New Apple Lossless encoder??


Category: Digital

"Discerning customers and audiophiles want true CD audio, and now iTunes can give you that quality with the new Apple Lossless encoder. You’ll get the full quality of uncompressed CD audio using about half the storage space. You can copy music in this format onto your iPod or iPod mini, to take perfect audio wherever you go."

Can anyone explain this technology and is it a true statement that all of the sound information encoded on a CD can now be downloaded to an iPod and replayed with that same information and quality???? Or is this just hype and misleading info??
dbk
I have a two 3rd generation 40gb iPods (one is used by my wife) and both exhibit a problem with some Apple lossless files. I also play my iTunes library (100gb) through my main system with a Wavelength USB Brick with great results. Apple Lossless being a VBR codec, the bit rate varies from less than 500kbps to greater than 800kbps. Files where the bit rate is >600kbps will pause, skip, or freeze both iPods frequently. Smaller bitrate files play without a problem. Reading posts on the iPod Lounge indicates others have had this problem. Has anyone had this problem with the 4th generation or the 60gb photo iPods? Otherwise I am extremely pleased with Apple Lossless.
Twb2, I have that problem on my 60G I-Pod photo. It happens everytime I use it. I got several books about I-Pods, the authors feel that the Lossless makes the internal disk on the I-Pod spin more often than the ACC or MP3 encoders, hence battery life using the Lossless is much shorter.
just like a zip file. it compresses. but when you decompress, you get the exact original back, bit for bit.