Difference between revisions of "MPEG Layer 3"

from HTYP, the free directory anyone can edit if they can prove to me that they're not a spambot
Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(SMW; updates and tidying)
 
Line 1: Line 1:
[[MPEG Layer 3]], or MP3 for short, is a [[lossy compression]] format for audio data. Files encoded in this format are often referred to as "MP3"s.
+
<hide>
{{seed}}
+
[[page type::article]]
Rights to the MP3 format are owned by the [[wikipedia:Fraunhofer Society|Fraunhofer Society]], and anyone wishing to release (a) software or hardware supporting MP3 audio, or (b) content encoded in the MP3 format must obtain permission from Fraunhofer (usually in the form of a paid license). (For related reasons &ndash; usually [[license conflict]] &ndash; free software often does not support MP3 directly.) Because of this restriction, significant effort has been put into developing free alternatives, most notably [[Ogg Vorbis]].
+
[[thing type::file type]]
 +
[[purpose::audio]]
 +
[[compression::lossy]]
 +
</hide>
 +
==About==
 +
[[MPEG Layer 3]] (MP3) is a [[lossy compression]] format for audio data. Files encoded in this format use the [[.mp3]] [[file extension]] and are often referred to as "MP3"s.
 +
 
 +
Many organizations, most notably the [[wikipedia:Fraunhofer Society|Fraunhofer Society]], have claimed software patent(s) on technology used in the MP3 format, and anyone wishing to release (a) software or hardware supporting MP3 audio, or (b) content encoded in the MP3 format must obtain permission from the patent owners (usually in the form of a paid license).
 +
 
 +
Because of this restriction, significant effort has been put into developing free alternatives, most notably [[Ogg Vorbis]], and [[free/open source|free software]] often does not support MP3 directly due to [[license conflict]]s.
 +
 
 +
The various MP3-related patents expire on dates ranging from 2007 to 2017 in the [[US]], and at other times in other countries.
 
==Reference==
 
==Reference==
 
* {{wikipedia|MP3}}
 
* {{wikipedia|MP3}}
 
* [http://www.mp3licensing.com/ MP3 Licensing] official site
 
* [http://www.mp3licensing.com/ MP3 Licensing] official site
* [http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/amm/techinf/layer3/ Fraunhofer IIS division MP3 page]
+
* [http://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/bf/amm/produkte/audiocodec/audiocodecs/mp3/index.jsp Fraunhofer IIS division MP3 page]

Latest revision as of 15:15, 24 June 2012

About

MPEG Layer 3 (MP3) is a lossy compression format for audio data. Files encoded in this format use the .mp3 file extension and are often referred to as "MP3"s.

Many organizations, most notably the Fraunhofer Society, have claimed software patent(s) on technology used in the MP3 format, and anyone wishing to release (a) software or hardware supporting MP3 audio, or (b) content encoded in the MP3 format must obtain permission from the patent owners (usually in the form of a paid license).

Because of this restriction, significant effort has been put into developing free alternatives, most notably Ogg Vorbis, and free software often does not support MP3 directly due to license conflicts.

The various MP3-related patents expire on dates ranging from 2007 to 2017 in the US, and at other times in other countries.

Reference