I have the software to make stereo MP3's into surround sound MP3's i also have a MP3HD encoder but can't figure out how to use it with EAC. As from what I can tell MP3HD has been abandoned and all development stopped. But i would like to confirm it. Why did these formats not survive?
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Basically because newer audio codecs came along which allow for smaller file sizes while maintaining good audio quality at a given bit rate. Mp3 was found to be best optimized for mono and stereo recordings with bit rates up to 320kbps. Going beyond 320kbps proved to be useless with the way mp3 works. And since the AAC format came out to directly replace MP3, it was not developed any further. Mp3 is still being further improved all the time, but not by the German company who created it.
The Lame mp3 codec is considered the best mp3 encoder today, and is continually being improved. (3.99 is the latest release.)
But Lame is mostly optimized for stereo and mono recordings. And while some software still supports in rare cases higher bitrates then 320Kbps, most devices and other mp3 playback software could run into compatibility issues if you encode above 320Kbps. Plus those bitrates only maintain 320Kbps quality when encoding more than 2 channels of audio. (Stereo) 320Kbps is the highest bitrate for Stereo/mono sound. Dolby (AC3) and DTS are the industry standards for multichannel encoding today.