MPC supports a very advanced (probably one of the best) Replay Gain systems available. So MPC has this covered very well. The MPC encoder is very fast (7x on my machine). Faster than any other lossy encoder currently available. The decoder (and plugins) are also very fast. I normally achieve speeds of about 150x with the command-line decoder on my P3-900 MHz.
The most important reason to use MPC is its transparency. It is hands down the best sounding format currently available. Normal bitrates range from 160 kbps to 200 kbps (pure VBR engine). MPC's biggest (and probably only) drawback is its lack of portable hardware support. This may or may not be important to some people. If it is, MPC transcodes very well to MP3.
Pros:
- Fast
- Most transparent lossy encoder at bitrates above 160 kbps
- Great Replay Gain and clipping prevention modes
- Decoder is open source
- Transcodes extremely well
Cons:
- No native portable support (yet)
- Encoder is closed source
In short, if you want the highest quality you can get without going lossless, MPC is the format for you. If you want the most open format, use Vorbis (in my experience with it, it definately beats MP3 for quality). If you prefer tried and true formats, use MP3.
You can read more about MP3, Vorbis, and MPC at
http://www.hydrogenaudio.orgMike