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 What is MP3?
MP3 is an open audio compression codec that allows you to download near-CD quality music and audio from the web. MP3 was
developed by the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG). The abbreviation "MP3" stands for MPEG Layer 3. It is a compression form (like .zip). When compressing an audio file (encoding) using
the MP3 algorithm you can set the desired encoding level and have any compression level you want. The larger the compressed file the better the audio quality of the result. The majority of the files
available on the internet are encoded in 128 kbits stereo 44khz which results to a high quality file that is 12 times smaller than the original!! This of course has many interesting consequences. We
can now easily transmit a song over the internet (a compressed 4 minute song is smaller than 4MB, while uncompressed would be over 40MB!) That's why MP3 has become the hottest keyword on the Internet
the last few months.The main disadvantage of the MP3 format is that it needs to be decompressed when played.That means that we need a computer to play them and that we cannot hear them in our ordinary
home stereo cd players. |
How do I make an Mp3 file?
This is a two step process. The first step is to copy a song from an audio CD. This is called CD Ripping.
MP3now have a dedicated section with the Best CD Rippers
to help you select the one that will work with your cdrom drive. The second step is to download an MP3
encoder which compress a .wav file to MP3 format. You can also find the MP3 Encoders in MP3now. Also you can use all-in-one
software.
CD to WAV
One of the most crucial tasks for producing high quality MP3s is the conversion from CD audio to .WAV format. This step is necessary. There are some programs that can produce an MP3 directly from CD
audio but they are also using an MP3 to WAV conversion to accomplish that. The crucial point in this conversion is to do it digitally and not using analog methods.
That means that it is NOT correct to connect your CD audio to your line-in of your sound card. This kind of a connection would result of an analog to digital conversion,
and the quality of the result greatly depends on the quality of your soundcards' ADC (analog to digital convertor). In
any case the result is not exactly the same as the source. The correct way of doing audio extraction from a CD is to it digitally. This is the task for specialized software
programs that are called CD-Rippers. The CD-Ripper reads the tracks of a CD (CD-audio) and writes them to the hard disk as .WAV. Note that a 4-minute
song when written as .WAV file takes about 40-50 MB, so be careful about your hard disk space. This cnversion is made digitally and if it is done correctly should result in a
perfect copy of the song. Two things must be noted here:
1. You need a CD-ROM drive that can do this kind of extraction. The majority of the new CD-ROM drives can do that. The speed of the CD-ROM drive is the most crucial factor for the speed of the
CD-Ripping. The best CD-ROM drives can Rip in speeds 8-12x so that a full 70min CD can be audio extracted to .WAV in 10min!
2. You need a good CD-Ripper program for doing the job. A collection of the best CD-Rippers are in our specialized
CD-Rippers section so check them out. Each CD when ripped produces a .WAV file of a specific file size. Here you can find an extensive list with the correct file sizes of several
Cds. So give a try to some of the CD-Rippers to see which one is doing better with our CD-ROM drive. You must save the files as 16-bit as 44khz
stereo to ensure maximum compatibility with the encoders that you need afterwards.
WAV to MP3
This is done using specialized programs that are called MP3 Encoders. We have a specialized section on them to so check them out. The
encoding has two major parameters. Speed and Quality. The speed and the quality of all the encoders varies so you can try some them to find which is more close to your needs. XingMP3 encoder (used in AudioCatalyst and MusicMatch also) is superfast keeping good quality.
A freeware MP3 encoder you can try is BladeEnc. The most important point to consider when encoding MP3's is the bitrate that you choose. The majority of the MP3 available on the
Internet are encoded at 128kbps which results in a very good quality/size ratio MP3. If you encode at 192kbps you will have a superquality result with a little larger file so I think this is the best
option for keeping digital MP3 copies of your CDs. Please note that it is illegal to distribute or broadcast copyrighted music in any format (so in MP3 format also) without the permission of the
copyright owner. See our legal MP3 section for detailed info on that. |
How do I play an MP3 file?
You just need an MP3 player. In MP3 Players section you will find the best players available today. Go there
and download one of them, install it and then download the songs that you want to hear. |
How do I make an MP3 to WAV?
You just need an MP3 decoder. In Mp3 Encoders section you will find the a "Windows
Mp3 Decoders". Go there and download one of them, install it and then
decode an MP3 to WAV.
Q: I have a CD-burner (CDR) & want to make audio CDs from my MP3s. How
do I do this?
A: You need to convert the MP3s to WAV files, because your CD-burning
software only supports making audio CDs from WAV files. For more information on
how to convert MP3s to WAV files, see the MP3 Decoders
section. |
How does MP3 work?
MP3 shrinks audio files in such a way that sound quality is preserved, but the file size is much smaller than it would be as
a regular CD song file. A digital song file, like other files, is really just a series of bits. The files on a CD are called .wav files. Wav files are very large. MP3 compresses wav audio; that is, it
removes those bits that don't affect the sound quality in order to economize file size. There is minimal sound degradation with compressed audio. This means you're able to download an entire song in
only a few minutes. After that, you can play the song instantly--as many times as you want--regardless of your modem speed!*Approximate number of
minutes to download a regular CD- size file of the Beatles' "Love Me Do" (using 56K modem):
More than 40 minutes
*Approximate number of minutes to download an MP3 file of the Beatles' "Love Me Do" (using 56K modem):
Less than 4 minutes (MP3.com) |
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