My personal preference is using Variable Bitrate. Back in the day, quite a few MP3 players were not able to handle VBR (Variable BitRate), but today it will be hard to find and MP3 player that cannot handle VBR. Variable bitrates have the advantage that the bitrate only goes up when needed, which results in a more efficient compression (ie. My prefence, for compatibility reasons: MP3. Specially in the lower bitrates (below 256 Kbps) you might her a difference - MIGHT being the operative word here. Pretty much anything plays MP3’s, but only some devices play Apple’s AAC. Your choice in the end is a matter of how well your hearing is, available storage space, and personal opinion in the matter. I most certainly would avoid anything below 128 Kbps.įor high quality MP3’s we look at 256 Kbps – 320 Kbps. Personally, I think that for normal use 128 Kbps – 192 Kbps can be considered good and suitable for most situations. So we need to find a balance between size and quality if storage is a concern – In other words: how many MP3 songs will fit on your MP3 player. The lower the bitrate, the worse the quality, but also the smaller the file will be. Bitrateīitrate, or how many samples are taken per second, can have a significant influence on the quality of your MP3’s. The short version: Look for MP3’s with a variable bitrate ≥ 128 Kbps (normal use) or ≥ 256 Kbps (high quality). Note that MP3’s come in several “quality” parameters to which you should pay attention … Of course, there is always the option to copy your music CD’s to MP3 ( MacOS X).

There are several ways you can get your hands on MP3’s, some are free, some are kind-a free, and some are not free at all. Other countries, like The Netherlands, are more liberal when it comes to this – Consumers pay a few cents extra for empty media, and for personal use you are allowed to make a copy (see Stichting Thuiskopie).Īlrighty then – you now know what your responsibilities are in this matter … Methods to get MP3’s But it’s all a matter of interpretation – so think for yourself before you act! Fair use proponents however claim that the law leaves room for making a private backup (in the US: DMCA or Digital Millenium Copyright Act). The movie industry in general does not want you to copy a DVD for any reason. Laws, when it comes to copying Copyrighted materials, differ from country to country. It is your responsibility to be aware of these laws and comply to them. See also our Disclaimer! This article is not intended to promote pirating Copyrighted Materials!

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