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In this article we will look at the whole mp3 phenomenon. I will try and
explain to you the significance of mp3’s, what they are, the reasons behind
their astounding popularity, the controversies surrounding the mp3 format,
and much more.
So
what are MP3's?
MP3
stands for MPEG 1 (Motion Picture Experts Group) Layer 3. It's a digital
audio compression format built from over 15 years of psycho-acoustical
research. MP3 squishes down sound files 10-15 times smaller than a parent
file. And yet that tiny .mp3 file retains most of the perceived audio
fidelity by stripping out the waveforms that the human ear doesn't process.
Not nearly CD-quality, MP3 is nonetheless a tremendous breakthrough in terms
of sound quality for a high compression rate.
MP3s
are ideal for Internet distribution because they sound great, they download
in a jiffy and there are plenty available online. MP3.com alone has hundreds
of thousands of free songs ready for you to enjoy.
How to get started with
MP3's
In order to get started with Mp3’s you will first
need to have the proper software that will play the MP3 files you download.
Software needed: You
will first of all need a MP3 player, players are available for all computer
platforms. If you are using Windows 95/98/NT I can warmly recommend Winamp
the most common MP3 player. It also supports a lot of other audio formats,
like WAV, MID, MOD and CD audio. Please also download Winzip from http://www.winzip.com
as a large number of .mp3 files are in zipped format.
Hardware needed: To
play the MP3s will need a soundcard (preferably 16-bit), speakers or
headphones (preferably good ones) and at least a 486 processor.
Make the space: Audio files, even MP3s, tend to be rather large -- a bit less than 1 MB for
each minute of stereo audio. So make sure there is enough disk space on the
destination disk. You will also need enough RAM dedicated to the
application.
Downloading MP3 files
Downloading MP3 files has been known to turn into an obsession so I would strongly urge and advise you to make a separate folder
for all the MP3 files you may download.
The
easiest way to download an MP3 is to right-click on the link that points to
the file and select "Save Target As." or "Save File As."
(Depending on which browser you use). If you just left-click on an MP3, then
the Windows Media Player installed might try to start playing the MP3 file
directly in your browser, or your browser will just display heaps of weird
text (this is likely to happen when using Netscape). If you really do want
to stream your MP3s (play while downloading), and your connection is fast
enough for this, then copy the link to the MP3. Just right-click on the link
and select "Copy Shortcut" (IE) or "Copy Link Location"
(NS) to copy the URL to your clipboard. After that, open Winamp and press
CTRL+L and paste the URL (press CTRL+V) into the window.
How
to play MP3's
An MP3 player is a
media player, just like a record player or compact disc player. There's an
interface with all the familiar buttons, like Play, Rewind, Fast-forward,
and the all-important Stop. With an MP3 player so you can keep changing
"skins," and "playlists," which are predefined custom
mixes. Some players, like Sonique, allow you to mix MP3s, or even slow them
down and speed them up.
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you get the MP3 player downloaded and installed you'll be ready to go. |
1.
Try double clicking on the MP3 file that you want to play. If it
does not start playing, press the Play button.
2.
Or, you can drag and drop the music file onto your player. The file
should appear in the Playlist window. The Playlist is a way to sequence
your MP3s. You can learn how to randomize or reverse the order. Explore
the pop-up and pull-down menus.
3. If it still doesn't work, go to the File menu and choose the Open
to open your MP3 file. Select a song in the Playlist and press Play.
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Recommended MP3 players
Free MP3 players:
Winamp – http://www.winamp.com
Sonique
– http://sonique.lycos.com
Cowon
Jet Audio 4.7 – http://www.cowon.com
RealJukebox
Basic – http://real.com
FreeAmp
– http://www.freeamp.org
AudioCatalyst
(30-day trial) – http://www.xingtech.com
Liquid
Audio Player – http://www.liquidaudio.com
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