SHN (Shorten) is a file format used to losslessly compress CD-quality audio files (44.1 kHz 16-bit stereo PCM). It is a compressed data file format similar to ZIP, RAR, and StuffIt but is optimized for compressing audio data. The Shorten compression saves disk space and decreases transfer times. Lossy formats such as Vorbis and MP3 are more typically used as these are usually ten percent of the size of the original file rather than 50-70 percent, but the smaller file size comes at the cost of data loss (which, depending on the quality of the encoding, the playback equipment, the level of ambient noise during playback, and the listener's hearing, may or may not be perceivable). More mature lossless audio codecs such as FLAC, Monkey's Audio (APE), and TTA have become popular recently, although Shorten remains a popular format due to the large number of legally tradable concert recordings in circulation that are encoded as Shorten files. Some applications require (and some hi-fi enthusiasts demand) the lossless digital output that such codecs provide. Shorten files use the .SHN file extension. A file format is a particular way to encode information for storage in a computer file. ... Jump to: navigation, search Note: This article is about audio data compression, which reduces the data rate of digital audio signals. ... PCM is an initialism which can have different meanings: Phase Change Material Pulse-code modulation Potential Cancer Marker Communist Party of Mexico This page concerning a three-letter acronym or abbreviation is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The ZIP file format is the most widely-used compressed file format in the IBM PC world. ... Jump to: navigation, search In computing, RAR is a proprietary file format for data compression and archiving. ... StuffIt is a family of software utilities for archiving and compressing files on the Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms: Macintosh users in particular utilise the software. ... A lossy data compression method is one where compressing data and then decompressing it retrieves data that may well be different to the original, but is close enough to be useful in some way. ... Jump to: navigation, search Vorbis is an open and free audio compression (codec) project from the Xiph. ... Jump to: navigation, search MP3 is a popular digital audio encoding and lossy compression format invented and standardised in 1991 by a team of engineers working in the framework of the ISO/IEC MPEG audio committee under the chairmanship of Professor Hans Musmann (University of Hannover - Germany). ... An audio codec is a computer program that compresses/decompresses digital audio data according to a given audio file format or streaming audio format. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) Logo. ... Monkey’s Audio is a lossless audio compression codec. ... TTA may also refer to the Triangle Transit Authority, a regional transit service in North Carolina. ... High Fidelity is also the title of a book by Nick Hornby and a film directed by Stephen Frears, based upon Hornbys book. ...

The Shorten algorithm and the reference code that implement it were developed by Tony Robinson of Cambridge University in 1992/1993 and later assigned to SoftSound Ltd. The code was made available under a generous non-commercial license and has since been extended by Wayne Stielau to include seek tables so that one may seek within individual tracks when playing the files on one's computer. Jump to: navigation, search Flowcharts are often used to represent algorithms. ... Wayne Stielau is the creator of the ShnAmp plugin for WinAmp, which allows you to play . ...

External links

Look up Shorten on Wiktionary, the free dictionary

• etree.org Wiki article. etree.org is a trading site for authorized recordings of live performances; etree formerly used Shorten exclusively but is increasingly using FLAC.
• Shorten FAQ (note: If looking for software to play .shn files, you will probably be better served by the etree software page, as the Shorten FAQ has many broken and outdated links.)
• SoftSound Ltd.