MPEG layer 3 is a type of audio codec where processed by significant compression from the original audio source with very little loss in sound quality. The compression up to 12:1 produces very little degradation. Tighter compression can be achieved, but it will effect in sound degradation results. To obtain certain compression, we must adjust the bit rates. The standard bit rates (near cd quality result) is 128 or 112 kbit/s.
Virtually any song you can think of can be downloaded from the web in the mp3 format. There's an ongoing controversy over the legal issues regarding the posting of these files, but I'm not going into that. You can easily create custom cd's from downloaded mp3 files that will play in any cd player. All you need is a cd burner and the software (see MP3 Tools below) to convert the mp3 files to wav files. Never download mp3 files with less than a 128 bit rate or the sound quality will be undesirable. Also listen to the entire song before converting to wav to assure that the song is complete and that the mp3 file is not corrupted.
MP3 Downloads |
Audiogalaxy |
File sharing community. Download the AG Satellite. |
eMP3Finder |
Updated charts, mp3 search engine, direct downloads. |
KaZaA |
File sharing community. Better than Napster! Allows pause and resume downloading. |
NewMP3 |
Updated charts and direct downloads. |
TheMusicLover |
Updated charts, mp3 search engine, direct downloads. |
Free MP3 Players |
Winamp |
Simply the best mp3 player around. |
Quintessential Player |
Impressive MP3 and CD player that has all the popular functions. |
Sonique |
Supports MP3, WMA, S3M, MOD, IT, XM, WAV, and CD-Audio formats. You can customize Sonique by downloading plug-ins and skins. |
MP3 Tools |
AnalogX TagMaster (Freeware) |
Quickly and easily modify all of the ID3 information in individual or multiple MP3 files. |
CDex (Freeware) |
CD ripper that can convert CD digital audio and Wav files to MP3's. I features a user friendly interface and supports use of the CDDB to retrieve artist information from the internet. |
MP3 CD Burner (Shareware) |
This MP3 CD burning program allows you to use MP3 files to create audio CDs that play in any home, automotive, or portable player. There is no need to convert from MP3 to WAV -- this program burns directly from MP3s. |
MP3-Info Extension (Freeware) |
Adds a new properties page to the Windows Explorer standard dialog when you right click on an MP3 file and select Properties. In this new tab, you can fully edit the ID3-Tag and more. |
mp3Trim (Freeware) |
A simple and easy to use MP3 editor that works directly in the MP3 format without having to decode/re-encode, so it is very fast and doesn't degrade the music quality. |
Rick Wise kjkorner@softhome.net
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