any use the .shn music file ...?

[multi]

i dont know how new this all is ,but after downloading a few miles davis in this format i thought
i would have a search about on them..

What are SHNs?

Shorten (extension .shn) is an audio compression scheme written by Tony Robinson of SoftSound that can compact wav files without subtracting out any frequencies. It's "lossless"- everything in the original wav is there, so that full quality is maintained. For many traders of live music, Shorten files (shns) therefore have an undisputed advantage over "lossy" mp3-format files. A shn file made from a wav is quite a bit larger than the corresponding mp3, with a size perhaps ~50-60% of the orginal wav.
Although many people just download shns, keep in mind that these files can also be traded through the mail on disc very easily. The overview below focuses on working with shn files that are already created by others. Once you are familiar with that side of things, it will become obvious how to create shns sets on your own.

Ethical note: For historical reasons, much of the music available in Shorten format is of trade-friendly bands. To make it easier for all of us to continue to enjoy this hobby, please respect the artists. Please, no bootlegging (selling of trade-allowed music, stealing of commercial releases) through shns. Thanks!

Where can you get SHNs?
The accompanying SHN Resources page lists places to download, trade, distribute or discuss shn-format music of trade-friendly artists. Notably, the Internet Archive has a new and growing Live Music Archive of shns.
Information about some specific shns circulating for a number of trade-friendly artists is listed in the "Lossless Sources in Circulation" Database (aka the "shn db"). There are no actual shns in that database, just information about them.

What does a "SHN set" look like?

If you are collecting shns of live music, you will receive various data files together in a group. Files you may see:

.shn: Binary files with compressed music data. Since shn files are meant to be decompressed to .wav for burning onto audio CDs for listening, they will be organized by CD layout. Typical shns are named by band abbreviation, show date, disc and track, such as ph2000-04-20d1t01.shn.
.txt: A plain text file with information about the shns- CD tracklist, recording details, credits, flaw notes, etc. They're typically named by band abbrev plus show date, such as ph2000-04-20.txt.
.md5: Plain text files with checksum information for the shns. The checksum strings inside are like 32-character ID numbers for each shn, used to check the integrity of the shns and to "fingerprint" them. People create md5s at the same time they create the shns. The files are typically named by band abbrev, show date, and often disc, such as ph2000-04-20d1.md5. Within the md5 file there should be a separate line for each shn. See below for their important use.
.skt: Optional files used in support of playing shns "on the fly" on a computer. See below.

When you download a shn set, you will at least want all .shn, .md5 and .txt files that you see in the directory you are after.

http://research.umbc.edu/~hamilton/shnfaq.html