Creative Nomad II MG User's Guide download pdf (Page 53)

MP3 Primer 39

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MP3

is an acronym for Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) Layer 3—an audio data compression standard

that can reduce the size of digital sound files by a 12:1 ratio with virtually no loss in quality. It is an efficient

method of storing high-quality music or other audio content on your computer.

MP3 files can be very small—compared to the size of a commercial CD audio file—yet retain high sound quality.

MP3 files usually have the file name extension .MP3, and can be downloaded from the Internet, or can be legally

made for personal use from audio CDs that you purchase.

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Audio CD

extraction

is the first phase in the MP3 conversion process.

Extraction

is the reading of data from an

audio CD and storing it temporarily on your hard drive. The audio data is extracted from the CD file by means of

an application (commonly called a

ripper

) and copied to a file on your computer’s hard disk drive.

The time required for extracting data from an audio CD depends on the speed of the CD-ROM drive. The speed

ratings commonly seen on CD-ROM drives—such as 8X, 24X, etc.—refers to the speed at which it can read data.

Your particular drive may be fast for data, but slow for audio.

Another factor is the condition of the CD, such as defects or scratches on its surface. When playing the audio CD

in a CD-ROM drive, the data lost due to error is negligible. But when data is read incorrectly and put through the

MP3 encoding phase, the distortion is highly noticeable. To avoid distortion, the audio CD extraction software

may read the data two or three times to make sure it is read correctly. This error-checking feature is an option in

most audio CD data extraction software—be sure error-checking is enabled in your audio CD extraction software.

It is illegal to encode MP3

files for trade or sale unless

you have the expressed and

explicit permission of the

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Creative Nomad II MG User's Guide Page 53