MP3 or WMA?

heatherw_01

I have personal music player and wondered what bitrate and format to use?

Any recommendations?

Edit to say I am ripping from my cd's and I have a 30gb player

sra

MP3 is the most flexible format and the most likely to work on the maximum number of medial players. WMA will restrict you should you want to change in the future - though more and more players can use it

For MP3s, 128 i generally considered middle-of-the-road 'acceptable' and a lot of rippers default to that as it's a good comprimise between size and quality. Less than that and you start to notice.
I do 192 because I like the slightly higher quality.
Higher than that and it's really a matter of preference. Some people with a very good ear can tell the difference while I don't think most people can

wolfman

Format: Mp3 - it's the most versatile format out there, and offers excellent quality.

Encoder: Lame - there are a number of encoders that'll create mp3's for you, Lame is the best around.

Bit Rate: Use one of Lame's presets for best results. I use "extreme" which gives a variable bit rate of around 220kbps. "Standard" is ok too, which is 192kbps variable. It's worth encoding at a high bit rate given how cheap storage space is. 320kbps is as close to "cd quality" as you'll get. I used to encode at 128kbps, but noticed the bass was a lot flatter (especially when playing through my B&W's) and less crisp.

To do the above, try using an application called CDex.
http://www.download.com/CDex/3000-2140-10226370.html
It comes with the Lame encoder inbuilt. Easy to use, light and accurate. It can also tag your mp3's (is a good idea to do) automatically using the cddb (online).

Another format I like is Ogg as it's open source. It's not as common as mp3 or as well supported, but there aren't any license fee's to pay which is why its codec can be included in Linux distro's and the mp3 codec can't.

David_B_2

Personelly I use MP3 like lost of the world, never really liked using Windows Media files as they are limited to players and software were MP3 will play with allmost anything. Size wise for storage I belive MP3 is smaller and therefore better. I tend to stick to cd quality what ever bit rate that is.

Not sure this helps you?

Poppycat

I play 192kbps and use lame with Easy CD-DA extractor although I d have it set for variable bit rate between 256kbps and 192kbps for ipod. When I buys cds I rip them at highest bitrate of 320kbps for playback on home pc. Classical music if you like it and I do like some suffer from poor bitrates.

If player hasnt got much memory say 256 or 512k and you want a resonable selection of tunes I would select 160kbps possible variable 160-128kbps. You can select variable bitrates with lame, its the best encoder out there.

Poppycat

I forgot to say that I hera wma format is better on play with low bitrates. I normaly buy cd's and I dont like low bitrate mp3's that Itunes and co sell.

heatherw_01

I edited my post to say that I am ripping from my cd's and I have a 30gb player. I don't know if this makes a difference.

sra

heatherw_01 wrote:

I edited my post to say that I am ripping from my cd's and I have a 30gb player. I don't know if this makes a difference.

with a 30gb you can put it at any bit rate you like, I don't think you'll run out of space

heatherw_01

Can you still tell the difference between 128 and 192 if you rip from a cd?

GlennTheBaker

heatherw_01 wrote:

Can you still tell the difference between 128 and 192 if you rip from a cd?

I can generally tell a bit of a difference between 128 and 192 when ripped from a CD. For me, 192 is the best balance between file size and sound quality.

sra

heatherw_01 wrote:

Can you still tell the difference between 128 and 192 if you rip from a cd?

I can tell if something is at 128 rather than 192 - Though I don't fingd 128 spoils it. Above 192 and I'd be struggling to tell.