New QDX Format Provides Better-Than-MP3 Audio Quality & Exclusive Features To Heighten Consumer, Label Experience
July 24, 2000 – New York — QDesign Corporation, a leading provider of advanced digital audio compression technologies for the new media, broadcast and Internet delivery markets, today announced the launch of a next generation technology designed to enhance the digital music experience for both consumers and content providers.
Distinguished by exclusive features that ensure unequalled ease of use among consumers and content providers, the new QDX format offers better-than-MP3 audio quality and an unprecedented level of flexibility for music download and streaming.
The QDX technology is based on two fundamental concepts, audio quality and size scalability. Fully optimized for Internet streaming, QDX provides the highest audio compression at the highest quality, delivering — in one single file — both CD-quality audio at 128kbits (12:1 compression) and full-bandwidth stereo at 24kbits (60:1 compression). QDX also supports inherent bitstream scalability that offers users the unique Fit-To-Media™ and Fit-To-Stream™ capabilities.
QDX’s Fit-To-Media™ function allows consumers to simply click-and-drag personal playlists to portable players without ever needing to transcode or convert music files. Using QDX Fit-to-Media™ users can automatically store up to 2.5 hours of music on a 32MB portable digital music player, compared to the maximum of approximately 30 minutes of MP3 files. Encoding music to QDX simplifies the transfer process and users are freed from worry about available memory, transcoding, bit rates, sample rates, file sizes, or storing multiple versions of songs at various bit rates. To get maximum music “to go,” consumers need only to know how many songs they wish to fit onto their digital music player.
The Fit-To-Stream™ feature of QDX offers “master once, deliver everywhere” flexibility, meaning a single source file is all that is required to stream top-quality music over the widest array of modem speeds, bandwidths and connections. This “on-the-fly” scalability results in reduced asset management overhead for the music providers and consistent delivery of the best possible quality audio according to consumers’ available connection or storage. Optimization of subscriber access and convenience allows record companies and other music producers/distributors to capitalize on the Internet’s key asset – the ability to deliver personalized content on demand, anytime and anywhere. In addition to compression quality and user convenience features, QDX offers copyright owners the benefit of an unpublished format with integrated encryption and watermarking which contribute to preventing access to content by unauthorized players. QDX is designed for SDMI compliance and is compatible with the InterTrust’s MetaTrust Utility ™ and other industry-approved digital rights management/copyright protection measures.
“Each new generation of audio technology, from vinyl to CD, has offered consumers significant enhancements to the listening experience,” said Richard J. Beaton, President and CTO of QDesign Corporation. “QDX takes digital music to the next level, providing not only fidelity but unparalleled flexibility in streaming audio to both wired and wireless consumers.”
Further details are contained in a White Paper available from the QDesign web site at www.QDesign.com; highlights are also available at the QDesign web site. QDX is being demonstrated at the Jupiter Plug.In Forum & Exhibition, Booth #39, Sheraton Hotel & Towers, NYC, July 24 (8:00 am-6:00 pm) – July 25 (8:00 am-5:30 pm)
