On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 17:04:30 -0800
Craig Dickson <crdic@pacbell.net> wrote:
> Steve Lamb wrote:
> > On Fri, 7 Feb 2003 11:28:53 -0800 (PST)
> > Jack Pistachio <jackpistachio@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > Encoding to either ogg or mp3 is lossy, but when converting
> > > back to wav the information in the mp3 or ogg audio should
> > > be retained completely.
> > Erm, no. These two statements are mutually exclusive. The very
> > definition of lossy compression is that information is lost. Hence,
> > lossy. Lossless compression loses no information.
> Hmm. One of you is misunderstanding something; either Jack
> misunderstands audio compression, or Steve misunderstands what Jack said.
> I'm not sure which is the case.
Well, one must admit that Jack's statement can be taken both ways. I
originally read it as "when decoding the information encoded present in the
mp3/ogg no information is lost compared to the original wav." I did so
because of the "converting back to wav" statement in there. To me that
implies a comparison to the original wav where "converting to wav" does not.
I can now see that it can be taken as "when decoding the information
present in mp3/ogg does not degrade further." Of course that's why it is
called lossy compression and not lossy decompression. =D
--
Steve C. Lamb | I'm your priest, I'm your shrink, I'm your
PGP Key: 8B6E99C5 | main connection to the switchboard of souls.
| -- Lenny Nero - Strange Days
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