MP3 players: Any point in converting WMA to MP3? Please read!!!
Any point in converting WMA to MP3? Please read!!!
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 4:25 PMWell, I've been using this URGE thing with windows media player. I was just curious and signed up for a trial account. I hate microsoft but I'd have to give props to urge for this.
Problem is that is is all in WMA format. 192KBPS
My questions:
Would there be any point in converting this to MP3?
How long would it take to convert them to MP3? (2000 + files)
(2.8ghz mobile p4, 480MB)
Would there be any quality gain?
My main concern is the quality of WMA because I have a Rio Karma (one of the best sounding mp3 players made, imho) and I want to be able to utilize it's ability to play quality sound to the fullest.
Please let me know what I should do. Thanks guys!
keep as is
by ktreb - 2/4/07 4:37 PM In reply to: Any point in converting WMA to MP3? Please read!!! by moises9485As long as you have a player that plays them, I see no point in converting. If these are protected wma files then there is no legal way of converting them to mp3 anyway, other than the burn to audio cd then ripping them into mp3. Doing it this way takes a while and you would lose quality.
sooo
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 4:50 PM In reply to: keep as is by ktrebTheoretically, there is a program that removes the protection... If one could do this then convert to mp3 would that help?
Or for example, if you had an unprotected wma @ 192kbps and you converted it to mp3 would there be a quality gain? thanks
and one more thing
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 4:54 PM In reply to: sooo by moises9485MP3 @ 128kbps vs WMA @ 192kbps whats better and how differnt in sound are they. thanks
my ears can't tell the difference
by ktreb - 2/4/07 5:06 PM In reply to: and one more thing by moises9485but that's only because I have some hearing loss. I believe that 192 kbps wma would sound better than 128 kbps mp3.
no quality gain
by ktreb - 2/4/07 5:02 PM In reply to: sooo by moises9485You're going from one lossy format to another. You can't put back in what was never there in the first place. If you're converting from one format to another you may have some, possibly indetectable quality loss, but you won't have a quality gain.
okay
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 5:08 PM In reply to: no quality gain by ktrebbut will the 192kbps sound as good as 128kbps mp3?
sorry
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 5:10 PM In reply to: okay by moises9485i didnt see your reply above. That's good news then... Does anyone else wanna input on this? Thanks 
to me it sounds
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 6:46 PM In reply to: sorry by moises9485a little bright and distorted... not very happy w/ this... are there similar or better music services that provide mp3?
most legal download services employ drm
by ktreb - 2/4/07 7:41 PM In reply to: to me it sounds by moises9485So they either sell protected wma (like URGE) or aac (iTunes)
However, there are two that come to mind that sell mp3s:
eMusic and Audio Lunchbox. Both encode most of their songs in VBR 192 kbps.
These are subscription services, but they are not of the all you can download type since they do not use copy protection. You pay a monthly fee and you get a certain number of monthly downloads that match your fee level. Once downloaded, you own them. You can download to as many devices as you want and can burn to cd as many times as you want.
One caveat, is that while they have mainstream stuff, they tend to skew toward independent labels and artists so you may not find what you are looking for. eMusic offers a free trial. Audio Lunchbox doesn't appear to, but you can go on a month to month basis or buy a la carte (at .99 per track)
sooo
by moises9485 - 2/4/07 7:53 PM In reply to: most legal download services employ drm by ktrebwhat it sounds like to me is that the wma are offered in unlimited downloads because they can protect the files. The downside is the quality loss even if converted to another format yes?
If one wants mp3 or better quality then they are available $0.99 a song? (Damn, what I just downloaded would have cost $2,200 if i paid like that) But either way there are no unlimited mp3 downloads right?
So I guess ill google for unlimited mp3s if there is such a thing but other than that I guess not. Ill take a look. Let me know if i follow you right. thanks
unlimited downloads in wma
by ktreb - 2/4/07 8:35 PM In reply to: sooo by moises9485These are tied into monthly subscription services. You can play these songs and if applicable, download them to compatible devices. However, once you stop paying the monthly fee, you will no longer be able to play them on your computer nor will you be able to play them on your device (you're supposed to sync it at least once a month to "renew" your license to play them). You are rent them, rather than own them. Such services usually do not allow cd burning or any other type of conversion unless you pay to keep the song - usually .99 or sometimes less.
Yes, you are right...if you convert them (if you can) to another format there will be a loss in quality. How big of a loss to you depends on your ear. You can't improve the quality. You have to have something that is high quality to begin with. Both wma and mp3 are lossy formats - you lose information in the compression.
So, you won't necessarily get better quality by downloading mp3s. You'll probably get the best quality if you purchase the cd then rip it to your computer in a higher bitrate or in a lossless format. But these result in bigger files.
As far as I know, there are no LEGAL sites that allow unlimited mp3 downloads. Anything that claims to is more than likely illegal and such discussion in this forum will most likely result in the thread being locked.
Good Luck!
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