of a PR hit. The
article says that the Guardian says that LG and Samsung are "interested" in
the technology. Click through to the Guardian, and it's the company themselves
that claims LG and Samsung are interested.

I'm not implying that this is bad or anything, just interesting. The
technology sounds cool, FWIW.

------
noonespecial
There's absolutely no reason you couldn't trivially whip together a little ogg
or mp3 file format that packs in an arbitrary number of tracks.

If I'm not mistaken, several audio collaboration tools already do this.

Article -> meh.

Theres only one thing that could allow a format to overtake mp3: 10x better
compression without reduction in quality, or drastic power requirements for
playback.

------
ilamont
Convincing the labels to back this format is a long shot, unless the DRM is
there. The multitrack feature would also require some pretty significant
interface updates to software and devices.

------
bprater
Maybe they can include MT9 with standard mp3 for players that can't use it.

Multi-tracks is a cool idea, although I don't see a huge market pining for
this. Not sure why they are limiting it to X tracks though.

~~~
ilamont
Yes, I was thinking about the six-track limit, too. Most recording artists
(big and small) use way more than six tracks, and mix down to two for the
consumer market. Creating a separate six-track MT9 file would add additional
work, costs, and complexity.

------
martythemaniak
It'd be a neat feature to add to mp3s (technical difficulties/impossibilities
aside), but it's not enough to propel a whole new format.

What's more, content producers, especially ones like the RIAA, don't like you
playing with their stuff too much, so I doubt you'll be able to get much
content for this anyway.

