Explanation of file types used by Delusional Mind

Delusional Mind is unable to sell our music in mp3 format due to patent license costs involved. Please see the bottom of this page for a link to a wikipedia page describing software which can be used to transcode FLAC and OGG Vorbis files to mp3 format, and the patent issues which surround it. This is provided for educational purposes only and Delusional Mind in no way suggests that you use the described software to circumvent patent laws.

FLAC
FLAC stands for Free Lossless Audio Codec. FLAC files are quite large since they're lossless. If you want a perfect copy or are going to burn it to cd and want a cd quality source then FLAC is what you're after. If you just want something to listen to that is good, but not cd quality, then the OGG and MP3 files are what you want (and are MUCH smaller). FLAC is an open standard and is not covered by any patents. FLAC files available for purchase from Delusional Mind are roughly 50-60% of the size of the uncompressed CD audio and will produce a perfect copy. There is no better version of the music in existance. Our CD's are created from these files.

OGG
OGG is a media container format and can contain virtually any kind of media including both audio and video. The most common type of payload when you see this extension is going to be audio encoded using the Vorbis audio codec. This combination is typically called "OGG Vorbis". The Vorbis codec is equal to or superior to most other audio codecs. It also is freely available, documented, and patent and royalty free, which sets it in a class by itself as all other comparable codecs are closed and require payment of excessive royalties to legally use. OGG Vorbis files released for free by Delusional Mind are encoded at quality level 8 (nominal bit rate 256kbps).

MP3
MP3 is the extension used for audio encoded using the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 codec. This is by far the most commonly found format on the internet for audio. It is a closed format and requires the payment of very high royalties to encode files due to patents on the algorithms. Because of the legal and financial issues surrounding the MP3 codec, Delusional Mind will only release free files using it. Any tracks purchased from Delusional Mind will be provided in your choice of OGG Vorbis, FLAC, or, providing a full album is purchased, a physical CD. MP3 files released by Delusional Mind are encoded at a variable bit-rate averaging around 224kbps.

Please see this wikipedia article which describes the LAME mp3 encoder and which also links to various software which uses it.
If you want to just listen to our OGG Vorbis and FLAC files without having to transcode to mp3, you can install the free codecs from the Vorbis site. You can find hardware music players that support these formats by checking this Hardware support list.