The MP3 has been officially discontinued by its creatorsIPod MP3 Dancingastronaut

The MP3 has been officially discontinued by its creators

Responsible for the development of the MP3, The Fraunhofer Institute for integrated circuits has officially discontinued the early digital audio codec, stating that its “licensing program for certain MP3 related patents and software of Technicolor and Fraunhofer IIS has been terminated.”

iTunes and other distributors are now looking to AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) files, which are said to deliver more features and a higher audio quality at much lower bitrates compared to the MP3. Though declared obsolete, the MP3 has indisputably left a lasting imprint on the digital audio industry, which made music not only accessible, but shareable. Unfortunately, due to its poor quality compression, it is improbable that the MP3 will re-surge, unlike other analog formats such as vinyl.

H/T: Fortune

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