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mp3PRO claims to provide improved sound and creates files that are half or less the size of original MP3 files.
In addition to more compact files and superior audio quality, the new mp3PRO will be compatible with existing MP3 players and files.
An audio CD currently holds around 15 songs while an MP3 CD holds up to 150 songs, but in the near future mp3PRO will allow consumers to store over 300 songs on a single disc without a noticeable loss in quality.
MP3 has grown from a cult fad to one of the most popular music compression applications in the world. It is estimated that there are more than 12 million portable MP3 players in use along with 250 million PCs playing MP3 files worldwide.
It has also been calculated that practically every song in the world has been encoded as an MP3 file according to Henri Linde, vice president, new business of the patent and licensing unit for Thomson Multimedia. Thomson Multimedia, along with the Fraunhofer Institute, is behind the launch of mp3PRO.
"These numbers underscore the tremendous appeal of MP3 within the global consumer marketplace," declared Linde.
mp3PRO was developed by Coding Technologies, the Swedish/German company which specialises in developing audio compression technologies.
Thomson Multimedia is the exclusive licensing representative of MP3 and mp3PRO patents and software of Fraunhofer IIS-A and Coding Technologies.
A demonstration mp3PRO encoder/decoder is available for download for free from www.thomson-multimedia.com and www.rca.com as well as www.codingtechnologies.com.
According to some commentators, the release of mp3PRO comes as the existing MP3 format faces increasing pressure from companies such as Microsoft and RealNetworks.
Both have struck deals with the big record companies to use their technology in subscription or music download services.
At the same time with the arrival of subscription services MusicNet and Pressplay, the major labels seem set to make a large volume of music available on-line legally.
Also mp3PRO does not contain an anti-piracy mechanism and this may influence whether the record companies give it their blessing; the technology will also be about 50 percent more expensive to license than MP3.
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