MP3: Difference between revisions

'''MP3''' (formally '''MPEG-1 Audio Layer III''' or '''MPEG-2 Audio Layer III''')<ref name="rfc5219" /> is a [[audio coding format|coding format]] for [[digital audio]] developed largely by the [[Fraunhofer Society]] in Germany under the lead of [[Karlheinz Brandenburg]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cuU16whZ-Fs|title=73. "Father" of the MP3, Karlheinz Brandenburg|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.internethistorypodcast.com/2015/07/on-the-20th-birthday-of-the-mp3-an-interview-with-the-father-of-the-mp3-karlheinz-brandenburg/|title=On the 20th Birthday of the MP3, An Interview With The "Father" of the MP3, Karlheinz Brandenburg}}</ref> with support from other digital scientists in other countries. Originally defined as the third audio format of the [[MPEG-1]] standard, it was retained and further extended—defining additional bit rates and support for more [[surround channels|audio channels]]—as the third audio format of the subsequent [[MPEG-2]] standard. A third version, known as MPEG-2.5—extended to better support lower [[bit rate]]s—is commonly implemented but is not a recognized standard.

 

 

Concerning [[audio compression (data)|audio compression]] (the aspect of the standard most apparent to end-users and for which it is best known), MP3 uses [[lossy compression|lossy data compression]] to encode data using inexact approximations and the partial discarding of data. This allows a large reduction in file sizes when compared to uncompressed audio. The combination of small size and acceptable fidelity led to a boom in the distribution of music over the Internet in the mid-to-late 1990s, with MP3 serving as an enabling technology at a time when bandwidth and storage were still at a premium. The MP3 format soon became associated with controversies surrounding [[copyright infringement]], [[music piracy]], and the file-[[ripping]] and [[file sharing|sharing]] services [[MP3.com#Original_version|MP3.com]] and [[Napster]], among others. With the advent of [[portable media player]]s, a product category also including [[smartphones]], MP3 support remains near-universal.