Audio formats

Sound is in an analogue phenomenon. You need to have it digitized to write it to a computer. And digitized sound takes a lot of space, so there are special algorithms for coding and data compression - codecs. Codecs provide encoding / decoding of audio / video data; compression / decompression of such data.

The type of audio file (audio or video - no difference) is determined by its extension. For example, MP3 files have a .mp3 extension. The codec for this audio format is always the same - MPEG Layer-З. But for MP4 format codecs can be different.

Some formats can contain both video and audio streams. Therefore, if you see a file with the .mp4 extension, definitely it cannot be said that there is only music in it, or only video, or a movie, audio and video. Initially the possibility of transferring both audio and video was laid in such formats.

We all know that once information is compressed, you can have its losses. That’s why all codecs can be divided into two groups: with loss of quality and without loss of quality. Do not be afraid of the word “with loss” - codecs cut off "extra" information that is not distinguishable to our eyes and ears (almost indistinguishable).

If you are a fan of sound, it makes sense to look for music in FLAG format. For the usual everyday listening, the most common MP3 format is enough. In addition, to feel the difference between MP3 and FLAC, you need professional equipment to play sound. Unfortunately, the laptop does not belong to such equipment. There is no reason to download music in FLAC format on the laptop.