The MP3 player market covers a range of shapes, sizes, features, storage capacities, file formats, and download services. Amid such variety, how are you to choose? This guide will help you pick the perfect player.
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1. What are my choices? 2. How does an MP3 player work? 3. What kind of MP3 user am I? |
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4.
What else can I do with an MP3 player? 5. Where do I get music? 6. What else do I need? |
How does an MP3 player work
Find out what makes it possible for us to listen to a bunch of 1s and 0s.
The inner workings:
Digitising music | Compression | Playback | File types at a glance
Digitising music
At their most basic level, digital music such as MP3s looks a
lot like any other computer data file: a long series of 1s
and 0s. In order to turn an analog signal (such as one picked
up by a standard microphone) into a digital stream, ADC
(analog-to-digital converter) software measures the signal at
a regular interval to find the sampling rate. These
samples, if measured close enough together, form a near-exact
representation of the analog signal so as to approximate the
transmission using 1s and 0s that computers and MP3 players
can read.
Compression
Each second of true CD-quality sound takes up more than 1.3MB
of disk space, which is why file-compression technology is
essential to digital audio, especially portable audio. Using
principles of psychoacoustics (how the brain perceives
sound) and perceptual coding (eliminating
imperceptible sounds), engineers develop algorithms, called
codecs (compression decompression), that compress
songs into the smallest possible sizes with minimal loss of
quality. The sound depends on two factors: the quality of
this compression algorithm and the bit rate at which the song
is encoded, measured in Kbps.
Playback
When you play a digital file, you essentially reverse the
analog-to-digital process. A digital audio device, such as an
MP3 player or a computer sound card, uses a DAC
(digital-to-analog converter) to turn the 1s and 0s back into
an analog signal that can then be amplified and broadcast
over headphones or speakers. The sound depends on the
attributes and quality of the digital file, the DAC chip in
the player, the amount of distortion and hiss added by
interference from the device's other circuitry, and the audio
output level of your headphones or speakers.
When a digital device plays music that has been compressed
by a codec, software on its chip (called firmware)
applies the codec to decode the file, then sends the
decompressed 1s and 0s to the DAC.
File formats at a glance
The first format or codec to gain widespread acceptance was
MP3, but there are now a variety of players on the market
that support AAC, WMA, OGG, and other formats. This table
will help you sort out the alphabet soup and determine which
codecs you need in an MP3 player.
| Format | Comments |
| AAC | Advanced Audio Coding, developed by Dolby Laboratories and best known as the format used in iPods. Apple and Real use their own DRM (digital rights management) technology to secure AAC downloads for iTunes and Real Rhapsody. The iPod is the solitary player that accepts copy-protected AAC files and only those from iTunes Music Store. |
| AUD | Audible, the format used by Audible.com, is designed for spoken audio content such as audiobooks and talk radio programs, including NPR. Most portable music players also support AUD. |
| FLAC | Free Lossless Audio Codec, an open-source format that uses a clever algorithm to preserve every 1 and 0 found in the uncompressed file. Though not widely implemented, lossless formats such as FLAC are popular with audiophiles who disdain "lossy" formats (MP3, WMA, and so on) that further compress files. |
| MP3 | Motion Pictures Experts Group Layer 3 is such a mouthful, it's no wonder the abbreviation has taken over. In fact, MP3 is the Kleenex of digital music -- so common, it's become shorthand for all portable players whether they use this format, though nearly all do. The eMusic online music store and most file-sharing networks use MP3. |
| MP3Pro | The latest from Thomson/RCA (the company that licenses MP3 to manufacturers and developers), MP3Pro sounds better than MP3 at the same bit rate. However, it hasn't been widely adopted by manufacturers other than RCA. |
| OGG | Ogg Vorbis is the underdog of this group. It sounds great, and because it is open source, there are no licensing fees when it's used to encode or play music -- a fact that probably makes developers of other codecs a bit nervous. Although it's not as widespread as AAC, MP3, or WMA in players or online music services, OGG could gain traction as consumers grow more sophisticated in their digital audio usage and developers look for ways to cut down on licensing costs. |
| WMA | Windows Media Audio, Microsoft's format, sounds better than MP3 at the same bit rate. Some WMA files include copy protection, but others do not (if you left the "Copy protect music" box checked under the Options menu in Windows Media Player you've been ripping copy-protected WMAs). Many players support WMA, and the online music stores Napster and BuyMusic also use secure WMA. |
| WAV/AIFF | This is uncompressed audio, like what you'd find on a standard audio CD. For the most part, WAVs are found on Windows machines, while AIFFs live on Macs. |
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Hen
03/10/2004 07:40 AM
Nice review, answered all my questions.
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ray
05/10/2004 03:16 AM
Great review, able to confirm the mp3 players I looked at airport duty free were all that was available, now, all I have to do is buy one.
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Bobra Wilbakns
06/04/2005 10:37 PM
We're looking for an MP3 player with high output for use with helmet set for motorcycling. Many MP3 players we've tried can't be heard above standard, normal motorcycle pipes when using a full-face helmet and volume and equalizer turned up all the way. Any suggestions?
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nick
26/07/2005 12:24 AM
i have bought an mp3 player and wanted more info on the diferent formats. i would like to know which format i should put my music onto the mp3 player. MP3 and WMA are the obvious ones and all my music is on my computer as WMA at 192kbps. i want to get as many songs on my mp3 player as possible and a resonable quality. will i fit more on with mp3s or WMAs at similar qualities. if someone can explain the differences or know a website that gives this information please email me at nick___X@hotmail.com
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daveinozbikes
13/01/2006 11:37 PM
This cleared my mind..hard to get straightforward info. for a beginner...well done..Dave in Mandurah,WA
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Pat
15/08/2006 03:47 AM
is there a mp3 player out there that records off the radio and plays videos, but is not huge??
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Neale
13/09/2006 05:17 AM
Need to update this article. Flash based players are now at 8GB and will grow larger, fast. The way to go is; 1. Flash; 2. Replaceable battery; 3. Drag and drop.
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aleesha
16/11/2006 03:43 PM
i loved the video and all of the great info a big thank you to all the mavens out there well done. Cheers~Aleesha
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Steve Farless
03/12/2006 12:26 AM
I have not experienced any skipping problems with my CD mp3 player, the only complaint I have is that they’re rough on batteries. I love the concept and I hope they work on a solution.
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