3 ms·

Except Fraunhofer did not promote MP3 as “dead". They put out a press release announcing the "termination" of various MP3-related patents[1]. As Marco noted[2]

Except Fraunhofer did not promote MP3 as “dead". They put out a press release announcing the "termination" of various MP3-related patents[1]. As Marco noted[2] news orgs took that original announcement and twisted it into a "creators announce MP3 is dead" story, presumably because there are more clicks to be had there than a story about patent expirations. [1] https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/ff/amm/prod/audiocodec/audiocodecs/mp3.html https://www.iis.fraunhofer.de/en/ff/amm/prod/audiocodec/audi... [2] https://marco.org/2017/05/15/mp3-isnt-dead https://marco.org/2017/05/15/mp3-isnt-dead

arrrg 9y ago
Exactly, Fraunhofer is blameless in this. They did in no way even suggest that MP3 was dead. Maybe the press release was a bit lacking in detail so that complete doofuses with no knowledge of the matter could misinterpret it, but that’s more on them.
msravi 9y ago
The press release from Fraunhofer is extremely misleading: > mp3 licensing program for certain mp3 related patents and software of Technicolor and Fraunhofer IIS has been terminated This gives the impression that the patents are valid but will no longer be available for licensing, and you can't buy licensing rights to build your mp3 player - in reality, the patents expired, making them free. > ...there are more efficient audio codecs with advanced features available today Assert that mp3 is dead today > However, most state-of-the-art media services such as streaming or TV and radio broadcasting use modern ISO-MPEG codecs such as the AAC family or in the future MPEG-H. Those can deliver more features and a higher audio quality at much lower bitrates compared to mp3 Reiterate that mp3 is dead today I'm not surprised that the media took this as "mp3 is dead" and ran with it. The blame lies as much with Fraunhofer for their misleading statements as with the rest of the media.
delibes 9y ago
Pity they couldn't have the imagination to write a more positive headline then. How about - "MP3 music tech finally freed from license limitations"
- icebraining 9y ago
  Your audience is asleep before they even got to "limitations."
noway421 9y ago
Maybe it's just me, but I think "MP3 is patent-free" headline would get just as many clicks.
- dredmorbius 9y ago
  I'd really like to live in that world. I'm afraid I don't.
- Shywim 9y ago
  For the "standard" consumer, saying mp3 is dead will provoke more reaction as in "OMG what will happen to muh pirated music library?", while they do not care about patents.
posterboy 9y ago
how is that headline not slander, false advertising or sumsuch?

arrrg 9y ago

Exactly, Fraunhofer is blameless in this. They did in no way even suggest that MP3 was dead. Maybe the press release was a bit lacking in detail so that complete doofuses with no knowledge of the matter could misinterpret it, but that’s more on them.

msravi 9y ago

The press release from Fraunhofer is extremely misleading: > mp3 licensing program for certain mp3 related patents and software of Technicolor and Fraunhofer IIS has been terminated This gives the impression that the patents are valid but will no longer be available for licensing, and you can't buy licensing rights to build your mp3 player - in reality, the patents expired, making them free. > ...there are more efficient audio codecs with advanced features available today Assert that mp3 is dead today > However, most state-of-the-art media services such as streaming or TV and radio broadcasting use modern ISO-MPEG codecs such as the AAC family or in the future MPEG-H. Those can deliver more features and a higher audio quality at much lower bitrates compared to mp3 Reiterate that mp3 is dead today I'm not surprised that the media took this as "mp3 is dead" and ran with it. The blame lies as much with Fraunhofer for their misleading statements as with the rest of the media.

delibes 9y ago

Pity they couldn't have the imagination to write a more positive headline then. How about - "MP3 music tech finally freed from license limitations"

icebraining 9y ago
Your audience is asleep before they even got to "limitations."

noway421 9y ago

Maybe it's just me, but I think "MP3 is patent-free" headline would get just as many clicks.

dredmorbius 9y ago
I'd really like to live in that world. I'm afraid I don't.
Shywim 9y ago
For the "standard" consumer, saying mp3 is dead will provoke more reaction as in "OMG what will happen to muh pirated music library?", while they do not care about patents.

posterboy 9y ago

how is that headline not slander, false advertising or sumsuch?