I first downloaded Vorbis about a month ago, around the time Rok Papez posted
comparisons of Ogg and Lame [*]. Here's my much rougher test on a single
file.
CPU: AMD K6-233
MP3: LAME 3.70, mp3blaster 2.0b6
Ogg: Vorbize 0.6 (Xiphophorus libVorbis I 20000718), ogg123-0.1
Data set: Ministry, "The Fall" (51,955,724 byte WAV)
* * *
Ogg Vorbis command line:
time vorbize -v -w /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.ogg /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.wav
Output:
Vorbize by Kenneth Arnold
-----------------------------
Encoding status:
Reading from /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.wav
Writing to /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.ogg
Input file information:
Samples per second: 44100
Bits per sample: 16
Channels: 2
50740 out of 50737 kB (100.0%) encoded*..........
Done.
Statistics:
Elapsed time: 795.13 sec.
File length: 294.53 sec.
Rate: 0.3704
real 13m15.273s
user 13m3.600s
sys 0m3.430s
* * *
LAME command line:
time lame -b 160 -h -k /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.wav /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.mp3
Output:
LAME version 3.83 (www.sulaco.org/mp3)
GPSYCHO: GPL psycho-acoustic and noise shaping model version 0.77.
Encoding /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.wav to /tmp/Ministry_TheFall.mp3
Encoding as 44.1 kHz 160 kbps stereo MPEG1 LayerIII ( 8.8x) qval=2
Frame | CPU/estimated | time/estimated | play/CPU | ETA
11275/ 11275(100%)| 0:05:21/ 0:05:21| 0:05:21/ 0:05:21| 0.9177| 0:00:00
real 5m21.174s
user 5m19.120s
sys 0m1.860s
Repeated @ 192kbps:
real 4m39.733s
user 4m37.680s
sys 0m1.800s
Repeated @ 192kbps with Variable Bit Rate (default quality setting, 4):
real 9m49.699s
user 9m37.580s
sys 0m2.220s
* * *
Results:
Format Size Encoding Time
Original WAV: 51,955,724 bytes
LAME .mp3 @160kbps: 5,891,135 5:21.174
LAME .mp3 @192kbps: 7,069,362 4:39.733
LAME .mp3@ VBR (avg 193): 7,091,746 9:49.699
Ogg Vorbis .ogg: 7,056,175 13:15.273
* * *
Decoding:
'top' reports average CPU usage:
mp3 160: 3.7-4.9%
mp3 192: 4.1-5.1%
mp3 VBR: 4.9-5.8%
ogg: 47-48%
* * *
Summary:
While at first glance Vorbis appears to lag behind LAME in encoding speed, the
margin of advantage is considerably less at higher bitrates or when using
Variable Bit Rate, both of which are increasingly supported by software and
actually being used by users. Vorbis requires only slightly more CPU for
encoding, but the current decoder is very demanding; I didn't formally test
the plugin for OGG playback under XMMS, but did note that it also is very
taxing on the system.
One of the goals of Vorbis has been to achieve equal or better compression
than MP3, with better quality. In terms of file size, Vorbis does quite well,
running neck and neck in this area. Audio quality is a somewhat subjective
phenomena, but even my tin ears could detect notable improvement in Vorbis
compared to the last time I tried it (around early June); trebles stand out
much more clearly, and it sounds much less 'flat'. Unlike last time, I
no
longer hear any significant difference between the formats.
Overall, Vorbis appears to be succeeding in its attempt to produce a superior
alternative. The current implementation appears stable, and its only weakness
from a user standpoint is the high CPU cost of playback. Feature-wise, it's
nearly ready for prime time; real conversion will only really take off when it
is truly mindlessly convenient (widespread support of Vorbis in scripts, etc),
but the ready-for-use playback plugins are a big help in this area. I would
consider it ready for my own personal use at least as far as all of my future
encoding, but I don't think I'd invest the time to convert my already
somewhat
large MP3 archive (unless I get that new CPU :).
Kudos to all involved. I'm greatly anticipating new developments.
-dj
screaming in digital
* http://www.xiph.org/archives/vorbis/0122.html
--
http://dj.frogfarm.org/ ...for the best in unapproved information
"There is an email in which somebody says exactly that."
"Is that the one that said he was going to kill all the lawyers and
judges?"
"No, it is a different one." - MPAA v 2600, June 6 Protective
Order Hearing
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