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The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

qoaformat.org

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Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#51

Post by speedgoose »

IshKebab wrote: post #39
speedgoose wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The website says it’s made in Hesse. No software patents to care about there. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_patents_under_the_E...

You can absolutely patent software in Europe. Sorry. It's a common misconception that you can't. There's a stupid dance you have to do so it isn't technically "software" that you're patenting... but really it is.

From my understanding you can patent things supported by software, but not the software itself. A physical digital music player with a fancy software audio compression is patentable, but not the algorithm on its own.

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#52

Post by samplatt »

ok_dad wrote: post #12
Pet_Ant wrote: post #5

What is the LFE channel? It should be spelled out explicitly, but I figured out the rest L-Left,R-Right,C-Center,FL-Front Left,FR-FrontRight,SL-SideLeft,SR-SideRight,BL-BackLeft,BR-BackRight --- Edit: LFE-LowFrequencyEffects... so subwoofer? https://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Profession...

LFE is usually a bass shaker which is a subwoofer but it moves a weight instead of a cone, so you get vibrations in your seat. It stimulates movement to your body somewhat, I use two for my sim racing rig, one under my seat to inform me of the car dynamics and immersive feeling, one under my pedals to inform me when ABS is active and when my tires are spinning.

LFE can mean "bass shaker", but it's an industry-standard term invented by Dolby that effectively means "between 3 and 120hz", which usually means "subwoofer".

These days crossover points are very configurable. Most bass shakers are rated for use between 20hz and 200hz.

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#54

Post by Doxin »

ogurechny wrote: post #45
Pet_Ant wrote: post #5

What is the LFE channel? It should be spelled out explicitly, but I figured out the rest L-Left,R-Right,C-Center,FL-Front Left,FR-FrontRight,SL-SideLeft,SR-SideRight,BL-BackLeft,BR-BackRight --- Edit: LFE-LowFrequencyEffects... so subwoofer? https://www.dolby.com/uploadedFiles/Assets/US/Doc/Profession...

LFE audio channel is different from subwoofer output. Subwoofers come with multichannel audio systems in which directional speakers usually can't cover the lower range of audio frequencies. They are responsible for bass content from all channels, and get it from software or hardware crossover filter which is independent from specific input formats. Placement of low frequency speaker does not matter much because of hu…

So it's essentially a bass shaker track?

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#55

Post by marmakoide »

ape4 wrote: post #6

What's going to be the next Quite OK thing?

Quite OK JS Plotting Library (QOJSPL, nice, sounds like my cat walking on the keyboard). With an intuitive, documented API that doesn't require you to dig through tons of examples on sites that take ages to load. Because, no, a massive stash of non-orthogonal examples does not replace a documentation.

AKA last Tuesday morning frustration : I wanted to make interactive plots on a web page to explain math stuffs.

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#56

Post by mhd »

ape4 wrote: post #6

What's going to be the next Quite OK thing?

The author wrote a very simple MPEG[1] decoder, so there's an obvious benchmark for making that even simpler.

I personally wouldn't mind a Quite OK Page Description Langage. Something that gets you most of PDF/PS/HPGL without all the effort. Could use the Quite OK Image Format for bitmap images. Not sure whether you'd need a Quite OK Vector Format and/or a Quite OK Font Format as prerequisites…

[1]: https://phoboslab.org/log/2019/06/pl-mpeg-single-file-librar...

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#57

Post by kragen »

dvh wrote: post #49
ape4 wrote: post #6

What's going to be the next Quite OK thing?

Quite OK browser. It doesn't have webgl, webgpu or other fancy and easy to exploit stuff, but it renders 95% of websites and source code is easy enough to be maintained with very few people.

maybe links2 or dillo?

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#58

Post by ogurechny »

Doxin wrote: post #54
ogurechny wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

LFE audio channel is different from subwoofer output. Subwoofers come with multichannel audio systems in which directional speakers usually can't cover the lower range of audio frequencies. They are responsible for bass content from all channels, and get it from software or hardware crossover filter which is independent from specific input formats. Placement of low frequency speaker does not matter much because of hu…

So it's essentially a bass shaker track?

Today, it seems to be it. The article does mention that historically the limits of transmission and playback systems were the reason for introduction of independent channel for lowest frequencies (instead of mixing it into main audio channels).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-frequency_effects

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#59

Post by IshKebab »

speedgoose wrote: post #51
IshKebab wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can absolutely patent software in Europe. Sorry. It's a common misconception that you can't. There's a stupid dance you have to do so it isn't technically "software" that you're patenting... but really it is.

From my understanding you can patent things supported by software, but not the software itself. A physical digital music player with a fancy software audio compression is patentable, but not the algorithm on its own.

No you can definitely patent software. It seems to be a confusing mess as to exactly how you do it and what is patentable, but you can.

https://www.novagraaf.com/en/insights/patentability-software...

> As a result, the widespread belief in the non-patentability of software is simply a misconception, partly as a result of insufficient training of innovators and the lobbying activities of certain interested parties.

https://fsfe.org/activities/swpat/swpat.en.html

> The European Patent Convention states that software is not patentable. But laws are always interpreted by courts, and in this case interpretations of the law differ. So the European Patents Office (EPO) grants software patents by declaring them as "computer implemented inventions".

Re: The Quite OK Audio Format for Fast, Lossy Compression

#60

Post by daneel_w »

jychang wrote: post #44
daneel_w wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That in terms of quality per any bitrate it comes nowhere near ubiquitous formats like AAC or MP3 when produced with good encoders. But it's good to have (possibly) patent-free solutions available.

MP3 patents expired a long time ago, no?

Yeah, some 5-10 years ago. I just don't know if there's anything specific in the applied techniques/methods that some troll can still somehow manage to leverage in, say, a court in Texas.
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