Latest Disney Archive releases in LOSSLESS format on MusicGiants.com

[superbu]

The latest batch of Archive reissues is available on MusicGiants, the lossless download service. They use Windows Media Lossless, and the quality of their files is incredible -- 30 to 50 megabytes a song, and that's COMPRESSED. That's because no music info is actually deleted, as it is with other lossy formats, such as iTunes MP4. Only actual silence is deleted, so files are only compressed by about 25%.

Albums available now are:

Date Nite at Disneyland
The Parent Trap
Secrets of Life
Addition and Subtraction
Multiplication and Division
Deep in the Heart of Dixieland
Walt Disney World Band
Mousercise
Splashdance

Unlike iTunes, there's no special software to download -- just use your Windows Media Player 10 or 11. There should be a link to MusicGiants in the Media Guide tab in your Windows Media Player, in the upper right corner. The files are DRM'd, just like iTunes, but you can burn an audio CD up to five times, at full CD quality. Individual tracks are $1.29 each.

Postives about MusicGiants:

1. Only lossless download service currently available.
2. True CD-quality downloads, for the first time ever.
3. Quite good customer service -- emails are always answered within 24 hours or less.

Negatives about MusicGiants:

1. You can only load money into your account with them in $20 increments. Take as long as you want to use that amount up, but if you're a penny short to buy one more song, you'll have to load another $20 in your account.

2. Search engine is not nearly as well organized as iTunes, nor is their music selection as extensive.

3. FAQ needs improvement.

4. Does not work with MAC... must have Windows, as well as high-speed Internet. (Files are too big to work with dial-up.)

5. No printable cover art -- yet! But one fairly inexpensive solution is to download ONE song from the same album on iTunes -- then you will have printable cover art.

But be aware MusicGiants tells me they are continuing to work on improvements to their site. For me, the $20-at-a-time account balance is a small price to pay for true CD quality files of download exclusives. (There are other download exclusives there, too, notably the Madonna remix/edits from her last album.) If enough people download the Wonderland exclusives, maybe they will load the previous Wonderland releases on their website.

 

[almandot]

Allow me to be the first to accuse them of stealing their cover art scans from iTunes for their album listings


and 30-50mb files? that's not lossless codec quality that's just bloated...they might as well just leave it as a wav or aiff file heh.

 

[Ximagineer]

So, are these releases sanctioned by Disney, or is MusicGiants just buying a CD and ripping the tracks at (presumably) a much higher rate?

 

[BLM07]

If you are gonna distribute audio illegally, at least do it for free. And no DRM!

 

[diegorivera2]

Seems interesting, but it's not for me.

From their FAQ:

3. What type Music Files and Digital Rights Management Software does MusicGiants Use?
The MusicGiants music that you download to your computer, is in Window Media Audio (WMA) Lossless format. Lossless downloads reproduce music at up to 1100 kbps versus the 128 to 192 kpbs of other download services. We use Microsoft Windows Media Digital Rights Management software to make sure all the music you have is legal and protected. More information about Microsoft DRM is available on their website.

1100kbps? No wonder the file sizes are ridiculously large.

Also:

4. What kind of Music is available in the MusicGiants HD Music Store?
MusicGiants is the only High Definition download service that is licensed by ALL the 4 Major Labels, EMI, Sony, Universal and Warner Music Group. New music is being added everyday, view our music catalog

And, for our good friends in the EU and Japan:

14. Are there any Territory Restrictions?
Yes. To purchase music from MusicGiants, you must live in the United States and use a credit card with a U.S. billing address. International Distribution Coming....

 

[The Trout]

While this seems mostly legit, those files ARE incredibly bloated. I've ripped FLACs from Wonderland CDs and they aren't nearly so big. For instance, the file sizes of my Camarata Alice FLACs bounce between 8 and 15 mb. You'd think a reasonably professional service like MusicGiants would use a codec that doesn't, I dunno, completely suck.

EDIT: Rather than being entirely negative, I should note that a service offering lossless downloads is a big step forward online, and they even have reasonable prices to boot.

 

[superbu]

Well, the 30-50 MB was an off-the-cuff figure, based on other four-to-six minute stereo tracks I've downloaded. All I've downloaded so far of these Disney releases is "Date Nite at Disneyland," which is mono. The longest track on that is Medley: September Song/Deep Purple, which is 17.5 MB.

I'm surprised there's such a negative reaction to this. I would have thought this was good news. True, the file sizes are large, but that's just lossless compression. When iTunes starts offering lossless tracks someday, the file sizes are going to be just as big, and they're also going to be DRM'd. And iTunes is already charging $1.29 for their new 250KB tracks.

Oh, well, I'm enjoying mine... :'(

 

[almandot]

we don't really care about the file sizes just 30-50 was large enough beyond what it should be to make us wonder what was going on with that The fact is, 1100 kbps is suspicious. WMA lossless is advertised at 470 to 940 kbit/s which is common with other lossless codecs.

But they still won't get any business out of me simply because I'm on a Mac and can't use the songs even if I did buy them.


And I still maintain they stole the disney album cover art from iTunes