Best file compression

which file compression formats offer the best compression ?

 

Of what?

Videos --> x264's h264
Audios --> MP3 or AAC (debatable)
Images --> JPEG (lossy) or PNG (lossless)
Archives --> 7z

 

I typically get better compression from 7z than rar with zip being the worst.

EDIT: Finally hit the magic number of posts.

 

It really is going to vary in opinion no matter what file types you're talking about. For audio though, at this point I think enough people have decided it's AAC for "standard" use.

 

The moment will be ruined the next peep you make

 

Or MP3. Aw c'mon now MP3's compression ain't that bad. Yes, I know AAC is supposed to be MP3's successor, but MP3 is still holding its crown for now.

 

You'll get far better quality from a 128 AAC file than you ever will from a 128 MP3 file. There's really no arguing that one. The closer you get to 320, the more that ears (and equipment) come into play.

 

Actually, no. It's still debatable AFAIK. Maybe there's a professional research somewhere but I don't bother to dig for now. There are some people who said, for example, 225 kbps MP3 has the same quality as 128 kbps AAC. I personally hear no difference. But then again, I'm not too picky about audio quality. Just as long as it's no lower than 128 kbps.

 

Well, genre plays a big role in how acceptable a bitrate is as well. Rock and Classical are well known for sounding rather crappy below 256, with Classical requiring the highest for best sound.

 

Just in case, if I wasn't sure about the output quality I probably would just use 320 kbps. But if I was aiming for pure quality, I'd go with FLAC instead.