Explaining MP3 files

     The MP3 format has completely rewritten the rules of music distribution. And with the growing popularity of MP3 players, it is moving beyond the computer.

     MPEG is the acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group. This group has developed compression systems used for video data. For example, DVD movies, HDTV broadcasts and DSS satellite systems use MPEG compression to fit video and movie data into smaller spaces. The MPEG compression system includes a subsystem to compress sound, called MPEG Audio Layer-3. We know it by its abbreviation, MP3.

     The MP3 format is a compression system for music. This format helps to reduce the number of bytes in a song, without hurting the quality of the song's sound. The goal of the MP3 format is to compress a CD-quality song by a factor of 10 to 14, without losing the CD sound quality. A 32-megabyte (MB) song on a CD compresses down to about 3 MB on MP3. This lets you download a song in minutes rather than hours, and you can store 10 to 20 songs on an MP3 player using a relatively small amount of memory.

     The MP3 format is a compression system for digital music that helps reduce the size of a digitized song without hurting the sound quality. Digital music is converted to MP3 format and made available for individual use, usually on the Web. You can download MP3 files from the Internet using your computer and special software, either commercial or freeware. You can also convert digital music from a CD into MP3 format using your computer and commercial or free software.

     You can play MP3 files in three different ways:

• You can play them directly on a personal computer
• You can decompress an MP3 file and record it onto a CD
• You can play MP3 files 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!