MP3 players: mp3 and m4a
mp3 and m4a
by Anamacha - 9/5/05 7:56 PMwhat's the difference between an MP3 file and an M4A file? What are the limitations of m4a? (as far as I know, mp3s can be played anywhere, at any time, by anything)
thanks!
Anam
That's right
by - 9/6/05 9:37 AM In reply to: mp3 and m4a by AnamachaYou just about said it yourself.
MP3 can be played by virtually anything anywhere, anytime.
M4A is limited to the PC and I-Pod. The sound quality is supposed to be better than MP3, but I don't really think that that makes it worth using.
Also keep in mind that if you convert your MP3 collection to M4A, you will lose some sound quality in the process.
ok ...
by Anamacha - 9/7/05 2:08 AM In reply to: That's right bythen if I don't care to be limited like that, how can I convert files from m4a (which seems to be the default method of iTunes-PC to import things) to mp3 ?
thanks!
You made that up!
by mrmacfixit
- 9/7/05 9:46 AM
In reply to: Well... by
A little research goes a long way. Check out www.m4a.com for the real answers. This is just a snippet from the site. It is NOT just an Apple thing.
"M4A stands for MPEG 4 Audio, and it is a popular file extension used to represent audio files. Most people are familiar with MP3 and how it shrinks down the file size of songs and other audio files. M4A and MP4 do the same thing as MP3 does, but even better. Quality is better and file sizes are usually smaller than MP3 files. But unlike MP3, no licenses or payments are required to be able to stream or distribute content in M4A format (unlike MP3 which requires you to pay royalties on content you distribute in MP3 format). This fact alone, is more than enough reason (due to the extreme cost savings) to use M4A files instead of MP3 files. In addition, M4A files tend to sound much better than MP3 files encoded at the same bitrate."
P
confused
by Anamacha - 9/7/05 3:02 PM In reply to: You made that up! by mrmacfixit
so m4a files are better than MP3 files, and they also have the portability of MP3 files? That is, they can be played anywhere?
That's what I got from what you said ...
M4A and MP3
by mrmacfixit - 9/8/05 4:57 AM
In reply to: confused by Anamacha
If you have a player, any player, that supports M4A then the answer is yes, it is as portable as MP3
However, if you purchased a player that does not support M4A, then the answer is NO.
It all depends on the capabilities of your player.
M4a is the next standard UP from MP3 and is controlled by the same organisation.
P
MP3 or M4A
by fondy - 9/10/05 8:08 AM In reply to: That's right by''Also keep in mind that if you convert your MP3 collection to M4A, you will lose some sound quality in the process.''
That's why it's best to rip your CDs to a lossless format like FLAC, rather than a lossy format like MP3, WMA, M4A, etc.
Get yourself a large hard drive or DVD burner, rip your CDs to lossless, then stick those CDs in a closet somewhere and never touch them again. Later on, when you decide to try out the new lossy flavor of the month, you can use the lossless copies of your music to convert from, rather than using the CDs.
The advantages with this method are:
no unnecessary damage to sound quality,
you won't have to load CDs,
or mess with ID3 tags,
or babysit the conversion process.
Not just the iPod
by Galley - 9/21/05 6:24 PM In reply to: That's right byMany car stereos now support .m4a AAC files on CD-Rs.
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