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MP3 music players
While CDs are rapidly becoming a thing of the past there are some critical differences to consider when making the switch to the latest breed of electronic music players:
Are you concerned with flawless reproduction?
MP3 and many other music formats take advantage of what is known as lossey compression. This type of
compression is useless for documents, programs, and other formats where an exact reproduction is
critical. What does this mean for the average consumer? Very little. The differences created by
lossey compression are trivial when compared with the typical static on old style types, records, and
even many of the tiny speakers that are commonly in use.
Are you worried about losing songs?
While the MP3 format unto itself is perfectly stable and reproduces the same sound every time it does,
nevertheless, rely upon a computer for download and or backup. Since many of these electronic devices
are not built to last, they can easily break when dropped. Using a computer for backup is an excellent
way to safeguard, but introduces the innevitable possibility of corruption. This is unlikely to affect
more than a song or two, but highlights the difference between CDs, which due to the danger of scratches,
have a great built in automatic corruption recovery system.
The other big danger you're likely to face is licensing failures. When you purchase and download songs
your computer obtains a license to play the song. If your computer crashes this license can easily be
lost or corrupted meaning that all of your songs, no matter how well backed up, are now unplayable until
you repurchase every single one.
So that's all the bad news, what's the good news?
The three great, and they are really great, advantages of MP3 players are:
Size: Models the size of your headphones are now available.
Stability: No more skipping if you're jogging or driving
Selection: With easy categorizing, searching, and the ability to store thousands of songs.
So which one do I get?
There are a host of MP3 manufacturers out there, with Apple's iPod and iPhone having caught the markets
early attention. That said there are some features that can be of great value and aren't available in
all models. These include:
Search: Finding the right music can be difficult if your collection grows. No mp3 player without
this features should be considered.
Playback Speed: If you're practicing music, dancing, or just enjoy controlling the tempo this
feature is vital.
Equalizer: If your hearing is reduced in some ranges, or you enjoy the distortion created by
emphasizing different sound bands this is the feature for you.
Need help? Contact us any time.
Our technical staff is available to assist you with all your hardware and software needs.
Tips and suggestions provided to you by Computer And Network Support, LLC
Last updated: 2/6/2012
Web page unique ID: 1187552
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