I'm using firefox and the FAQ's don't open for me either
Also I agree that the site does look a little..erm....like the MSE banner has been stuck there by someone trying to make it look kosher but it doesn't really belong to MSE itms
Other than that its ok, not something I'd use loads. Will you be doing the same thing for other downloadable products like software, movies etc?
In your FAQ, you state that MP3s and CDs are "exactly the same"- quality wise, they most definitely are NOT the same: MP3s are always inferior quality, especially those encoded at the most common bit rate of 128kbps.
Granted, most MP3s are 'good enough', and listening on cheap earphones, you probably can't tell the difference, but they are still not the same quaility as CDs...
In your FAQ, you state that MP3s and CDs are "exactly the same"- quality wise, they most definitely are NOT the same: MP3s are always inferior quality, especially those encoded at the most common bit rate of 128kbps.
Granted, most MP3s are 'good enough', and listening on cheap earphones, you probably can't tell the difference, but they are still not the same quaility as CDs...
I can't read the FAQ as I'm a firefox user but if that's true its shocking!
I really like the website, the layout is easy to follow. I think the powered buy moneysavingexpert banner should be bigger and more central.
Also When I searched a couple of bands for example 'Finch' it comes up alphabeticly (sp sorry!!) rather than best match first, so it was a bit annoying when I have to scroll through a lot of songs about birds before I got to the actual band I was looking for!!
That said it was easy to use and yes I would recommend it.
HTH
Good luck everyone and Thank you to all posters xx
Firstly, I would say this is a huge improvement from the previous version, both in terms of design and usability.
I would say there is still a bit further to go on the design front to make it even slicker and user friendly (de-cluttering the main page banner for example ) however the improved focus on the main area helps to direct the eye more obviously. I can see someone really likes the ability to create a glow effect in photoshop but at least it has been pared down somewhat!
Functionality wise, everything seems to work OK, except for the sample tracks which has already been highlighted in earlier posts.
Slight grumbles are as follows, however I wouldn't classify any of these as major issues:
- Not sure about the attention grabbing iPod near the top. At first appears to be a site feature for iPod users (as an iPod user myself I was expecting to be able to save my searches or the page to my iPod or something) whereas actually I wasted about a minute of my life clicking it with exitement (in relative terms) only to find out it told me some pretty useless information which I imagine the majority of iPod users would already know (especially those looking to transfer music to it)
- The emailing list on the right - not very clear what this is I'm potentially signing up to - looks like I'm giving my details to a third party company (Charts Company) - what are they going to do with my data & where's the "don't sell my address" opt-out? I'm guessing this is actually an email from MSE using OUKCC data to create it but you should tell me what it is before I sign up please!
- The Facebook/Twitter/etc. links under the MSE banner (top right) aren't always "clickable" (e.g. you can't click the "ook" of "Facebook" - I suggest getting rid of them [to help declutter the main banner]
- The small print at the bottom looks cramped and difficult to read - perhaps move it down a bit to give it some breathing space?
- It would be nice to see the relative bit rate quality of the compared providers in th search results (maybe small graphs / star ratings next to each price) as cheapest isn't always best!
- How many links to facebook and twitter do you need? I think one on the RHS should suffice [Whats the point of the twitter feed anyway? The download of the day?]
- The "discuss TuneChecker" link says I'm not authorised to view the page
- The bottom of the main blue TuneChecker "soundwave" glow appears to be cut off (where the old logos used to be if I remember correctly). This needs correcting as it looks like something's missing given I can see the whole of the headphones.
- Finally - At the moment the search box defaults to "Search singles, albums or artis" [well on Safari Mac it does (Firefox is blank)] - either make the box 1 char. longer (for us Mac users) or change 'singles' to 'tracks'
- Oh and in the Top 10 albums section, maybe put the image in the first column so its next to the track name it represents as it can be unclear what the image is (as they don't always feature the track/artist)
I think that's it for now! Good luck with the launch and well done to all involved for what I am sure is a technically challenging site to build!
Yes. DRM, Digital Rights Management is the software designed to control how a file can be used; more specifically how it's downloaded, played, copied and shared. All the providers in the Tunechecker do not use DRM to protect tracks.
Replies
Also I agree that the site does look a little..erm....like the MSE banner has been stuck there by someone trying to make it look kosher but it doesn't really belong to MSE itms
Other than that its ok, not something I'd use loads. Will you be doing the same thing for other downloadable products like software, movies etc?
Granted, most MP3s are 'good enough', and listening on cheap earphones, you probably can't tell the difference, but they are still not the same quaility as CDs...
I can't read the FAQ as I'm a firefox user but if that's true its shocking!
Also When I searched a couple of bands for example 'Finch' it comes up alphabeticly (sp sorry!!) rather than best match first, so it was a bit annoying when I have to scroll through a lot of songs about birds before I got to the actual band I was looking for!!
That said it was easy to use and yes I would recommend it.
HTH
Good luck everyone and Thank you to all posters xx
I would say there is still a bit further to go on the design front to make it even slicker and user friendly (de-cluttering the main page banner for example ) however the improved focus on the main area helps to direct the eye more obviously. I can see someone really likes the ability to create a glow effect in photoshop but at least it has been pared down somewhat!
Functionality wise, everything seems to work OK, except for the sample tracks which has already been highlighted in earlier posts.
Slight grumbles are as follows, however I wouldn't classify any of these as major issues:
- Not sure about the attention grabbing iPod near the top. At first appears to be a site feature for iPod users (as an iPod user myself I was expecting to be able to save my searches or the page to my iPod or something) whereas actually I wasted about a minute of my life clicking it with exitement (in relative terms) only to find out it told me some pretty useless information which I imagine the majority of iPod users would already know (especially those looking to transfer music to it)
- The emailing list on the right - not very clear what this is I'm potentially signing up to - looks like I'm giving my details to a third party company (Charts Company) - what are they going to do with my data & where's the "don't sell my address" opt-out? I'm guessing this is actually an email from MSE using OUKCC data to create it but you should tell me what it is before I sign up please!
- The Facebook/Twitter/etc. links under the MSE banner (top right) aren't always "clickable" (e.g. you can't click the "ook" of "Facebook" - I suggest getting rid of them
- The small print at the bottom looks cramped and difficult to read - perhaps move it down a bit to give it some breathing space?
- It would be nice to see the relative bit rate quality of the compared providers in th search results (maybe small graphs / star ratings next to each price) as cheapest isn't always best!
- How many links to facebook and twitter do you need? I think one on the RHS should suffice
- The "discuss TuneChecker" link says I'm not authorised to view the page
- The bottom of the main blue TuneChecker "soundwave" glow appears to be cut off (where the old logos used to be if I remember correctly). This needs correcting as it looks like something's missing given I can see the whole of the headphones.
- Finally - At the moment the search box defaults to "Search singles, albums or artis" [well on Safari Mac it does (Firefox is blank)] - either make the box 1 char. longer (for us Mac users) or change 'singles' to 'tracks'
- Oh and in the Top 10 albums section, maybe put the image in the first column so its next to the track name it represents as it can be unclear what the image is (as they don't always feature the track/artist)
I think that's it for now! Good luck with the launch and well done to all involved for what I am sure is a technically challenging site to build!
Would like to know how much the site gets for each click thru with the option to donate some proportion (50%) to charity?!
Perhaps you could copy and paste the question replies for me then, because they wont respond for me in ie or chrome........
Q. How does it work?
Q. Are they DRM free tracks?
Q. Is an mp3 player needed?
Q. MP3s & CDs the same?
Q. Can't find a track?
Q. Cashback boost?
Please can someone reply to this question
Further fails happily provided to you for a reasonable fee of £20/hr. Let me know, thanks.
T
Q. Are they DRM free tracks?
Yes. DRM, Digital Rights Management is the software designed to control how a file can be used; more specifically how it's downloaded, played, copied and shared. All the providers in the Tunechecker do not use DRM to protect tracks.