Tumbleweed Music Festival
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Tumbleweed Music Festival
About Three Rivers Folklife Society |
Become a Member
Concerts |
Coffee Houses |
Contra Dances |
Song Circles
NW Links |
World Links |
Geek Venue |
Home |
Contents
Three
Rivers
Folklife
Society
Sound clips in "mp3" format
Why mp3?
The file extension "mp3" is an abbreviation for "Audio layer 3 of MPEG." Here, "MPEG," pronounced "em-peg," denotes the Motion Picture Experts Group, an international organization that formulates standards for electronic encoding of video and audio files (i.e., for representing pictures and sound as a string of bits). We at 3RFS formerly offered sound clips encoded in the Windows "wav" format, but we have switched to mp3. In either format, we have to choose between offering better audio quality, or offering smaller file sizes (faster downloads). For a given audio quality, the mp3 files are much smaller. This allows us to offer better quality sound, in stereo, with files that are about half the size of our former mono wav files. If you have a broadband Internet connection (DSL, cable modem, ... ), the shorter download times may not be that noticeable, but our many viewers connected through 56K, or slower, acoustic modems will greatly appreciate the shorter download times. And everyone will enjoy better quality sound.
What do you need to play mp3 sound clips?
Your present sound card will work fine. But you may need to install a software mp3 player. An increasing number of players are available for download. Some of them also play other formats (wav, au, real audio, liquid audio, ... ) as well. Many of the players are freeware; some are shareware; a few are purchase ware. Sometimes a basic version of a player is free, while a version with additional features is available for purchase (often $15-$30). The sound quality will be the same with any of these players. They differ in appearance, ease of use, and extra features. The 3RFS does not review or endorse specific mp3 players but, for your convenience, we list four of the free possibilites below.
Nullsoft Winamp Player (Windows 95/98/NT)
Real Player 7 Basic (Windows and Macintosh)
Microsoft Windows Media Player (Windows and Macintosh)
SoundApp (Macintosh)
For additional players (including some for Linux or BeOS), and for review comments on specific players, you might check the mp3.com software page. You can locate other sites devoted to mp3 by using a search engine. Please feel free to e-mail us comments on your own experience with the above players, or with any others you try.
Three Rivers Folklife Society welcomes your comments, suggestions, or questions
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