Audio Video News

In case you haven’t heard, the high-resolution music streaming service Tidal will end its support of the MQA and 360 Reality Audio formats in less than two weeks, on July 24.

The discontinuance of MQA isn’t surprising given that the format had been in limbo since NAD/PSB parent company Lenbrook acquired the assets of MQA Ltd. last year. And Lenbrook has since announced that it is partnering with the high-resolution digital music store HDtracks to develop a competing subscription streaming service that will offer music fans a choice in formats, including the new AIRIA by MQA Labs codec.

In a Q&A in the support section of tidal.com, the company explains: “For stereo sound, FLAC was chosen as the format we’ll support going forward because it is open source — meaning any artist can deliver their music in high quality directly to Tidal without the involvement of a third party. This makes it easier for their fans to experience music in the highest possible sound quality on all their devices.”

MQA tracks in personal collections and playlists will be automatically replaced by the highest quality FLAC version available to the service, though the company admits that there “may not be a replacement for every single one.” For MQA tracks or albums that have been downloaded for offline access, subscribers will need to update to the latest version of the app on July 24 and re-download those tracks.

“We are working hard to ensure all existing MQA tracks will be replaced with a FLAC version in a timely manner,” Tidal says.

The move to drop Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format comes in the wake of the decision to embrace Dolby Atmos as its go-to format for immersive surround sound. Tidal said it chose Atmos as “the format we will support going forward due to the number of compatible devices, catalog availability, and artist adoption of the format.”

Starting July 24, 360 Reality Audio tracks and albums in subscriber collections, including those in playlists and downloaded for offline access, will be grayed out and unavailable for streaming.A decided blow to Sony and owners of Sony headphones who enjoy listening to music in the format, which was introduced five years ago.

Will these changes affect you? Leave a comment.