Could we be about to witness the end of the MP3 format as we know it? MP3 was invented to allow for the maximum amount of music to fit onto a tiny player, thus the files were compressed creating audio quality loss. As technology always improves itself, and Blu-Ray emerges the victor in the HD v Blu-Ray battle, better quality audio is on offer for those that want it. Blu-Ray discs hold a staggering 50 GB, compared to the early MP3 players which held 256MB. The sound on a Blu-Ray isn’t compressed, meaning when they’re played through the latest home cinema systems, the sounds is nigh on perfect.

As many home systems now come with built in iPod docks, playing your iPod through the same systems can show up the flaws in the compressed MP3 audio.

With new technologies emerging, do we really have to put up with imperfect audio such as that on offer from the MP3 format?

As the latest iPod comes with 160 GB of storage capacity, and is advertised as holding 80,000 tracks in MP3 format, why not actually cut the quantity down in favour of quality? If you have 8,000 tracks on the iPod instead of 80,000, you don’t need to reduce them to the sort of MP3 encoding that loses around 90% of the audio data.

If you’re thinking you can’t tell the difference between an MP3 file and the original, you may be right when played on your iPod through your headphones, but what when you connect your iPod up to the latest home cinema system? Then the difference becomes evident, as the flaws in the MP3 codec are highlighted.
The choice is really up to you. Do you want to store more music with the increased storage capacity, or better quality music?