The minds behind MP3 and MPEG4 codecs have come up with a new audio format. This format could mean the end of our beloved CD. Scientists of the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits state that the HD-AAC could be the future.
HD-AAC offers better sound than CDs and the file sizes are small enough to put online. The codec is based on MPEG-4 SLS, a scalable lossless format. From now on you don't have to rip different versions of your music from different codecs for different devices... That sounds good.
HD-AAC deliveres high-quality 24-bit/96KHz files. You will play these on a home media server, and after that use the base version (AAC-LC layer) to play back on an iPod.
If this really is the future we from CDFreaks.com should do something with the name... HD-AAC? How do you pronounce that? Anyone has a better name? Already heard MPEG5 somewhere else.
