Interesting news/reviews/deals from the portable audio market
CNET says DRM drains battery, but wait a sec…: they’ve performed some tests claiming that DRM’ed files consume more battery than unlocked ones. The Zen Vision:M lasts for 16 hours with unlocked MP3s, 12 hours with locked WMA files. The iPod sees a similar (but smaller, at only 8%) drop when switching from unlocked MP3s [...]
Fraunhover, the inventors of the MP3 format, working on a tool that adds watermarking DRM to your MP3s: adds a hash value that links the content provider with the authorised owner. [via]
The app features Ensonido, which allows the playback of surround files over stereo phones, and the MP3 Stereo eXtended converter which “upgrades” your stereo MP3s to surround ones.
There’s even a MP3 surround comand line encoder available for download. The bit rates for surround MP3s are supposed to be comparable to those for regular ol’ [...]