What is a MP3
What is mp3?
MP3 stands for MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group) layer 3, which
is a standard format for storing compressed music. The basic idea is
that music digitized at CD quality has information that can be
suppressed with little or no quality loss, as perceived by most
people. Thanks to this and some mathematics, it is possible to
compress a digitized track to about 8 percent of its original size,
or a compression ratio of 12:1.
This means that, while a regular music CD can contain about one hour
of music (74 minutes, actually), a similar CD used to store mp3
files can contain almost 12 hours of music.
Until a couple of years ago, the MP3 format was not very interesting
for regular users, since there was no affordable hardware to
decompress and play MP3 music on the fly. With the arrival of
Pentium processors, this changed completely. Today, inexpensive
machines with successors of the Pentium processor can easily play
MP3 files and still leave enough processing power for the user to
perform regular tasks with their computer. Many people who spend
several hours a day in front of a computer can also use it as a
sound system.
Are MP3 files illegal? Mp3
files themselves are not illegal. You can sing "Happy Birthday",
record it as a .wav file and then convert it to the mp3 format. The
problem starts when you cut a track from an audio CD. For all we
know, if you keep it to yourself and do not trade it with other
people, it is not likely that anyone will prosecute you. If the
music on the CD is copyrighted (most of it is) and you distribute
it, in most countries you are violating copyright laws if you don't
have express permission from the copyright owner.
How do I listen to mp3 files on my computer? You need a
program to play mp3 file. In addition you will need to have a sound
card and speakers or headphones!