MP3 Files and MP3 Players Explained
Without MP3 files, where would the world of podcasting be? We love MP3s and this page looks at the format and some of the players in the Player world
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We featured mp3 files and players in Show 11.
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What is MP3?
OK, so you've come across the term MP3... and hopefully listened to one of our podcasts in MP3 format... but what is it?
MP3 is an audio compression format, used to squeeze audio into a small file. The full name for the mp3 format is MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. As far as the world is concerned, mp3 is a small, convenient way to copy, transfer and listen to music. The format is what's called 'lossy', meaning that the act of compressing a music track loses some of the original audio data - ideally in a way that the human ear doesn't notice.
MP3 files can be played on a range of devices, including desktop PCs and MACs, mobile phones, PDAs and of course MP3 Players. This makes them an ideal format to back up your media - such as cassettes and vinyl. For more on the subject of archiving your audio, take a listen to Show 21 of our podcast, where we cover this on more detail.
Is the iPod 'all that'?
80% of the players out there are iPods, so Apple must be doing something right. Sure, they're stylist products with a great name, but can you get something better for your cash? On Cast 11, we compared the iPod video with the Creative Vision:M and found which was the best buy. Controversial, but the Vision:M won... Here's our comparison chart:
| iPod Video 30gig | Creative Zen Vision:M 30 gig | |
| Battery life | Up to 14 hours | Up to 16 hours |
| Size | 103.5 × 61.8 × 11 mm | 104 x 62 x 18.6mm |
| Audio formats | MP3, AAC, Protected AAC (Apple iTunes |
MP3, WMA, WMA (with PlaysForSure), Audible, WAV |
| Video formats | H.264-LC , H.264-BP and MPEG-4 SP MPEG-4 or H.264 |
WMV9, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP (inc DivX 4 & 5), XviD, Motion-JPEG |
| Extras |
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The Vision:M wins for us, with it's FM radio and wider choice of supported formats. It also isn't tied to Apple's iTunes, meaning you can get MP3 files from a wider range of stores, and move them around.
MP3 Players
In Cast 11, we looked at a few players that offered something over-and-above the basic features. Tale a look at some of our favourites:
Creative Zen Vision M
Available from around for £150 from retailers including: Play.com and Pixmania.co.uk. |
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 Oono Mini Dab OneThis is a feature-crammed MP3 player that has a DAB radio, MP3 recorder, FM radio and voice recorder onboard. It has a built-in speaker, one-touch or time record of FM/DAB radio, can record from a built-in or external mic, and has a usable built-in speaker. Seller for us was that it has a Line-in socket, so can record directly from a CD or cassette player, without requiring a PC. Audio is stored on removable SD cards, for ease of expandability and transfer to other devices. Have they thought of everything? The Oono MiniDab One is available from AdvancedMP3players (with free 2Gig card while stocks last) and Amazon |
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Released in 2006, this is currently our favourite MP3 player. Here's why:
iRiver U10
Samsung YP-K5
Oakley Thump
Cowon iAudio D2
Microsoft Zune
iPod Video, Nano, iPhone and Shuffle
Three top MP3 gadgets
Available from Maplin, Firebox and I want one of those. |
Cassette to MP3: Stuck with stacks of cassettes in a box taking up space? Never listen to them, but daren't throw away those precious audio memories? Well, give those old C60 and C90 audio cassettes a new lease of life by copying them to MP3 format. Use this to copy your cassettes to a PC format, and once converted, you can transfer your audio to your MP3 player, and listen again to all those old memories, before your cassettes deteriorate with age. Get the USB twin cassette deck version from Firebox, Argos and Maplin, which comes with all the stuff you need, and plugs into a spare USB port on your PC
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 FM transmitters for MP3: In December 2006, the UK Government finally agreed that the previously-banned FM transmitters used illegally by many people in the UK to re-broadcast their MP3 players to their in-car FM radio... could now be used legally. If you want to get your MP3 player transmitting to your FM radio, take a look at the range of short-range FM transmitters at AdvancedMP3players and Play.com. Prices start from around £10. iPod users may want to try the Griffin iTrip. |
Vinyl to MP3: Looking to transfer your old vinyl collection to MP3 format? Take a look at the ION USB turntable, as mentioned in Show 05. It's belt-driven, has adjustable gain, plays 33, 45 and even 78s (with a special stylus), and comes with software to let you dub off your music to MP3, WAV or WMV formats, ideal for your iPod or MP3 player. The software supplied can be used to remove those lovely vinyl pops and crackles. The USB turntable from ION also has line-level RCA outputs, so can be connected into a hi-fi's CD or AUX in feeds, if required.
More on MP3 formats
Here's a little more information on the MP3 audio format. There are two key numbers associated with MP3 files, the encoding bitrate and sample rate. Here's a quick look at what they mean... so you can show off your knowledge to your friends...
Bitrate: This represents the number of bits of data being processed per second. This value has an impact on filesize and quality. As a rough guide, here's a summary of the type of quality you can expect from an MP3 file at various bitrates:
- 8 kbit/s — Telephone line quality
- 32 kbit/s — Speech (medium wave radio quality)
- 96 kbit/s — Speech with music (FM radio quality)
- 192 kbit/s — Pretty decent quality, most unlikely to notice a difference with CD
- 320 kbit/s — High quality, almost no audio loss
Sampling rate: Number of digital samples of audio taken per second - measured in kilohertz (kHz). The most common sampling rate is 44.1kHz, which is used for CD audio
Other formats
If you're more interested in quality-vs-quantity, there's a small number of lossless audio formats out there - notably: Apple Lossless Audio Codec (ALAC or M4A) for your Apple iPod or the iPhone, FLAC (Free Lossless Codec) an open-source format, or Windows Media Audio Lossless (WMA) which is supported by Microsoft's Windows Media Player version 9 and above.
MP3 FAQ
| Converting Apple Music | If you've bought your music from Apple's iTunes There is a workaround though. You can use iTunes |
| Where can I get MP3 audio? | If you're looking for a good collection of audio books, MP3 files and podcasts, try Audible.co.uk. For music, take a look at HMV as an alternative to iTunes. Users of the iPod may want to take advantage of the iTunes podcast feeds (see www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts |
| How do I convert to MP3? | If you want to convert an audio format such as WAV or WMA to MP3, there are several converters out there. Our favourite is Easy CD-DA from www.poikosoft.com. You'll also find that the iTunes software handles conversion of some file types to MP3. |
| Problems connecting | Having a problem connecting your MP3 player to your PC? Here are a few suggestions:
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Got a question on MP3 players or MP3 files that we can answer in the next show? Call 020 8133 4567 or send us a message
More information:
- MP3 Listener Survey - Results of our recent podcast survey on MP3 usage
- Get more from your MP3 Player - Our feature on add-ons and extras
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