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| (music, file format) | MPEG-1 audio layer 3 - (MP3) A digital audio compression algorithm that acheives a compression factor of about twelve
while preserving sound quality. It does this by optimising
the compression according to the range of sound that people
can actually hear. MP3 is currently (July 1999) the most
powerful algorithm in a series of audio encoding standards
developed under the sponsorship of the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and formalised by the International Organization
for Standardization (ISO).
MP3 is very different from Layer 2, using an additional MDCT
layer to increase frequency resolution. Its scale factor
groups are more optimised for the human ear, and it uses
nonlinear sample quantisation and Huffman coding.
MP3 files (filename extension ".mp3") can be downloaded from
many World-Wide Web sites and can be played using software
available for most operating systems (also downloadable),
e.g. Winamp for PC, MacAmp for Macintosh, and mpeg123 for
Unix.
MP3 files are usually downloaded completely before playing but
streaming MP3 is also possible. A program called a "ripper"
can be used to copy a selection from a music CD onto your
hard disk and another program called an encoder can convert
it to an MP3 file. | |
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