Opticodec-PC is the first MPEG-4 AAC/aacPlus encoding software for high quality streaming audio. Opticodec offers the most important feature that the basic netcaster is looking for in an encoding product entertainment-quality sound at economical bit-rates. The software lets streaming providers supply content encoded with the Coding Technologies® AAC / HE AAC / aacPlus codec, widely acknowledged as offering the highest available audio quality at the lowest possible bit rate. Stations encoded with Opticodec can be experienced through the new RealPlayer® 10 or Winamp 5.08 and on a growing number of WAP enabled cell phones.
Compared to MP3, Opticodec's aacPlus codec provides a better than 60% improvement in audio quality versus bit rate, reducing network streaming bandwidth requirements and costs accordingly. At 32 kbps, Opticodec streams offer close to FM quality, without the phasey, watery character of other popular codecs operating at this bit rate. Many listeners prefer the audio quality of 48 kbps streams to FM and other codecs.
"Streaming has just become profitable", said Rusty Hodges of netcaster SomaFM after first hearing the aacPlus codec at 32 kbps. Netcaster and respected broadcast engineer Gary Blau described it as the quality breakthrough we've been waiting for.