MP3 files - size

[twmiller]

MP3 files seem to be a bit large. I would like to copy some music on my 3700 ipaq but…

1 – I don’t want to spend mega $$$ on storage card and sleeve
2 – I don’t want to strip my PPC down – minimal programs and files

Is there any alternative? Has anyone invented a compression (Zip) type utility that would work?

Thanks!

[Pat Logsdon]

Try OGG. I've had good luck converting my MP3 files to the OGG format. The files are maybe half the size and (to me, at least) sound as good as a 128k MP3 when transcoded at 64k. Check out dbPowerAmp (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm)and one of the free players like WinamPaq (http://www.freewareppc.com/multimedia/winampaq.shtml). You'll probably have to fiddle a bit to find the setting that you like the best, but once that's done, you can batch encode all of your existing MP3 files. 8)

[Deus]

I don't know of a way you can compress them witha zip and still run them. You can convert them to wma to shrink the size. You can keep them MP3 and just lower the bit rate, but you would be sacraficing performance. I know you said you don't want to spend $$ on storage, but a larger sd card, like 1GB, will only cost you about $50.

[Sven Johannsen]

The theory says that a 64k encoded wma sounds as good as a 128K encoded mp3. I would agree, but every ear is different. The key though is to re-rip in 64K wma, not try to transcode one lossy coding into another. I would go so far as to say you would get better sound if you cut the mp3s to an audio CD and then re-ripped that, than if you truied to just go from mp3 to wma.

[ADBrown]

MP3 files seem to be a bit large. I would like to copy some music on my 3700 ipaq but…

1 – I don’t want to spend mega $$$ on storage card and sleeve
2 – I don’t want to strip my PPC down – minimal programs and files

Is there any alternative? Has anyone invented a compression (Zip) type utility that would work?

Thanks!

Is price of storage really a concern these days? You can get a 1 GB CF card for under $40.

[Sven Johannsen]

Is price of storage really a concern these days? You can get a 1 GB CF card for under $40.

If you have an older iPaq and don't already have the sleeve to support the flash media, then it is questionable whether investing in it at this point is worthwhile.

[tanalasta]

Try OGG. I've had good luck converting my MP3 files to the OGG format.

If you use ogg format, you will need a third party media player (e.g. pocketplayer) on your PPC as I don't think PPC WMP will play this format.

I would agree that wma is a decent format to use on a PPC and would take less space than mp3.

I don't know of a way you can compress them witha zip and still run them

I don't know of a way either - but there really isn't much point. A mp3 or other audio file is already compressed and the space-saving you will gain from zipping the file would be minimal. Along the lines of <1-2%.

Lastly, memory cards have really gone down in price over the last few months. You can get a 512Mb card for under US$70. And 256Mb cards for much much less than that. Even Ebay has a healthy selection at a very good price... :P

[Darius Wey]

The key is to either encode directly from the original uncompressed source, thereby minimising further encoding losses that you get from encoding from an already-compressed file to another compressed file.

WMAs and OGGs are always a good choice. If you've got very sensitive ears, you can tell the difference between low bitrates of these formats, and high bitrate MP3s. Of course, for normal use, it shouldn't be too much of a bother, but if something like this can annoy you, I'd ensure that you know the ups and downs of going to a lower bitrate of another codec. I, myself, have sensitive ears, so I tend to stay away from it if possible - but sometimes, I just have to make that compromise if I'm running low on storage space.

[nategesner]

If memory availability is an issue, installing a 3rd party program to play OGG won't fix the problem for you. Since a memory card doesn't seem to be an option, you really need a way to compress your music files so they don't take up much space. Here's the solution: MP3 Pro.

I burned my CD using Media Player at 128kb. It sounded better than a regular MP3 and took up about half the space. Then I burned the same CD using MP3 Pro at 96kb. It sounded as good as the media player files and took almost half the space. An entire album is less than 25 MB at the highest quality. Reduce the quality a little and your album will be even smaller and still sound good.

The best part is that MP3 Pro will play on almost any MP3 player. If the player is not compatible with MP3 Pro format, it will simply play it at the standard MP3 quality. And by using MP3 Pro format, the music files will sound great on your computer!

[Darius Wey]

The best part is that MP3 Pro will play on almost any MP3 player. If the player is not compatible with MP3 Pro format, it will simply play it at the standard MP3 quality. And by using MP3 Pro format, the music files will sound great on your computer!

Woah - hang on. You will need to have the MP3Pro file format installed on your computer for it to take advantage of the enhanced technology. If you don't, it won't play at the original bitrate, but rather at the newly encoded bitrate. For example, if you convert a 192kbps MP3 to a 96kbps MP3Pro, and proceed to play it on a computer lacking the MP3Pro codec, you will only get an MP3 that sounds like a 96kbps MP3 - a little lacklustre in audio quality in my opinion.

And even still, while they claim that you can chop down an MP3 to half its bitrate in an MP3Pro file and it should sound the same as the original MP3 file, this is not the case. There is some offloading of particular frequencies, and MP3Pro lacks some of the special audio qualities when you go to a bitrate that low. In my opinion, if you still want better audio quality, stick with MP3s unless your MP3Pro files are of a high bitrate.

[nategesner]

Actually, if you want to take advantage of MP3 Pro, you shouldn't convert a standard MP3 file to the new format. You should burn the original CD in MP3 format. Otherwise, information will be lost in the translation.

As I said before, even if you don't have something capable of playing MP3 Pro format, a standard MP3 player will still play the file. It just won't take full advantage of the MP3 Pro format and some quality will be lost. However, it still sounds better than a standard MP3 and it still takes up a lot less space.

[Darius Wey]

Actually, if you want to take advantage of MP3 Pro, you shouldn't convert a standard MP3 file to the new format. You should burn the original CD in MP3 format. Otherwise, information will be lost in the translation.

:frusty: Sorry, I worded it badly in my last post. That was what I meant though. When comparing a 96kbps MP3Pro to a 192kbps MP3, both encoded from the original source, the latter still sounds better. However, if both are at the same bitrate, that's another story, and it depends if it's at a low-end bitrate, or a high-end bitrate.