What are
MP3s?
For those of you who are
unfamiliar with
MP3s,
they are audio files recorded in MPEG level 3 encoding
standards. MPEG means Moving Picture Expert Group. MP3
audio provides one major advantage over the majority of
today's encoding methods. That is, it can store
CD quality
audio in a relatively small
audio file. When recording at 16-bit stereo sound, the
average WAV file of a song can be anywhere from 35-50 MB
in size. This is too enormous for it to be used for much
good. However, by encoding the audio in MP3, a
compression ratio of about
11:1
is possible
without any
degradation of sound
quality.
This means your average song file will no longer be 35-50
MB, but instead about
3-5MB in
size.
This allows these audio files to be used more effectively
as they can easily be stored in bulk amounts, or
transferred over a network or the Internet. Streaming is
also possible for most fast connections and can allow
CD quality
transmissions over the
Internet.
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