Which format should I choose?
Dial-up users, go aacPlus
A note about firewalls
What is aacPlus?
What do I need to listen to your aacPlus streams?
WHICH FORMAT SHOULD I CHOOSE?
It largely depends on what media players you have installed on your computer
and your personal preferences. If you're impatient and don't feel like screwing
with it, just start clicking the orange LISTEN links at the upper
right corner of the page. One of them is bound to work.
aacPlus [Winamp/VLC/iTunes v9.0.1+]
Streaming CD-quality in stereo that beats Windows Media and MP3. Also a good call if you're
trying to skimp on the bandwidth to make sure your company's IT department doesn't notice.
You'll need the latest version of Winamp or
VLC Player on Mac and other *nixes.
An aacPlus plugin is also available for Windows Media Player from Orban: www.orban.com/plugin
And as of version 9.0.1, iTunes now supports aacPlus streams!
MP3 [just about everything]
Nearly every media player capable of playing streaming media will play MP3 streams. Also, if you're unable to
install the aacPlus plugin for Windows Media Player for whatever reason, Windows Media Player will also
play MP3 streams.
Compatible with a ton of players including
iTunes on Mac/PC,
Winamp,
RealPlayer and many more.
DIAL-UP USERS, GO AACPLUS
Ummm, why are you still on dial-up modem? I guess that's your choice if you want
to surf the web at glacial speeds. But please, for your listening pleasure,
make sure to grab a copy of Winamp, VLC, or the latest version of iTunes and choose the AAC+ stream links.
A NOTE ABOUT FIREWALLS
All of our streams now stream on port 80 which means you should have no trouble picking
them up through a firewall. Now that doesn't mean that your overly paranoid corporate IT staff
isn't actively filtering streaming media on your firewall. But that's an entirely different situation
and one that neither we nor you can do anything about.
WHAT IS AACPLUS?
aacPlus is a new audio format that allows for stereo, near CD-quality streaming audio at
only 32 kbps. This means that high quality Internet radio has finally become affordable.
Offers vastly superior fidelity over MP3, Windows Media, Real Audio and Ogg Vorbis
at equivalent low bitrates.
<geek>
From Coding Technologies' website:
MPEG-4 aacPlus is the combination of three MPEG technologies
comprising Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), coupled with Coding
Technologies' Spectral Band Replication (SBR),
and Parametric Stereo (PS)
technologies. SBR is a unique bandwidth extension
technique which enables audio codecs to deliver the same quality
at half the bit rate. PS significantly increases the codec
efficiency a second time for low bit rate stereo signals.
SBR and PS are both forward and backward compatible methods to
enhance the efficiency of any audio codec. As a result, aacPlus
delivers streaming and downloadable 5.1 multichannel audio at
128 kbps, near CD-quality stereo at 32 kbps, excellent quality
stereo at 24 kbps, and good quality for mixed content even below
16 kbps mono. This level of efficiency fundamentally enables new
applications in the markets of mobile and digital broadcast.
</geek>
WHAT DO I NEED TO LISTEN TO YOUR AACPLUS STREAMS?
You'll need the latest version of Winamp
on Windows or VLC Player on Mac and other *nixes.
iTunes just recently added aacPlus support with version 9.0.1. And Windows Media Player will
handle aacPlus streams with the installation of the Orban aacPlus Codec for Windows Media Player.
For Windows:
Winamp
iTunes
VLC Media Player
Windows Media Player
Foobar2000
For Macintosh:
iTunes
VLC Media Player
For Linux/*nix/*BSD:
XMMS
VLC Media Player
MPlayer
mpg123
Get the free Orban aacPlus plug-in for Windows Media Player: