New Ultra Fast Lossless Audio Codec (HALAC)
A new proprietary lossless audio codec, HALAC, claims markedly faster encoding and decoding than established formats like FLAC, prompting interest in potential gains for large-scale processing and low-resource devices. Many commenters question the practical benefit given already high speeds of existing codecs and modest compression improvements, arguing that bandwidth, storage costs, and compatibility often dominate. The absence of source code or a formal specification raises concerns about security, reproducibility, and real-world adoption, with several voices urging the author to open the project if it is to be taken seriously.
Performance & Benchmarks
- OP claims HALAC is 3–5x faster than contemporary lossless codecs while achieving similar compression ratios.
- Some commenters say third‑party tests suggest it’s only marginally faster than FLAC, though still “very fast,” especially in decoding.
- One person flags apparent benchmark anomalies (e.g., FLAC level 5 decode being faster than level 0) as sanity‑check failures, others argue higher compression can plausibly decode faster due to fewer bits.
Practical Usefulness of Speed
- Supporters argue faster encoding/decoding saves CPU time and power at scale, and can matter for large batch jobs or low‑resource environments.
- Skeptics respond that existing codecs already run at hundreds of times real‑time, so further speedups have little practical impact for typical users.
- There is disagreement whether such speed improvements justify switching given storage, bandwidth, and transcoding costs.
Openness, Source Code & Adoption
- The codec is currently closed source Windows binaries; this draws strong criticism.
- Many say without source, spec, or patents clarified, it won’t be adopted or taken seriously, especially when FLAC and others are open and mature.
- Some urge immediate open‑sourcing, noting community help, better scrutiny, and easier integration.
- Others defend the author’s desire to keep full control for now, possibly for future commercialization or until the design feels “complete,” though this stance is itself criticized as incompatible with typical FOSS norms.
Security & Trust Issues
- Multiple people are uncomfortable downloading opaque .exe files from forums, especially on a .su domain.
- Suggestions include using sandboxes, VMs, or VirusTotal, but several reiterate that open source is still the strongest trust signal.
Comparison to Existing Codecs
- FLAC is seen as the de facto standard due to speed, openness, and ecosystem support, despite not being state‑of‑the‑art in compression.
- Discussion touches on multichannel support, floating‑point audio, and more advanced predictive/residual coding that FLAC lacks.
- Some argue any new lossless codec that is less open than FLAC looks like a patent or niche play and will struggle to gain traction.
HALIC Image Codec & Naming
- HALIC (a related image compressor) is mentioned as also very fast with low memory usage, trading some compression ratio for small independent blocks.
- “High Availability” in the name is acknowledged as more of an ad‑hoc label than a well‑defined technical property.