I'm going to say what the person from NCH was too nice to say. I can't for the life of me think of anything that MP3pro adds in value to make it worth the extra licensing fees. MP3pro supposedly offers equal quality at smaller file sizes than plain-ol'-MP3. Well, so does AAC. So does WMA. So does OGG.
OGG is totally free and is supported by several brands of portable players and many media servers. WMA is not free but it is shoved down our collective throats by the Microsoft goliath, with support on most car head units and every non-Apple portable. AAC isn't free either but is supported by increasing numbers of car head units and media servers, not to mention googaplex-i-gazillions of iPods.
So MP3pro not just costs more - it is supported by NOBODY! Considering all this, I have to ask... WHY?? Why on God's green earth SHOULD NCH pay additional licensing fees for MP3Pro?
Bill I.
Madison, WI USA
RLJ wrote:
Doesn't even supporting regular MP3 require paying licensing fees to Fraunhofer?
Or do you mean that supporting MP3Pro would require paying ADDITIONAL licensing fees to Franhofer?
http://www.mp3licensing.com/royalty/ says:
Royalty Rates -> PC Software Applications
MP3
Decoder - US$ 0.75 per unit
Codec - US$ 2.50- US$ 5.00 per unit
MP3Pro
Decoder - US$ 1.25 per unit
Codec - US$ 5.00 per unit