[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: [microsound] [ot] the 56k challenge
At variable bit rate MP3, lower frequencies require less information to
encode than higher frequencies. With some calculation, you could make a
pretty long bass drone that would still come in under 56K easy. I
remember something like a 10 minute Slub track using this technique
that
still fit on a floppy.
Likewise, a MIDI file, PD patch or any other essentially "textual"
instructions for playing a "track" need not take up more than a few Kb
of space.
Certainly.
I found it kind of interesting that most people on this list who
responded immediately focused on mp3s and reducing their size. As if
the only way to do it is to externally source a larger linear audio
file you captured and compress it as much as possible
Lo-Fi fetish aside, maybe I'm old or something but the first thing that
popped into my mind was that this was intended as a retro code
programming challenge to begin with, not the challenge of compressing
linear data.
I'm old enough to remember when programmers would get props for fast
and efficient code rather than tell others by default to go buy
themselves a faster machine with more RAM or else they are never going
to run that bloatware app.
Round about 1989 I was working at a college computer lab with a room
full of already aged IMB PC XTs (pre-286 machines) - so there were
quite a few afternoons when no classes were held. I came up with some
code, probably compiled Turbo Pascal, all of about 6K that would make
the PC output insect-like clicking sounds to the speakers along with
some no frills graphics made with repeated line segments that drew sort
of palm tree leaves on the screens. So that was my app. Kind of lame on
one computer but quite a surround environment running on all 16-20
machines in the room.
ndkent
http://www.technopop.info/ndkent/
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: microsound-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: microsound-help@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
website: http://www.microsound.org