MP3 or WMA?

[DanGrease]

Well which one to choose? I recently bought a MP3 flash player (Jens of Sweden, 512MB) and I am of course going to transfer my music from CDs to it. This MP3 player can use both MP3 and WMA music files so the question is which one? I use Windows Media Player to transfer music from CDs to my Hard drive but it transfer it to WMA files. Should I stay with WMA or should I get another program that transfer it to MP3 files? If you compare a same song, one in WMA the other in MP3 (Both quality 128kbps) which one is better in terms of quality, size, etc? Or is it no difference between them? What do you think

dan

[Martoch]

IMHO, mp3 songs sound just as good as WMA files AND they rip to much smaller file sizes...hold on, I know I have a link somewhere.

Ok, here ya go!
http://www.thegng.org/articles/reviews/jbcformats.html

See for yourself...


EDIT: I remember helping my ex-wife with a portable mp3/wma player...she was downloading WMA songs from MusicMatch, but when she tried to drag & drop them to her mp3 player, they wouldn't go because they were all protected content files. I ripped a few of her CD's to mp3 format and they dragged/dropped without a problem...I converted her WMA files to mp3 and all was well.

[DanGrease]

Had a similar problem Big Bro.
When you transfer your files from CDs to your hard drive using Windows Media Player you can choose the quality of the WMA files which is great. But you have an other option, which is to protect the files (you cant listen to them anywhere except your computer) but I thought it would work in my MP3 even if they were protected. I dragged and dropped them to it and it actually worked. But when I put it on it couldnt play them, it seemed like the Play button didnt work. First I thought that it was something wrong with the MP3 player, but them I remembered that I did protect the files. *So users that are beginners at this should look if the files are going to be protected before transfer them to the hard drive*

Anyways thanks for your opinion and link.
dan

[Martoch]

Any time lil' international bro!


You see, she didn't have the option of downloading unprotected music, so every single one of her WMA files was protected...the crappy thing is, she paid to download them! I told her to use Kazaa Lite, even offered to set it up for her...she was just to scared that the RIAA would come busting down her front door.

Stick with mp3!

[DanGrease]

Haha, like if RIAA would come to my door.
I think the protection feature is great for some, but its an 'option' for everyone. Shouldnt be like that when you pay for the music.

dan

[OuTpaTienT]

If you're downloading the files then I'd keep them in whatever format you get them in. When you start converting between compressed formats you lose quality fast.

If you're making the files yourself from your CDs then I'd stick with mp3. Generally it's just an easier format to deal with and more universally accepted. Personally I rip CD to mp3 format at 256kbps. I think 192kbps is the minimum any mp3 should be.

[DanGrease]

What programs are you guys using to transfer and convert the CD files to MP3? Actually I always use 128kbps for my music, both MP3 and WMA, and the quality is great since CD quality is 64kbps and that is not bad either. I would use 256kbps+ when having a Hard drive MP3 player such as the iPod.

dan

[Martoch]

Use Easy CD-DA Extractor 6.5 to do your ripping/converting.

[OuTpaTienT]

Originally posted by DanGrease
What programs are you guys using to transfer and convert the CD files to MP3? Actually I always use 128kbps for my music, both MP3 and WMA, and the quality is great since CD quality is 64kbps and that is not bad either. I would use 256kbps+ when having a Hard drive MP3 player such as the iPod.

dan

64kbps CD quality? Where'd you hear that? It's not even close. Neither is 128kbps.

You need 256kbps to have sound that is indistinguishable from the CD. Which is why I use 256kbps.

Sometimes lower quality files can sound ok, but don't make the mistake of thinking they are CD quality because they are not.

[Martoch]

Much agreed...most of my friends tend to listen to 128 kbps files...I'm always like WTF? They claim their songs sound just as good as mine...pfft!!!

I normally keep 192 as my low end quality scale...320 for the songs I REALLY like!