Downloading
MP3's Made Easy
by: Keith
Kingston The MP3 movement started
out with a huge audience of music enthusiasts
on the internet. The MP3 digital music format
has had, and will continue to have, a huge impart
on how people, gather, listen to and share music.
The MP3 format is a compression system for digital
music that helps reduce the size of a digitized
song without disturbing the sound quality. Digital
music is converted to MP3 format and made available
for use, usually via the web. MP3 files can be
downloaded onto your computer from the internet
and special software, either commercial or freeware.
Using your computer and software you can convert
digital music from a CD into MP3 format.
MP3 files can be played in three different ways:
- They can be played directly onto your computer.
- They can be decompressed and recorded onto
a CD.
- These files can be played on a portable MP3
player.
The advantage of MP3 players is that they are
small, lightweight and rugged. They are a great
way to carry your MP3 files with you!
With a portable MP3 player, a personal computer,
and the appropriate software, you can do the following:
- Obtain free or low-cost music from the web.
- Create your own mix of music by downloading
MP3 files from the web and converting the tracks
from CDs.
- Listen to near-CD quality music wherever you
go.
- Listen to more music (up to 10 hours' worth).
If you want to convert your songs from your CDs
into MP3 files, you can use ripper and encoder
software. A ripper copies a song's file from the
CD onto your hard disk. The encoder compresses
the song into the MP3 format. By encoding songs,
you can play them on your computer or take them
with you on your MP3 player. The ripper and encoder
software may come with your MP3 player.
The specific instructions will vary with the
individual software programs, but the following
steps will definitely take place:
- Place the CD from which you want to convert
songs into your drive.
- Select the track(s) that you want to convert
to MP3 format.
- Convert the selected track(s).
- Copy the new MP3 files on to your computer's
hard disk.
Now you are ready to download these MP3 files
into your portable MP3 player.
Once you have MP3 files on your computer, you
can use the software that came with your MP3 player
to download the files into your MP3 player. Again,
the specific instructions will vary depending
upon your software program and player, but you
will:
- Create a playlist from your MP3 files.
- Plug the player into your computer's parallel
of USB port.
- Transfer the MP3 files according to the instructions.
Once you have downloaded the MP3 files into your
portable MP3 player, you are ready to take your
music anywhere. Most MP3 players are small, lightweight,
and solid-state. Because most players are solid-state,
there are no moving parts to break down or skip,
so the sound quality is uninterrupted regardless
of your physical activity. MP3 players are equipped
with various types of headphones or earpieces.
Portable MP3 players can play music longer than
a portable CD player. The length of play for a
CD player is about 74 minutes, the length of one
CD. However, the length of play for an MP3 player
depends upon its memory capacity, which can be
upgraded on some models. A standard MP3 player
can play for about half an hour (32 MB) to a few
weeks (40 GB)! Some models can be upgraded with
additional memory devices. |
