Streaming high-res files - Maybe there is hope

BlueFox · November 2011

I just received an email, and it has this article on streaming high-res files. This has such great potential. Imagine a front end to your system that can get high-res files over the Internet. I would have no problem paying (a reasonable) monthly fee for this service. Buy what you like, and stream high-res in place of listening to the radio.

Of course, it is just getting started, but we are heading in the right direction to higher quality audio from more sources than we currently have. The future is bright indeed.

"I am consuming some streaming Sinatra at 24 bit/96 kHz (@ >2000 kbps according to the OraStream player) right now and he/it sounds great. Streaming music at 24/96 to the desktop over HTTP. Pinch me.
The way I understand the MP4SLS technology, OraStream streams at an adaptive bit rate depending on the network and device it's streaming to. OraStream can deliver 24/192 to the desktop and there's a Mac iOS version available for demo from the Apple App Store which streams at 16/44 due to iOS device limitations. An Android version is in the works and should be available next month as well as a Browser-based app using Javascript.

Exactly how this technology shakes out and finds its way into our hi-fi remains to be seen but I'd like to imagine that some streaming service like MOG or Spotify will license OraStream and offer access to a few million songs at 16/44 for a few bucks a month. Or maybe a live music streaming service at 24/96? Now that would be something to write home about. "

http://www.audiostream.com/content/streaming-2496-over-net-anyone-interested

mantis · November 2011

It's where it's going , soon the cd will be at an end. I'm very happy about this move. Lets all move into the future together and not give up any sound quality. Actually lets move into the future with better sound quality.

BlueFox · November 2011

mantis wrote: »

It's where it's going , soon the cd will be at an end. I'm very happy about this move. Lets all move into the future together and not give up any sound quality. Actually lets move into the future with better sound quality.

I will drink to that. :cool:

F1nut · November 2011

Yeah, move into the future the record companies want you to. You don't own it, can't resell and can't copy it. And folks like you are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Brilliant!

FTGV · November 2011

If one is looking for a greater variety of hi rez music than what the spuradic SACD releases offer then it certainly will be the future, count me in.If it's on my hard drive I own it and if I want to move the files to another computer a simple thumb drive will suffice.Mmmmm such good Kool Aid.:cheesygrin:

tonyb · November 2011

F1nut wrote: »

Yeah, move into the future the record companies want you to. You don't own it, can't resell and can't copy it. And folks like you are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Brilliant!

Agree with that one, thats why I like physical media. I also like computer music but it has yet to make that emotional connection a good cdp does.
As far as 24/96 files go, Rhapsody already streams it, and a few other music services, so whats the big deal ?

BlueFox · November 2011

Yeah, move into the future the record companies want you to. You don't own it, can't resell and can't copy it. And folks like you are swallowing it hook, line and sinker. Brilliant!

Oh fiddle faddel, falderal, and balderdash. There is not any conspiracy. It is the natural evolution of technology.

Personally, I suspect what the record companies are really scared of is artists realizing they can bypass them by releasing their own CDs and downloads. I recently bought a great CD, This Train, by Chrysta Bell directly from her site. By buying the CD, I also got my choice of download, and I chose the Apple Lossless. It easily installed on my iPod, along with the cover art, and I was listening to it for a week before the CD arrived. Personally, I would like to see the record companies suffer for their high-priced, overly compressed recordings.

http://www.chrystabell.com/

BlueFox · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

As far as 24/96 files go, Rhapsody already streams it, and a few other music services, so whats the big deal ?

I thought I might give this a try, but I have been all over their web-site and am unable to find any reference to anything other than MP3. I would have thought the Subscription Plans would be the area, but nothing there. Since 24/96 files are a big deal, one would think they would be pushing it. Any pointers to where I can find info on 24/96 files they offer, and price?

http://www.rhapsody.com/discover

mdaudioguy · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

Agree with that one, thats why I like physical media. I also like computer music but it has yet to make that emotional connection a good cdp does.

Really? I thought warm and fuzzy feelings like that were exclusive to the vinyl club.

pearsall001 · November 2011

Count me is as one of the Kool-Aid drinkers!!! After experiencing the sound quality of my CD's ripped to FLAC & played back thru my system...it's stunning. And having the world at my fingertips music wise via my handheld controller I'm listening to more music genre then I ever could before. It's simply amazing right now & the technology will simply get better, & better, & better. Good riddance CD's & their outdated players.

tonyb · November 2011

BlueFox wrote: »

I thought I might give this a try, but I have been all over their web-site and am unable to find any reference to anything other than MP3. I would have thought the Subscription Plans would be the area, but nothing there. Since 24/96 files are a big deal, one would think they would be pushing it. Any pointers to where I can find info on 24/96 files they offer, and price?

http://www.rhapsody.com/discover

It's on their premium service, which is 10 bucks a month, pretty much all of it is 24/96 on the premium service.

steveinaz · November 2011

Now, if we can just address the REAL issue, recording engineers.

inspiredsports · November 2011

Streaming technology has come a long way, but your network speed is still a gating factor. Also, when your internet connection is down, you won't have music.

If we can't ultimately download and control the lossless high resolution music file, we should all be dead-set against it.

heiney9 · November 2011

I for one won't buy anything that I don't own or can't use elsewhere. So if the future of downloads is just that then no warm and fuzzy feelings for me. I think hi-rez and digital files is where we are going but if there are the issues Jesse states, then count me out. I will not pay the record companies to "rent" music. I will continue to buy used and rent from the local library for free.

H9

tonyb · November 2011

inspiredsports wrote: »

Streaming technology has come a long way, but your network speed is still a gating factor. Also, when your internet connection is down, you won't have music.

If we can't ultimately download and control the lossless high resolution music file, we should all be dead-set against it.

Wrong......you don't need the internet if you have a NAS device, some other storage. Having an internet connection is for basically music services or buying the music. Once it's stored on a outboard storage device, the internet becomes mute. Who in this day and age gets bumped off the internet alot anyway. Mine never goes down.

inspiredsports · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

Wrong......you don't need the internet if you have a NAS device, some other storage. Having an internet connection is for basically music services or buying the music. Once it's stored on a outboard storage device, the internet becomes mute. Who in this day and age gets bumped off the internet alot anyway. Mine never goes down.

The OP mentioned "Streaming". If the term "Streaming" means "Downloading/Owning/Storing", that's news to me. Maybe I missed something.

I'm glad your internet is always on. My experience has been that nothing is 100%, but I guess there are always outliers in any data set.

tonyb · November 2011

heiney9 wrote: »

I for one won't buy anything that I don't own or can't use elsewhere. So if the future of downloads is just that then no warm and fuzzy feelings for me. I think hi-rez and digital files is where we are going but if there are the issues Jesse states, then count me out. I will not pay the record companies to "rent" music. I will continue to buy used and rent from the local library for free.

H9

Exactly Brock.....renting music ? Eff that big time. If the record companies go in that direction they will definately shoot themselves in the foot.
On the other hand, look at it from an artists perspective. With the number of cd sales falling like a rock, how do they make money ? Surely what an online service such as Rhapsody pays them can't be all that much. I guess these days bands have to go back and tour to make money. You would think anyway.

tonyb · November 2011

inspiredsports wrote: »

I'm glad your internet is always on. My experience has been that nothing is 100%, but I guess there are always outliers in any data set.

Of coarse nothing is 100%, not even your cdp, they do break once in a while too. Power goes out, drinks get spilled, the list can go on of what could happen. Still have my cdp hooked up anyway, still dig the sound and if anything happens to the Sonos, I can still spin those silver discs.

inspiredsports · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

. . . I guess these days bands have to go back and tour to make money . . .

I believe touring is considered a promotional/advertising expense and it costs way more to be on the road than they collect from the gate (unless you are talking the top 1/2% of bands).

The end game is the large touring expense yields merchandise/download sales/cd sales.

inspiredsports · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

Of coarse nothing is 100%, not even your cdp, they do break once in a while too. Power goes out, drinks get spilled, the list can go on of what could happen. Still have my cdp hooked up anyway, still dig the sound and if anything happens to the Sonos, I can still spin those silver discs.

So that's good you have backup, of course.

Back to your "NAS device" where you told me I was "Wrong" in post #15.

Are you stating it can download and store "streamed" music so you can listen later, move it to another storage device, listen to it in your car, etc. ??

heiney9 · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

Exactly Brock.....renting music ? Eff that big time. If the record companies go in that direction they will definately shoot themselves in the foot.
On the other hand, look at it from an artists perspective. With the number of cd sales falling like a rock, how do they make money ? Surely what an online service such as Rhapsody pays them can't be all that much. I guess these days bands have to go back and tour to make money. You would think anyway.

They have been overcharging for cd's for years. Put the cost of a cd at $6-7 and I'd buy new all the time. They promised 20 years ago that once cd's took off in popularity the price would drop drastically, it never did. Eff 'em. The record companies have no one to blame but themselves.

H9

SolidSqual · November 2011

inspiredsports wrote: »

The OP mentioned "Streaming". If the term "Streaming" means "Downloading/Owning/Storing", that's news to me. Maybe I missed something.

I'm glad your internet is always on. My experience has been that nothing is 100%, but I guess there are always outliers in any data set.

Perhaps the streaming business models will be like Mog.com. As of right now, you can literally download as much music (CD Quality) as your iPod can hold from Mog for use when a streaming connection is unavailable. Of course, this feature is currently limited to iPhone and Droids but with the right product, I could see this appearing in the home. Essentially, you get all the convenience of streaming and you can take the music anywhere there is no internet connection.

steveinaz · November 2011

While I wouldn't pay for a streaming subscription (I prefer to own the material) the move to hi-res via download is exciting for sure.

tonyb · November 2011

No, not in your car.

Music that you own, in any kind of file, lossless,mp3, flac, whatever. Basically just an outboard hard drive with lots of storage space. They run cheap these days too. Google it, you'll see what I mean.

tonyb · November 2011

steveinaz wrote: »

While I wouldn't pay for a streaming subscription (I prefer to own the material) the move to hi-res via download is exciting for sure.

Steve, I highly suggest you give Rhapsody a whirl. For the 10 bucks a month, it's well worth it. The wife loves it too, and opens up your eyes to all the music out there you normaly wouldn't go and seek out. There's always a song you want to hear but don't own.

unc2701 · November 2011

tonyb wrote: »

Wrong......you don't need the internet if you have a NAS device, some other storage. Having an internet connection is for basically music services or buying the music. Once it's stored on a outboard storage device, the internet becomes mute. Who in this day and age gets bumped off the internet alot anyway. Mine never goes down.

"Mute" Ha! Can't tell if it was intentional, but it kinda works there.

Anyhow, as others have said, streaming is all well and good until your connection takes a dump. Or at work, they choke pandora and youtube (and other streaming), so I have to just run it over 3g on my phone.

On the other hand, "cloud/local" solutions are starting to gain ground. So the files sit mostly in the cloud, but you D/L as many as you can fit locally on the device for when you don't have connectivity.

tonyb · November 2011

We are talking two different animals here guys. One scenario does dictate an internet connection, another doesn't. Just trying to not have downloaded music painted with a broad brush in that aspect.

pearsall001 · November 2011

I can't believe this conversation has migrated to losing your internet connection as one of the cons. When the hell was the last time your net went down??? Might has never (knock on wood). If anything I'd be more concerned with losing power, (never lost mine for more than about 15 minutes in 21yrs) then all gear is down...a more likely scenerio vs losing your net connection. And if the power did go out music would be the last thing on my mind. Refrig & freezer would trump music. Geesh these twists & turn replies are interesting though.

unc2701 · November 2011

pearsall001 wrote: »

I can't believe this conversation has migrated to losing your internet connection as one of the cons. When the hell was the last time your net went down??? Might has never (knock on wood). If anything I'd be more concerned with losing power, (never lost mine for more than about 15 minutes in 21yrs) then all gear is down...a more likely scenerio vs losing your net connection. And if the power did go out music would be the last thing on my mind. Refrig & freezer would trump music. Geesh these twists & turn replies are interesting though.

I know this is continuing the thread jack, but to answer your question: Last night was the last time. Went to watch something on Netflix... nada. Try to load a webpage...nothing. Was windy out, but no major weather. This is with TWC roadrunner; FIOS is within 1/4 mile but won't run to our neighborhood, no other options.

But this also applies when you're on the road- you're a the mercy of whatever connection you have. Again, this is purely related to streaming.

inspiredsports · November 2011

Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but in my world words mean something.

High-Resolution "Streaming" means you are beholden to your internet connection being up or you can't listen/watch.

High-Resolution "Downloads" are what we all should be after. You download and control the file in your environment to listen at will on any device you own, independent of an internet connection.

The word "Streaming" implies the internet must be working and only a small subset of the total file is in the buffer of your device while you are actively listening. At the end you can't save the total.

Again, what we all should ultimately want the is the ability to "download", not just "stream".

heiney9 · November 2011

inspiredsports wrote: »

High-Resolution "Streaming" means you are beholden to your internet connection being up or you can't listen/watch.

High-Resolution "Downloads" are what we all should be after. You download and control the file in your environment to listen at will on any device you own, independent of an internet connection.

Exactly

Streaming and downloading are completely different!

H9

Streaming high-res files - Maybe there is hope

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