MPEG-1 Audio

The audio coding is defined in the third part of the MPEG-1 specification (ISO/IEC 11172-3). Therein three different audio layers are described denoted as layer I, II and III.

The best known audio format is MPEG-1 audio layer III, which is generally abbreviated to MP3.

With the development of the MPEG-1 audio formats different companies and institutions were involved, which possess various patents on the procedures used there. Thus e.g. Fraunhofer Institute holds relevant patents, which are to be considered when using the MP3 format.

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