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1. About MP3·What Exactly Is An MP3?
·Are MP3's Legal?
·How Do I Get MP3's?
·How Do I Play An MP3?
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MPEG layer 3 is a type of audio codec where processed by significant compression from the original audio source, very little loss in sound quality occurs. The compression, up to 12:1, produces very little degradation. Tighter compression can be achieved, but the possibility of audio quality degradation increases.
To obtain certain compression, we must adjust the bit rates. The standard bit rates (near CD quality results) is 128 or 112 kbit/s. Many people claim that low-rate MPEG layer 3 files sound better than Real Audio files with similar bit rates.
The advantage of MP3 is that it can be broken up into pieces, and each piece is still playable. The feature that makes this possible (headerless file format) also means that MP3 files can be made to stream across the net real-time (assuming the playback bitrate and speed of the Internet connection are compatible).
The disadvantage of MP3 compression is that lots of processor power is required to encode and play files, also a sound-card is required (16-bit sound card).
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by snapcase$  edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:43:40 |
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MP3 as a file format is probably legal, or at least tolerated, when used to encode music from your own CDs — if you keep that music to yourself. It is illegal to encode MP3s and trade, sell or otherwise make them available to others unless you have the permission of the music’s copyright holder. In other words, if a record company or band makes MP3 files available for download, they are yours for the taking (but not to give or sell to others). However, converting your new CD to MP3 and then offering that as a way for people to get the music without buying the actual CD is illegal.
There is a great deal of debate and discussion on these matters, some of it frequently on our own front page: »RIAA Says You Can’t Copy Music To Your Computer
One member offers this commentary:
MP3 format is not legal without a license. It is a patent encumbered format which requires royalties to be payed [sic] both to create and listen to the format. People that use "Lame" to encode mp3 may have infringed on patents. If you have used a software which encodes or decodes mp3 files, and that software does not have the necessary license(s) from Thomson (»www.mp3licensing.com/) you [may] have committed a patent crime. A license is required to create, play, and one for hardware + one for software. If you only use iTunes, you're in the clear. If you're using EAC to rip/encode to mp3 with LAME, then playback with foobar, you [may have] broken the law as those 3 companies do not have a license to create nor play mp3 files. Which is why LAME is only distributed as source tar balls for the main site. Much in the way as the Xvid codec.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-01-07 07:08:43 |
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Many websites offer allegedly legal MP3's such as MP3.com. There are also numerous allegedly legal, search-able online MP3 libraries and directories that you can find. Though, by far the most popular ways of getting MP3's are through separate programs, often called person-to-person file sharers such as the traditional Napster or some of the alternatives that have sprouted up since Napster's arrival, one of which is WinMX. These programs not only let you download MP3's, but they also let you share your current library with everyone on that particular server or network. The many file sharing programs can be found here and if you want to see what many of us here prefer, feel free to take a look at my file sharing poll.
Unfortunately, the amount of illegal copies being distributed on these file sharing networks is quite large and that is one of the major disadvantages to using a peer-to-peer program. As with any new technology, there are drawbacks that still have yet to be dealt with.
 Always remember that it's completely the user's responsibility to decide which MP3s he/she will obtain, share, and distribute! DSLReports in no way condones any engagement in illegal activities!
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-01-07 08:32:59 |
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Minimum Requirements: A 486 based computer is a minimum requirement, but Pentium is recommended.
Once you've verified that your system meets the minimum requirement, grab an MP3 player such as Winamp (Winamp review here), or MusicMatch JukeBox (now called Yahoo Music). A rather large list of various media players can be found here or here.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-01-07 08:37:42 |
2. Basics·What Do 'Sampling Frequency' and 'Bit Rate' mean?
·What Is A 'VIV' file?
·Can I Get A Virus From An MP3 File?
·Can I Run An FTP Server Myself To Share My MP3's?
·What is a Skin?
·What Is A Plug-In?
·What Is VBR And Is It A Good Thing?
·What is MP3Pro?
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The sampling frequency is basically the number of times per second audio is sampled and stored as a number - CD audio is sampled at 44.1 KHz, which means 44,100 samples per second. CD audio uses 16 bit samples, so the bitrate of uncompressed CD audio = 44,100 x 16 bits per second (well x 2 actually, because it's stereo).
The "bitrate" on the other hand, when talking about MP3 files, refers to the transfer bitrate for which the files are encoded - i.e. an MP3 file encoded "at a bitrate of 128 kbps" is compressed such that it could be streamed continuously through a link providing a transfer rate of 128 thousand bits per second but most of us don't really use MP3 as a streaming medium (except for Shoutcast, etc.) so really what the MP3 "bitrate" is a measure of is how severely the files is being compressed. The lower the bitrate, the more the file has been compressed and the more you compress a file, the more of the original data is lost, and so the worse the playback sound quality will be. It's almost exactly analogous to compressing a JPG image with a higher compression ratio - you get a smaller file, but when you view it, it doesn't look as good.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:39:01 |
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If you can't play the file in Winamp, then it isn't an MP3 file (you don't actually have to rename it, even if the file is still called "whatever.viv", if you open it with Winamp and it is an MP3 file, Winamp will go ahead and play it). To play a .viv file, grab a Vivo Media Player.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:44:59 |
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Unfortunately, yes. Well, in a sense.
You MAY get a virus through a hole in your email client or by opening/executing an attachment, just like you MAY get a virus through an MP3 player with a hole
in it or perhaps by clicking on a file you THOUGHT was an MP3. Computer
literacy and due diligence is required. Keep your MP3 player (and email
client) up-to-date to prevent things like this.
Various forms of malware can be hidden in a supposed MP3 file, including worms, viruses, and trojan horses. The numerous person-to-person file sharers are breeding grounds for these undesirables so it's rather important to know and become familiar with the warning signs:
•Distorted File Names
•Unusual File Sizes
•Multiple or strange file extensions (.exe)
A strong and frequently updated anti-virus program is an absolute necessity these days. A good free one can be found here. Also, make sure to scan everything you download before you run or activate it and set Windows to not hide file extensions.
For additional information, visit the Security Forum.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2003-11-11 15:36:45 |
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You can run your own FTP server to share your MP3 library but there are a number of issues that must be addressed beforehand:
•If you're on a dial-up connection, your limited bandwidth will make it incredibly slow, even if you only allow something like 3 simultaneous logins.
•Also, if you are on a dial-up connection, your IP address will almost certainly change every time you connect, so you won't have any permanent address (you'd have to let people know the IP after you logged on, and it would only be good until you logged off or got kicked off).
•If you have a cable or DSL broadband connection, you're a bit better off, since you have higher bandwidth and a more or less permanent IP (depending if you have dynamic or static).
•Obviously, running an FTP server on your machine is going to severely restrict your own ability to use the machine and to access the net while the server is running.
•Make sure to check with your ISP before you go ahead and operate your own FTP server. Running servers is often a violation of your ToS (Terms of Service) and can result in them disabling your account.
Alternatively, you could always pay for FTP hosting on a commercial server.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:40:55 |
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A skin is used to change the look of your MP3/media player. Some skin utilities are here. Most skins for a particular player can be found at the developers website.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:07:45 |
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A plug-in is an extra add-on that offers differentiating visualizations and other forms of eye-candy to your MP3 player while it's playing! A few plug-in utilities can be found here similar to skins. Most plug-ins for a specific player can be found at the developer's website.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:15:13 |
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VBR stands for Variable Bit Rate. It's a method of encoding audio to MP3 that allows for different sections of the file to be encoded at different bitrates, depending upon the demands of the source audio (some type of sounds require a higher bitrate, others encode well using a lower bitrate).
Edit: Updated info ... the good LAME MP3 encoders(version 3.90.3, I think) can control the size of the VBR MP3.
--alt-preset standard is the default VBR mode with around an average bitrate of 205-240k per song,
--alt-preset standard -Y will make it around an average bitrate of 170k-200k.[These presets and LAME settings were developed at hydrogenaudio.org] VBR is quite flexible with LAME, and it doesn't have to be a bloated filesize to give better quality. Usually the encoders that had those bad artifacts with VBR were xing and blade, but good encoders do VBR very well.
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Thanks to Thasp for this updated info.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2003-08-19 19:53:11 |
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An MP3PRO encoder splits audio recordings into two parts.
One part analyzes the low frequency band information and encodes it into a normal mp3 stream. This allows the encoder to concentrate on less information and allows it to do a better job of encoding. This also maintains complete compatibility on old mp3 players.
The second part analyzes the high frequency band information and encodes it into a part of the mp3 stream that is normally ignored by old mp3 decoders. New or upgraded mp3PRO decoders will tap into this part of the stream and put the two bands back together, resulting in the full audio bandwidth. Older, non-mp3Pro decoders will only recognize the first band and will play at a lower quality.
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by grokdesigns edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:39:42 |
2.3 How do I ... ?·How Do I Transfer My MP3's Onto A CD?
·How do I edit my MP3's?
·How do I play my songs on a regular stereo?
·How Do I Record From Vinyl Disks?
·How Do I Record My MP3's To A Tape?
·How do I change the ID3 tags on my MP3's?
·How Do I Make An MP3 From The Audio In An AVI File?
·How Do I Convert MP3 Files To WAV Files?
·How Do I Record MP3's From Cassete Tapes?
·MP3 Splitter?
·How do I put together an inexpensive, easy way to backup my DVD collection?
·What are some free programs I can use for organizing and tagging my mp3's?
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This process is referred to as "burning". To convert MP3's into an audio CD, you can generally just copy your MP3 files right onto a CD using burning software. Most players of all types today recognize the MP3 format. If your application requires a different format, the converters here can accomplish that for you. Decoding if necessary can be achieved by using one of the MP3 utilities such as RealJukebox or MusicMatch. Winamp also has MP3 decoding capability. Other burning software: Roxio's Easy CD Creator, Nero or AShampoo. Of course, either a CD-R drive or CD-RW drive is also required, a standard CD-ROM drive will not do. A blank CD-R or CD-RW is also necessary. Various decoders and encoders can be found here.
With most burning software today, it is not necessary to convert your MP3's into a WAV format as it used to be, but it may be desired. Burning straight through as a WAV format initially decreases the chance of undesired static or crackling, often the result of poorly ripped MP3's.
There are several factors that influence the all around quality of a burn such as the amount of free system resources, drivers, and of course the MP3 itself. Though, in most cases, your actual CD-RW drive has the most influence, along with the blank CD-R/CD-RW you choose to use. Nearly all CD-RW drives come with a list from the manufacturer that lists which CD-R's/CD-RW's they have tested and decided work best and most the efficiently with that particular drive. This should be a starting point to deciding which CD's to purchase and use.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-07-04 17:38:11 |
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Yes, there are several pieces of editing software that will allow you to alter your MP3's in hundreds of different ways. You can break up, or split an MP3 into two separate files, add your own sounds into your MP3, mix two MP3 files together, combine two separate MP3 files, remove some part of the instrumentation, etc. One program that will allow this, among many other things, is Cool Edit 2000 which has now been acquired by Adobe and has been incorporated into Adobe Audition:
»www.adobe.com/products/audition/main.html.
A list of editing software is here.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2006-02-14 09:17:25 |
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To actually play on an audio CD player, the music has to be recorded in standard audio CD format, which is different from the format used for data CD ROM disks. The audio data is actually stored as uncompressed PCM data at 44.1 KHz sampling rate, 16 bit stereo samples. This is similar (although not exactly the same) to the format of uncompressed WAV files on your computer. To play songs on an audio player, you will have to burn them to CD-R disks using burner software that supports the creation of audio CD's (most do). For many burner programs, you will first need to convert the MP3 files to WAV files, which can be done using Winamp (select the Nullsoft Disk Writer plug-in as your output and then play the songs).
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:47:26 |
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Well, connecting the output from a "Magnetic Phono" cartridge directly into a sound card probably is not going to work very well. The output from a magnetic cartridge is very low, in terms of level. Not only that, but it also has some inherent frequency distortions, which the pre-amp circuits in your stereo are designed to correct for.
So, you either need to use some sort of pre-amp designed to take input from a magnetic cartridge and produce line level outputs. If you can't use a pre-amp then you don't have much choice but to run a line out from your receiver or to record to tape, and then connect, say, the headphone jack from a walkman to the line-in of your sound card (those levels match pretty well: just turn the walkman volume right down at first, then turn it up gradually until you get a good level). If you have any kind of mixer laying around, they often have inputs for "Magnetic Phono". Also, you could plug your turntable into the mixer "Magnetic Phono" input and then connect the line-out from the mixer into your sound card.
Once you get a connection that works, you'll need a WAV editing / recording program to record with. GoldWave is a good one.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:32:36 |
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If you want to record the songs you have in MP3 format onto an audio tape for playing in your walkman, car stereo, etc., you just need to connect the line-out socket of your sound card to an input that can feed your tape recording deck and then set the record levels.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:32:18 |
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Certainly, you can change the ID3 tags on an existing MP3 file (so long as it is not a read-only file, for example something burned onto a CD-R disk, in which case you obviously can't write to it). A simple way to change the tags on a file is to select the file in the Winamp playlist, then press Alt-3 ("File-info"). This brings up the ID3 tags for editing.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:37:04 |
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GoldWave has an option to extract the audio from an AVI file to WAV audio. Use this option, save the results as a WAV file, then use an encoder to produce an MP3 file. Unfortunately, the audio in many AVI files is rather shortcoming, so the results may not sound very impressive.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:33:06 |
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Most MP3 players will convert MP3 to WAV. With Winamp, press CTL-P to bring up Preferences, From there, select Output in the left hand window, then select Nullsoft Disk Writer Plug-In in the left window. Press the Configure button to choose which directory you want your WAV files saved in. After you do this, every time you "play" a file in Winamp, it will actually be output to a WAV file in your chosen directory. To go back to actually playing files, bring Preferences up again, and select Output and Nullsoft Wave Out plug-in, which is your normal sound playing output plug-in. If you're using something other than Winamp, check the menus and look for "Options" or "Preferences".
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:33:24 |
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Just plug the output from your tape player into the "Line In" socket on your sound card, plug one end into the earphone socket of the walkman, and the other into the sound card line in. Then, turn the volume on the walkman all the way down, fire up your system volume control and choose Options / Properties / Recording and select the the "Line" source. Then press play on the walkman and gently turn up the volume until you get a level which registers well but does not clip (shown by the red "lights" in the volume control level indicator) during the loudest parts. To record the WAV files you'll need a program capable of recording large files such as GoldWave. If you want "CD Quality", be sure to set the controls in your WAV recording program to 44.1 kbps, stereo, 16 bit. Be warned that you'll need about 10Mb of hard disk space for each minute recorded. Once you've recorded the file, use the WAV recording /editing program's "cut" function to trim off any excess before the beginning or after the end of the song. If you just want to put it onto an audio CD, you can do that directly from the WAV file. If you want an MP3 file, you'll have to use an MP3 encoder to process your WAV file.
Another option is "HarddiskOgg".
HarddiskOgg takes a wave input stream from any Windows 95/98/2000/XP compatible sampling device (including microphone input and line in) and converts it to an Ogg/Wave/MP3 (optional) stream. This happens in realtime, so basically it is a harddisk recorder in Ogg.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-23 18:37:08 |
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mp3DirectCut is a small tool for editing MPEG audio directly. You can remove parts, change the volume, split files or copy regions to several new files. All without the need to decompress your MP3 into a PCM format. This saves work, encoding time and disk space. And there is no quality loss through any re-compressions! Screenshot
Trim your CD grabbings or directly to MP3 recorded vinyls or tapes. Cut favorite songs from long MP3 radio or live recordings. Make multiple cuts and fades. mp3DirectCut is very fast and gives you extensive control over your MP3s. o Several pre-listen functions
o MP3 visualization and VU meter
o Easy navigation
o Fading, volume setting, normalizing
o Direct recording of MP3 (ACM and Lame encoder supported)
o Layer 2 support
o ID3 Tag support (v1 editable)
o Supports Cue Sheets (as used by EAC or Feurio)
Submitted by USR56K
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by KeysCapt
last modified: 2003-01-25 22:45:09 |
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Many of our members agree that the combination of DVD Decryptor, DVD Shrink and a regular DVD burning program such as Nero Burning ROM or Roxio EasyCD/DVD is hard to beat. There are two tutorials available to help you get started. One covers transferring larger DVDs to a single DVD and the other shows how to transfer all the files from the original to an archive copy without losing anything when the source is small. While these examples use Nero Burning ROM at the end, you could use any similar program that you prefer to finish it up.
Large/Long movies to a single DVD transfer
Single Layer DVD to a single DVD copy
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by 2kmaro |
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Here are two excellent freebies for organizing your music.
The first is MediaMonkey, available here: »www.mediamonkey.com/
MediaMonkey is excellent for tagging and organization. You can manage a library as large as 50,000+ files. The program allows you to move and rename files and folders from the MM interface. You can organize, browse, or search music by Genre, Artist, Year, Rating, etc. or by location on your hard drive. It will synchronize with iPods, MP3 phones and other Portable Audio Devices and has a built-in ripper and player or you can configure it to use Winamp for listening. The tagging info comes from Amazon. It handles a variety of files such as OGG, MP3, FLAC and WMA files.
The second recommendation is The Godfather available here: »users.forthnet.gr/the/jtclipper/
It has many of the same capabilities as above but may be a bit more difficult to use. One of the highly usable features is the ability to rename several files at once with one click.
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by theblonde07 edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2008-03-04 06:39:26 |
2.5 About Streaming MP3s·How Do I Listen To Streaming MP3's?
·How Do I Broadcast Streaming MP3's With Shoutcast?
·Can I stream MP3s like I do in RealAudio?
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Shoutcast is currently the most popular streaming audio system on the Internet. To listen to Shoutcast, Winamp is required, the latest version is recommended. Once you have the software installed, you will need to find an audio server (think of it as a radio station) that broadcasts the music. Shoutcast currently hosts over 2000 servers and certainly is the place to look for streaming audio on the Internet.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:13:10 |
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To broadcast streaming audio using Shoutcast technology, first you must download and install Shoutcast plug-in under Winamp's plug-in directory. Once you have the plug-in installed, configure it by doing the following: Start Winamp, and press CTRL+P to bring up the Winamp Preferences window, select the Shoutcast plug-in under the Plug-ins/DSP/Effect category and click on the configure button. Once you have the server configured, you should be all set.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:13:25 |
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Yes, using widely available technology you can. If you'd prefer to stream directly from your computer, SHOUTCast is one possibility.
If you'd like to upload MP3s to another server and have them streamed off of that with nothing required of you, check out Live365.com.
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by grokdesigns edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:12:18 |
2.7 Ripping·How do I take a song from CD and save it as an MP3 on my hard drive?
·Do All CD-ROM Drives Support The Ripping Of Audio Tracks?
·How Do I Tell If My Drive Supports DAE?
·How Do I Get My Ripper To Recognize My CD Drive?
·Is It Possible To Rip A CD Directly To MP3 Format?
·How Is The Volume Controlled When Ripping From A CD?
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Making MP3's off of audio CD's involves a two-step process, "CD ripping" and "MP3 encoding". The CD ripping process converts CD tracks to WAV files, while the MP3 encoding process encodes WAV files to MP3 files. Alternatively, there is software, such as RealJukebox and MusicMatch JukeBox, that have both CD ripping and MP3 encoding capabilities. Various MP3 decoders and encoders can be found here. With utilities such as RealJukebox and MusicMatch, you have the power to dictate at what bitrate the MP3's will be converted to. Remember that the higher the bitrate, the better the quality but the more room they will take on your hard drive (a standard 128 kbit MP3 will consume roughly one megabyte of hard drive space per minute in terms of length) and the longer it will take to transfer the files from a CD to a MP3.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2003-05-25 06:44:18 |
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Unfortunately, no. Any CD drive can play audio CD's, that's true but the term "ripping" is mostly used to refer to Digital Audio Extraction (i.e. extracting the audio data digitally to the computer, rather than converting it to analogue data in the drive and playing it through the sound card directly, which is what happens when you "play" an audio CD on your computer drive). Not all CD drives support Digital Audio Extraction and even for those that do support it, the speed and reliability vary enormously from drive to drive. If your drive absolutely won't do DAE, then you can fall back on "analogue ripping" (i.e. just playing the CD and then recording the analogue signal back through your sound card) but the results won't be as good as a proper digital rip. MusicMatch JukeBox supports analogue recording from CD's, for example, or you can just play the CD and then record using a WAV recording program such as GoldWave.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:34:40 |
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Well, if you have Roxio's Easy CD Creator, it has a nice little option in it (under "System Tests") for testing your drive to see if it performs DAE, and if so, at what speed. Also other ripper programs, such as CDEX and Exact Audio Copy, give various diagnostic messages if there are problems with the ripping process.
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by snapcase$ edited by KeysCapt
last modified: 2002-12-03 15:35:58 |
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If you're using Roxio, head on over to their official site and download a small program entitled "aspichk.exe", which should be available in the Download portion of their website. This program will check on your installation and report back. If this program identifies errors or version mismatches in your ASPI installation, you may need to reinstall these programs to get your burner working properly. The driver files themselves are also available from Roxio's website.
Update: Apparently Roxio's website does not have the aspi layer. It can be obtained from Adaptec's site: Adaptec
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Thanks to Frosty for the updated info.
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