Comparison of audio coding formats
The following tables compare general and technical information for a variety of audio codecs.
General Information
Basic general information about the codecs: creator/company, license/price etc.
| Creator | First public release date | Latest stable version | Cost (USD) | Software license | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Audio Coding | Dolby | April 28th 2004 | ? | ? | ? |
| Apple Lossless | Apple Computer | April 28th 2004 | ? | ? | ? |
Operating System Support
Operating Systems that the codecs are available for.
| Windows | Mac OS X | Linux | BSD | Unix | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Audio Coding | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
| Apple Lossless | Yes | Yes | ? | ? | ? |
Technical details
| Algorithm | Minimum Sample Range | Maximum Sample Range | Minimum bit rate | Maximum bit rate | Variable bit rate | Stereo | Mono | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Audio Coding | Lossy compression | 8 Hz | 96 KHz | 16 kbps | 320 kbps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Lossless | Lossless compression | ? | ? | ? | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes |