Audio Formats
We provide our downloads in a variety of formats so that you can choose the one which suits you best. If you're not sure which one is best for you we've listed some pros and cons of each below to help you choose.
Standard Quality Formats
MP3
- Pros
- MP3s play pretty much everywhere. For compatibility they're probaly the best choice.
- Cons
- Newer formats such as AAC or OGG Vorbis may provide the same sound quality in a smaller file.
For more information see Wikipedia on MP3.
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)
- Pros
- Default format used in iTunes and on iPod and iPhone.
- Cons
- Not all hardware and software players support AAC. You should check you have a compatible player or software before downoading .m4a files.
For more information see Wikipedia on AAC.
OGG Vorbis
- Pros
- OGG Vorbis is designed as a replacement for MP3. It generally delivers better sound quality in files of equivalent bitrate.
- Cons
- Not all hardware and software players support OGG Vorbis. You should check you have a compatible player or software before downoading .ogg files.
For more information see Wikipedia on Vorbis.
High Quality Formats
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
- Pros
- FLAC is a lossless codec, so downloads are equivalent to CD quality.
- Cons
- FLAC files are much bigger than MP3, AAC or OGG, so will take longer to download and more space to store.
- Not all software or hardware devices can play FLAC files. You should check that your software or hardware player can handle .flac files before downloading.
For more information see Wikipedia on FLAC.