About Audio Formats
Part of deciding what to offer on this Website was what audio formats to present music clips in. We chose three, out of the dozens available, because they're widely supported on many platforms; often with free or very cheap software. Here's a brief background on the three formats and some links to relevant software.
- Real Audio -
- Real Audio is widely used for streaming audio on the Web and its chief advantage is that you don't have to wait for long downloads of large audio files before you hear something. But the sound quality is not as good as either WAV or MPEG3 formats over your basic dial-up connection. You will need the Real Player 5.0 or G2 plug-in to hear these clips. It's free for Windows or Mac, get it here:
- Wave Audio -
- This is one of the most universal audio formats available. Most current and many older browsers already know how play WAV files without plug-ins or additional software. Although they're better quality than the Real Audio clips, they don't stream so you have to wait for the download before hearing anything.
- Note 1: These clips are in mono to reduce the file size
- Note 2: Netscape doesn't give you a progress indicator, so be patient
- MPEG Layer 3 Audio -
- The latest and greatest thing on the Web. MPEG Layer 3 audio provides CD-quality sound at reasonable file sizes. Although you still need to download the whole file like WAV's, the sound quality is far superior. This is for the connoisseur. You'll need an MPEG Layer 3 player to hear these clips. Excellent shareware players:
- For Windows: WinAmp... get it here:
- For Mac: MacAmp... get it here:
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Angela Motter/Hey MISTER! Records P.O. Box 5543 Atlanta, GA 31107 Voice: 404-373-5142 Fax: 404-231-5529 E-mail: info@angelamotter.com |