ATRAC
Atrac, short for Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding, is a family of audio compression algorithms developed by Sony. It is a form of perceptual coding that reduces audio data by transforming signals and removing inaudible content while aiming to preserve audible quality. Atrac was used primarily in Sony hardware, most notably the MiniDisc format introduced in the early 1990s, and later in various Walkman models and other portable players.
The Atrac lineage includes several generations. The original Atrac was followed by Atrac 2, Atrac 3, and
Role and decline: Atrac defined Sony’s proprietary audio ecosystem for many years and is closely associated
Technical overview: Atrac uses transform-based coding coupled with psychoacoustic masking models to achieve data reduction. The