dBpoweramp Musepack Codec
Musepack (or mpc as it is also known) is based on mp2, with methods from some of the more advanced codecs, as such it is one of the best lossy encoders for
higher bitrate (above 192kbps.
- Encoding: Yes [.mpc]
- Multi-processor Encoding: Yes (with dBpoweramp reference)
- Decoding: Yes [.mpc]
- ID Tag Reading: Yes
- ID Tag Writing: Yes
- Unicode Tagging: Yes
- Supports Album Art: Yes
- Gapless Encoding & Decoding: Yes
Compression Options
Only one option to set, a bit rate slider which governs the audio quality.
Codec Background
Musepack (also known as MPC) is a lossy codec, released as open source. Specifically optimized for transparent compression of stereo audio at bitrates of 160-180 kbit/s, previously it was known as MPEGplus, MPEG+ or MP+.
Andree Buschmann started development of MPC in 1997, taken over later by Frank Klemm. Currently maintained by the Musepack Development Team (MDT).
More details: http://www.musepack.net
Terminology
Encoding: compress and write an audio file,
Decoding: uncompress, or read an audio file,
ID Tags: meta data such as artist & album are embedded inside the audio file,
Lossless: compression without audio quality loss,
Lossy: audio quality is sacrificed (how much depends on bitrate and codec used) to achieve smaller files,
Gapless: allows the decoder to decode audio stream without gaps (silence),
Explorer Audio Popup: a dBpoweramp function, hold the mouse over a supported audio file and details contained are displayed,
Multi-processor Encoding: for dual processor, or multi core processors multiple files can be compressed at once fully using both (or more) CPUs.
Command Line: text interface, where commands are typed (start >> run >> cmd to get to the command line)
