WavPack is a completely open audio compression format providing
lossless, high-quality lossy, and a unique hybrid compression mode.
The compression ratio depends on the source material, but generally
is between 30% and 70%.
The hybrid mode provides all the advantages of lossless compression
with an additional bonus. Instead of creating a single file, this
mode creates both a relatively small, high-quality lossy file that
can be used all by itself, and a "correction" file that (when
combined with the lossy file) provides full lossless restoration.
WavPack employs only well known, public domain techniques (i.e.,
linear prediction with LMS adaptation, Elias and Golomb codes) in
its implementation. Methods and algorithms that have ever been
patented (e.g., arithmetic coding, LZW compression) are specifically
avoided.
