On TV.com:
The New CHUCK Poster is Kickin'
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By Jason Parker 5/24/05
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To calculate our results, the jurors were asked to rate each 20-second sound clip on a scale of one to ten, assuming the WAV file was a perfect ten. One decimal point was allowed if needed. We then compiled the data and averaged the jury scores to find the winners. The file size for all the formats, at the same bit rate, was approximately the same for each song, with the exception of the OGG codec, which produces slightly smaller files. | ||
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Genre: Acoustic Artist: Jim O'Rourke Song: "Bad Timing" (from Bad Timing, 1997) Winning codec: AAC 128Kbps |
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Fingerpicked acoustic-guitar music demands near-perfect sound quality, so we figured a 192Kbps file would pull out the win. However, in our tests, the AAC file encoded at the lower 128Kbps bit rate trumped all others. In fact, this clip was the only one to average a score of greater than eight for the acoustic genre, besting even the 192Kbps version of the same codec. It's important to note that only iTunes and the iPod have native support for the AAC codec. The OGG files placed second for this style of music, so if you really love acoustic-guitar-based tracks and aren't down with Apple, you might want to consider researching an OGG-compatible portable player. | ||
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Genre: Jazz Artist: The Miles Davis Quintet Song: "So What" (from Kind Of Blue, 1959) Winning codec: WMA 192Kbps |
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When listening to jazz, you want to hear the different tonal qualities of each instrument, so even the smallest details are important. By a long shot, this demanding musical style sounded best in the WMA codec at 192Kbps. In fact, the 192Kbps clips of this song always beat the 128Kbps tracks for every codec, so jazz fans will probably find the extra space worth the sound quality. Many portable players on the market support WMA, with the notable exception of the iPod. | ||
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Genre: Rock Artist: Smashing Pumpkins Song: "Cherub Rock" (from Siamese Dream, 1993) Winning codec: WMA 128Kbps |
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Guitar rock is a fairly even overall sound; not only are the instruments often mixed to similar levels, but listeners usually play it loud (as long as their roommates don't get mad). For this style of music, the WMA codec at 128Kbps scored a narrow victory, though some of the other formats and bit rates weren't far behind. Considering the small disparity among the different clips, rock fans are probably pretty safe using whatever formats their portable players support. However, you may want to check out our full results page to judge for yourself. | ||
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Genre: Hip-hop Artist: The Roots Song: "Don't Say Nuthin'" (from The Tipping Point, 2004) Winning codec: WMA 192Kbps |
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Hip-hop mostly involves heavy bass and crisp treble sounds paired with sharp and exacting vocals. For this style of music, the WMA codec at 192Kbps once again was the winner, albeit by a small margin. iPod owners should instead go with AAC 128, but we found that rap music seems to benefit from 192-bit encoding in most cases. | ||
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Genre: Pop Artist: Christina Aguilera Song: "Dirrty" (from Stripped, 2002) Winning codec: OGG 128Kbps |
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Pop songs are often heavily produced and have a full range of sounds and instruments. Since this sort of music is very busy, we found the format and bit rate made less of a difference than with other music styles. None of the codecs fared particularly well with pop, but since the OGG files scored the best and tend to be slightly smaller than the others, it makes sense as the winning codec. However, OGG isn't widely supported by portable players and jukebox software, so pop fans may want to examine our full results closely.  Full test results >>
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