What is MP3?
MP3 stands for MPEG-1 layer 3 which is short for "Motion Pictures Expert Group1 Audio Layer3". MP3 is an encoded wave file which has sound quality nearly the same as audio CDs, but the size of the file is much smaller than the CD format. The size of a MP3 file comparing to a wave file is about 1:10. The sound quality is around 95% of the wave file.
How does MP3 work?
An Mp3 codec gets rid of parts of audio that humans cannot hear. Human ears are limited in hearing i.e. quiet sounds for short periods of time after having heard something loud. Neither are we able to hear very high or low tones. MP3 codec calculates and deletes such parts of a song. This is how MP3 achieves its great compression ratio without the apparent quality loss.
How do I play MP3s?
There are a number of MP3 players out there, from software that runs on your computer to hand-held portable MP3 players.
How do I make Mp3s?
Download an Mp3 encoder from our Mp3 Music Software page (http://www.free-mp3-downloads.com), install it, then read the Readme file that comes with the software.
Why can't I play this MP3 that I've downloaded?
There are many reasons why the MP3 is not playing. Your speakers might not be plugged in, or the volume might be set to mute. If you are sure the MP3 player is working, and only that certain MP3 is not working, then you should try re-downloading the file. You should also check the MP3 player help file and readme file as well.
The Mp3 doesn't sound right!?
If you've used Netscape to download MP3, from a improperly setup server, your MP3 might be cooked. If the MP3 sounds like squeaky noise, use Uncook95 to fix it. Please be aware that using uncook on a file that works will screw the file up.
I have bunch of .xls, .ps, .ged and other weird files. Now what?
In short, you download the files to your computer, then you must rename the files to one of the applicable extensions (mp3, zip, or rar). You must rename the files into .mp3 from whatever file extension you had before. If .mp3 does not work, you should then try renaming the file to .zip (use Winzip) and see if you can unzip it. If it still doesn't work, rename it to .rar (use WinRAR) and see if you can unrar it. Use the File Renaming Guide if you are not sure how to rename your files.
What is a mp3, wma, ogg file?
All these files are music formats that are used to store audio data. The advantage of those formats is in the size. The files are compressed with a compression method that removes the sound frequencies that people can't hear. The original data would be 10 to 20 times larger than the compressed. But this has one disadvantage: the greater the compression ratio, the worse the sound quality. The sound quality - bandwidth is measured in kbps. MP3s that have 128 kbps and more are equal to CD-quality so you can't hear a big change between the original and the mp3,wma file. Ogg and mp3pro format uses variable bitrate, so the songs with 64 kbps are CD quality too.
What is Digital Rights Management (DRM)?
Digital Rights Management is the name for the encryption and coding used by Windows Media Player 9. DRM settings prevent unauthorized access to files and limit the copying, downloading, and burning of these files.
Why is there a gap or click before each MP3 track?
Every MP3 file has at least 20 milliseconds of silence at the beginning of it. This is part of the MP3 format and cannot be removed. Most MP3 players (such as Winamp) remove these moments of silence automatically upon playback by cross fading between tracks for seamless transitions. If you wish to preserve segues between songs, it is necessary to purchase the FLAC version or join the tracks together using a .WAV joiner program The joined track can then be converted back into MP3
