Description One of Microsoft's better moves is to muscle in on a market. They are trying it with the X-Box, they have done it with Internet Explorer and they will try it with Windows Media Audio. This time though the aging music format has reacted and Thompson Multimedia produced their new version mp3PRO.
mp3PRO, will offer listeners the same audio quality options as traditional MP3s but cuts file sizes in half. David Arland, a spokesman for Thomson, said the smaller files will help ease the financial burden posed by expensive memory cards used in portable MP3 players by increasing playback time.
Microsoft's Windows Media format already has the small file size MP3Pro is just achieving and employs anticopying technology making it popular with record labels like Warner Music Group and BMG Entertainment. Arland said MP3Pro will not include an anticopying feature, but that such technologies could be implemented in the future if there is a need.
Another digital music format, Real Audio 8, has been claimed to offer superior sound quality and is gaining in recognition. Open-source programmers, offering another alternative, are also developing a license-free system compatible with MP3.
It is almost certain that mp3PRO will become the new favourite over WMA. The only way that will change is if WMA proves to offer so much better quality that a bypass for the copyright restrictions is developed.
