Since what the MP3 standard really defines is a decoder, there should be no such thing as a better or a worse MP3 decoder. As long as a decoder is accurate, it'll output the expected quality.
If you want to stream in mp3 or aac, you have to get your own encoders as they cannot be distributed by me. You can get the latest lameenc.dll for mp3 here and the latest aac libFAAC.dll for Win32 here Just unzip the archives and drop the files into the AltaCast directory. Select the 'Encoder' tab at the top of your DSP window. Make sure under the selection box, you have selected 'Encoder 1'. The Encoder Type can be set to either MP3 or AAC+, our servers support both. However, If you are broadcasting in virtual games like Utherverse (RLC) and/or Second-Life, this must always be MP3.
All the most popular decoders these days output accurate enough streams. These include:
- Winamp's FhG decoder
- mpg123, probably one of the most popular decoders, also used in foobar2000, Otachan's winamp plugin, LAME and countless other MP3 players
- MPAdec, a very accurate decoder based on mpg123
- Apollo (broken link), the most mathematically accurate decoder
- MAD, another very precise GPLd MP3 decoder
- A MAD input-plugin for WinAmp is available in this HA thread
Drivers oki usb devices. Using any of the above should be enough for all purposes. Quality differences among them are insignificant.
Winamp Mp3 Encoder Pro
Older decoders could provide bad quality, due mostly to encoder implementation errors. Such bad decoders include Winamp before version 2.666 (using Playmedia's low quality AMP engine), decoders based on old XAudio, and Digideck. Also, some older decoders did not work well with VBR streams.
Winamp Mp3 Encoder Plugin