FLAC is a cross-platform codec, but when it comes to Windows, one has a pretty wide range of compiles. Some are more optimized than others. I first got the idea for this benchmark when I stumbled upon a native 64-bit FLAC executable for Windows. Curious, I did a quick and dirty test against the canonical [...]
It’s been close to two years since I wrote GNOME Audio Player Shootout, a visual and textual comparison of some the best available audio players for the GNOME desktop. As is usually the case in the world of free software, a lot has happened since then (and yet, in a strange way, things have stayed [...]
Previously, I reviewed InfraRecorder, a relatively young project that seeks to add a bit of spit and polish to the venerable cdrtools command line programs. At the time, noted that while the interface was lovely, there were a few flaws, notably the hassle of add-on mp3 support, the lack of FLAC support, and limited flexibility. [...]
The state of Win32 burning programs The proprietary choices for optical disc burning on Windows are pretty obvious: at the fore, there’s Roxio’s offering, EZ Media Creator, and Nero’s offering, Nero Burning Rom. Having used Roxio’s v5 program long, long ago with my Hewlett-Packard 4x external CDRW drive, and having used Nero’s Burning Rom during [...]
The “Upgraded to FLAC 1.1.4″ edition Sondre Lerche • Things You Call Fate Six Organs of Admittance • This Hand Tristania • Lethean River Sparta • Without a Word Do Make Say Think • Le’espalace Stars of the Lid • Dopamine Clouds Over Craven Cottage Änglagård • Ifran Klarhet Till Klarhet Leaves • Should Have [...]
On the heels of my recent comparison of general-purpose data compressors, I bring you the results of far too much time spent hunched in front of a command line, calculating ratios. The benchmark’s ostensible purpose, at least at first, was to compare four mainstream codecs—FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, WavPack, and OptimFROG—and see how their current stable [...]