This is about as good a time as any to think of investing in high-capacity MP3 players, and maybe the perfect time to launch Bluetooth 3.0.

French media behemoth Thomson has announced mp3HD, a new lossless ‘hybrid’ MP3 format, which not only offers the sound detail lost in a normal MP3, but remains compatible with your existing MP3 player or iPod.

But wait. The new lossless file format isn’t backwards compatible to .MP3 formats in a traditional way. (1) It requires a plugin and (2) it stores the old lossy .mp3 version together with the new lossless MP3HD version.

It will be heavier than FLAC lossless: “We’ve tested the format, ripping our own CDs using Exact Audio Copy and Thomson’s mp3HD command line encoder. A 6 minute 22 second mp3HD file (Pink Floyd’s Money), using default settings, gave us a 48MB file — just 5MB larger than a file ripped in FLAC, level 8.”

Furthermore, MP3HD only plays on Winamp. Only the lossy .mp3 part can play on another platform and transferable to a portable player. Find out more here.

[via cnet]