- Shorten
Infobox Software
name = Shorten
caption =
developer = Tony Robinson
latest_release_version =
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latest preview version =
latest preview date =
operating_system =Cross-platform
genre =Audio codec Encoder
license =
website = [http://wavpack.com/ www.wavpack.com] Infobox file format
name = Shorten
icon =
caption =
extension =.shn
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type code =
uniform type =
magic =
owner = David Bryant
genre = Audio
container for =
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standard =Shorten (SHN) is a
file format optimized for compressing audio data. It is a form of data compression of files and is used to losslessly compress CD-quality audio files (44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo PCM). Shorten is no longer developed and more mature losslessaudio codec s such as FLAC, MPEG-4 ALS,Monkey's Audio (APE), TTA, andWavPack (WV) have become more popular. However, Shorten remains a common format due to the large number of legally-traded concert recordings in circulation that are encoded as Shorten files. Being lossless, these files can be transcoded with the newer and more effective codecs without any loss. Shorten files use the .SHN file extension.Handling Shorten files
Since few players or media writers attempt to decompress Shorten files, a standalone decompression program is usually required to convert to a different file format that those applications can handle. It is important to note that since Shorten is a lossless format, it can be perfectly converted to any other lossless format (and back, if desired) "without a decrease in audio quality". There are many such programs, only the most common are listed below.
*md5sum can apply the .MD5 checksum file that commonly accompanies Shorten files to ensure that the large .SHN file(s) have not been corrupted during transmission.
* [http://etree.org/shnutils/shorten/ Shorten] (a program with the same name as the file format) is a command-line tool to convert between Shorten files and an uncompressed (typically .WAV file format that players and writers can handle. It has been updated as recently as 2007 and ported to variousoperating systems .
*A commonly recommended Windows program ismkw Audio Compression Tool (mkwACT). It combines the functionality of md5sum with that of the Shorten program.
* [http://www.hornig.net/shorten.html Shorten for MacIntosh] is functionally similar to mkwACT, with aGUI . Versions of it exist for Linux et al.
* [http://etree.org/shnamp.html ShnAmp] allows WinAmp compatible players to decode shorten files.A Shorten plug-in exists for
Nero Burning ROM . It is not distributed byNero AG .ee also
*
FLAC
*Meridian Lossless Packing
*Monkey's Audio (APE)
*MPEG-4 ALS
*TTA
*WavPack External links
* [ftp://svr-ftp.eng.cam.ac.uk/pub/reports/robinson_tr156.ps.Z Shorten Research Paper] , written by the author of Shorten and detailing how it works.
* [http://tlh.easytree.org Trader's Little Helper Download page] . Trader's Little helper converts shn to wav among other things
* [http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=Shorten etree.org Wiki article] . [http://etree.org etree.org] is a trading site for authorized recordings of live performances; etree formerly used Shorten exclusively but is increasingly usingFLAC .
* [http://research.umbc.edu/~hamilton/shnfaq.html Shorten FAQ] (note: If looking for software to play .shn files, you will probably be better served by the [http://wiki.etree.org/index.php?page=SoftwareYouNeed etree software page] , as the Shorten FAQ has many broken and outdated links.)
* [http://www.softsound.com/ SoftSound Ltd.]
* [http://www.bobulous.org.uk/misc/lossless_audio_2006.html Lossless audio formats] , a performance comparison of lossless audio formats, including Shorten.
* [http://www.losslessaudioblog.com/ The Lossless Audio Blog] Lossless Audio News & Information Site.
* [http://userpages.umbc.edu/~hamilton/shnfaq.html A Small SHN and MD5 FAQ] Includes a decent list of programs to handle Shorten files.
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