What is MP3 and do I need it?

MP3 is one of the most popular music file formats. The most obvious reason is that a song in the MP3 format is much smaller than the same song on a CD.

An MP3 file can be up to ten times smaller than the original file. This makes it ideal for use on the Internet where file size is important. MP3 files have become a very popular way of storing music on both portable devices (MP3 players and mobile phones) and computers.

What is the MP3 format?

MP3 is a compression format for audio files. MP3 removes all the superfluous information the human ear can't hear. An MP3 file is near CD-quality but does not sound exactly the same but it is very close. Because certain parts of a song can be removed without significantly hurting the sound quality you get a smaller file size.

Hundreds of CD-quality songs in your pocket

A regular song on a CD is about 35 MB. The same song in MP3 will be about 3.5 MB. Therefore a regular CD will be able to hold 12 hrs versus the standard 74 minutes. With a portable MP3 player you can have hundreds of CD-quality songs in your pocket. An MP3 player is also skip-free, lightweight and durable.

How do you transfer songs to an MP3 player?

You connect most MP3 players to your computer using the USB interface. You just plug in the cable and the MP3 player can be used as any other drive on your computer. Some MP3 players require special software but mostly you just have to connect it and you are ready to go. Some portable devices use other interfaces but USB is by far the most popular.

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