Sunday, December 19, 2010

MP3 Songs

MP3+G is a karaoke file format that was created to allow CD+G karaoke to be played from a personal computer easily and quickly. MP3+G is considered the de facto standard of karaoke on the PC and was created from the combination of the MP3 audio file (the CD audio is converted and compressed to MP3) and a raw CDG file which contains the RW subchannels from the CD+G track. The name MP3+G was first used by Gai Marcos and Steve Gray in late 1997 or early 1998 to describe the format. It was first called MM+G in early 1996 where it was a combination of various audio formats synchronized to a CDG file. MP3 and WMA became the most popular audio format used for karaoke and therefore MP3+G and WMA+G became the most popular formats used. Microsoft first unofficially adopted the WMA+G for use on the XBox for the XBox karaoke product.

The MP3+G format

MP3+G stands for MP3 plus Graphics. MP3+G is derived from the CD+G format and the CD+G disc format invented by Philips. MP3+G is created by extracting the CD-Audio packets from the CD+G disc with a CD-ROM that is capable of also extracting the RW channels from the disc. The digital audio portion is compressed to MP3 (the MP3 format was invented by Fraunhofer Society MP3.) and the RW Channels (CD+G graphics CD+G.) are stored to a CDG file. The player products read each file and synchronize the information to display the interpreted graphics along with the music.

Downloading MP3+G Files

It is possible to locate and download virtually every karaoke song ever produced. These song files are shared between users of certain newsgroups and IRC channels, though there is a great learning curve to overcome for those who are not familiar with such methods. An alternative would be to purchase one of the pre-compiled MP3+G collections, such as KaraMP3.

History of MP3+G

Gai Marcos and Steve Gray in late 1997 / early 1998 created MP3+G (Marcos, Gai (1998-01-01). President of TyrannoSoft. Gai Marcos. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. and Gray, Steve (2004-08-31). Background. Steve Gray. Retrieved on 2007-09-07.) and their focus was to make the CD+G format easier to use. It was introduced to the market as MP3+G during that period and caught on with karaoke enthusiasts. The first player that was provided to play and create the format was called "WinCDG". WinCDG and its descendant products were released by TyrannoSoft (owned and operated by Gai Marcos and Steve Gray). In 2001, TyrannoSoft renamed to TriceraSoft and continues to support the format in all their products.

MP3 8GB Players

Of all the MP3 8GB Players we have to start with the beautiful Apple iPod touch 8GB MP3 Player, with a backlit display and aspect ratio of 16:9 on a 3.5 inch 480 x 320 pixel screen the beautiful iPod is impressive. With a battery life of 22 hrs of audio listening and 5 hrs of video you know there will be enough time for just one more movie. The amazing feature of this iPod is the built in Wi-Fi support with integrated iTunes.

Next up is the Cowon iAudio D2 8GB MP3 Player with DAB Digital Radio, this is an impressive MP3 8GB Player with an FM radio receiver built in and the ability to view txt files on the 2.5 inch screen as well as record audio directly to MP3. An alarm clock is also included. You can also use this 8GB MP3 player as a USB storage device, now thats pretty neat.

Now we have the Cowon iAudio D2 MP3 8GB Player which does not include the radio, but still offers the voice recorder, 10 hrs of battery life when playing video files and a totally fantastic 52 hrs of audio playtime, 4 days of audio on one battery charge thats very impressive. MMC & SD expansion sockets are available and you are going to need them with 52 hrs of playtime to fill.

The iRiver Clix 2 MP3 8GB Player does not have a bookmarking facility but does offer 24 hrs battery life MP3,WMA,OGG file support, an FM radio recorder and is one of the few MP3 players that still suppports old Windows versions like Windows 98 SE / ME / 2000 and also XP or Vista.

With the new Nano out we must not forget to cover the Apple iPod nano MP3 8GB Player with a 2 inch LCD display and the weird blue-white LED Backlight these multi-colured Nano's look the business. Unfortunately they don't come with Firewire or a FM radio tuner, but you do get ID3 MP3 title/artist tag support and support for the following codecs AAC, MP3,VBR, WAV, AIFF, Audible. An aspect ratio of 4:3 offers a decent picture on the 2 inch screen.

The Samsung YP-S5 8GB Bluetooth MP3 Player with Slide Out Speakers is impressive and you can read about the 4GB Samsung MP3 Player here. The 8GB MP3 player version offers 24 hrs battery life and a USB charger capable of recharging in 5 hrs. This model support USB 2 for fast data transfer but will also work in the older USB 1 ports. A great feature of this player is Bluetooth support for connecting to external speakers.We arrive at the Sandisk Sansa View 8GB MP3 Player and see it offers 35 hours battery life from a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery pack and MicroSD memory expansion slots a jpeg picture viewer and bookmarking support.

Cowon iAudio 7 8GB MP3 Player offers a huge range of codecs including MP3, OGG, WMA, ASF, FLAC, WAV and MPEG4 video playback and can be used as a 8GB USB data storage device. A very decent 95 dB signal to noice ratio means you won't hear any buzzing like you find on some cheaper units. A point worth noting is that this unit has a 3.5mm line-in jack plug for auxiliary device connection. Rock guitar connected to your MP3 anyone?The iRiver L Player MP3 8GB Player also offers 8GB of USB data storage and folder navigation so there will be no excuse for not keeping your MP3 files organised. The built in photo viewer supports JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF I mean GIF who will be watching GIF files on their MP3 system. With a SRS Wow 3D Sound system the dynamic sound output of this unit has to be heard to be believed. With USB 1.1/2.0 this unit will suite older computers that don't support high speed USB.

We are over half way now, so we better cover the iRiver E100 8GB MP3 Player this offers every conceivable version of ID3 tag support known to man ID3 V1 Tag, id3 v2 2.0, id3 v2 3.0 and id3 v2 4.0 and a MicroSD slot I'm assuming for all that tag information. This unit also displays JPEG, BMP, PNG, GIF with PNG support should you ever have a need to view website graphics on your MP3 player!

Samsung YP-T10 8GB Bluetooth MP3 Player supports text only bookmarking and a FM recorder which sounds nice but does anyone ever use the recorder on their player. This 8GB MP3 player comes with special effects called street mode, clarity and sound feedback, I thought sound feedback was to be avoided!

The Revolutionary MP3 Player

The MP3 player, which is a compression format that shrinks digital audio files with negligible sound-quality degradation, has revolutionized the way people can listen to music (MP3 Developments). The technological advances that the MP3 player has made were all possible due to its predecessors. The MP3 is incredibly small, dynamic, slim, easy to operate and lightweight to accommodate all types of people who might purchase and use one. The history of the MP3 player is extremely in depth and just recently, up for debate.

MP3 is short for MPEG Audio Layer III, which is a standard for audio compression, making music files smaller with the same type of sound quality they had in their bigger files (The History of MP3). Although Apple did not invent the MP3 player, its line called iPods, helped soar the MP3 to unprecedented popularity (What is an MP3 Player?). All the music can be stored on one device, which one downloads on to, making it portable and easily accessible. The user of the device can create song playlists tailored to their likes and wants. One can access files off the internet, either free or at a small fee, or could copy songs off their favorite CD's, to put on the MP3 player and listen to.

When Shawn Fanning started Napster in 2000, the online music base where downloading music was free, music moguls were scared that their industry and business would be ruined. CD sales, however, actually increased by 6 percent in the beginning of 2000 (Rage Against the Machines). Since Napster was founded, it has been reformatted to where the user now has to pay a fee and can then download music. Napster is not a free service anymore. Since these technological developments and advancements were making headway in the music world, this meant that profits would inevitably decrease for these music moguls who had already been in the business for more than sixty years. Technology made listening to music extremely easy (Rage Against the Machines). There have always been new forms of music emerging, new enemies that the competition or the already established companies had to deal with. It was a never-ending cycle and battle.In the 1920's and 30's the radio was seen as the foe. Record companies and musicians' unions would wage war with the radio stations that played recorded music instead of featuring the live performances (Rage Against the Machines).

In 1963 Philips presented the audio cassette tape, which in turn pivoted the rage and anger towards that market, instead of the radio (Rage Against the Machines). History repeats itself and with each new technology in the music world, the anger is directed towards the new implemented idea or product. These feelings by the various companies are inescapable.

Audio technology is forever improving its quality and technologies accessible to their clientele. In the early 19th century, the phonograph, invented by Thomas Edison, and the Gramophone, by Emile Berliner, were massive and bulky (MP3 Developments). Through the decades the music players changed, creating the small, compact image of today's standards. The very first successful recording device was developed in 1855, but that didn't really catch on to the mainstream audience until Edison's phonograph in 1877 (MP3 Developments). "Long players," more commonly known as LPs, came in 1947 with a face pace of 33 1/3 revolutions per minute, upping the ante for their predecessors MP3 Developments).

James Clerk Maxwell developed the theoretical basis for the propagation of electromagnetic waves in 1873, which paved the way for the radio to flourish. The radio was basically used for the military during World War I. When RCA, or the Radio Corporation of America, obtained the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1929, music as known presently, was initiated (MP3 Developments). The radio brought musical enjoyment to the masses. One could be sitting at home, in the car or at a public place, and could tune in to the station or programming that they wanted to listen to. This technology brought forth the idea of mobility.

The 8-track, invented by William Powell, came in the early 1960's. Music was masked by horrible sound quality because of misalignments in the tape and tape heads, which caused bleeds of other songs on the tape (MP3 Developments). There was only forty minutes of music on the whole 8-track.The average cassette tape did not reach homes until the late 1970's, but were previously used in recording studios since the 1950's (MP3 Developments). Cassettes were smaller than the 8-track, and had a higher sound quality. In 1979, Sony debuted the Walkman, which made cassette sales increase substantially in the 1980's. The compact disc, otherwise known as the CD, succeeded the cassette tape, in the late 1980's. The CD's used a digital storing system (MP3 Developments). The MP3, which will later be discussed, increased CD storage capabilities by ten times, not reducing the sound quality at all (MP3 Developments).

Hard drive mp3 players

Flash vs. Hard Drive

Most mp3 players can be split into two categories. Flash mp3 players or hard drive mp3 players. Flash mp3 players tend to be smaller, lighter, and cheaper. They also store less music, but make up for it by being able to handle more activity. Running, biking over rough terrain...and things of that sort are where flash mp3 players really outshine hard drive players. Flash mp3 players are most useful while working out or when buying an mp3 player on a budget. They are also upgradeable. You can swap out the memory card for a larger one to store more music if you decide you want a bigger player down the road.

Hard drive mp3 players are mostly known as "jukeboxes". Hard drive mp3 players are good for storing large music collections or as backup drives to store larger files(or with recent technological advancements...displaying pictures or playing videos). Hard drive players are great for taking away on extended trips or vacations. But hard drive mp3 players are pricey, and the more features they have, the more expensive they are. Though you are getting your based price per gig, the larger you go.

Features

Mp3 players have a variety of different features. From sound and audio options, to various play options. All mp3 players will also have different included software for downloading and managing music files, with some software packages being better than others. Things like battery life and included accessories may be important to you also, so make sure to check the specs of an mp3 player before purchasing it. Read some reviews and see if anyone has any negative things to say about it.

Some mp3 players will even allow you to rip CDs directly from an audio player to your mp3 player, no computer required. Players will also have different navigation types. Some using buttons, others using touch pads or click wheels. Some mp3 players come standard with an FM tuner, as well as digital voice and FM recording. Then there are players made specifically for sports use that come with lap timers and stopwatches and things of that nature.

Price

If you're looking to purchase an mp3 player for under $100 or so, flash mp3 players are going to be your best bet. Very few hard drive or larger file capacity mp3 players are available at that kind of price. But there is good news. With competition the way it is in the mp3 player market, older model mp3 players are always being made available at huge discounted prices, allowing you to save anywhere from $20 to $70 on some of the best mp3 players out there.

Brands

There are a lot of competing companies out there making mp3 players. Weeding out the top quality ones from the lesser ones isn't always easy. Some of my favorites are Apple, Creative Labs, Sandisk, Rio, iRiver and Archos. There are others, such as Nike or iAudio and more, but these are the main contenders. The Apple iPod is by far the most popular, most pervasive, coolest, and also most expensive mp3 player brand out there. Whether the price of the iPod is worth it, is your choice. Just make sure you get a good sense of what other mp3 player brands are out there, and what each of them are like.

MP3 Player News

MP3 Player News
A portable mp3 player is the easiest way to take your favorite music with you anywhere you go and anytime. Mp3 players are more compact than a CD, and you don't have to take with you an entire box of CDs because the memory of an mp3 player can be up to 5 GB. Even if the capacity is huge sometimes, portable mp3 players are very small, design to fit in a small pocket, and sometimes fashionable as you will see in this mp3 player review.

If you decide to purchase an mp3 player, there are many models to choose from, and you should get familiarized with their features. Using an mp3 player review can help you to make your choice, as mp3 players are grouped into main categories by their memory type in any mp3 player review. Also, there are many more features that can make the difference between mp3 players.

Mp3 compatible CD players were the first mp3 players sold in stores. At that time they were considered very useful because an mp3 player can store up 10 times the amount of songs an audio CD can. The preferred mp3 players in any mp3 player review are those with flash memory. Mp3 players with hard drives or micro drives, have the largest capacity from all mp3 players.

Categories of mp3 players

Usually, mp3 players are grouped by their capacity and their ability to read different file types. The most common file types used to store music are mp3 and wma, and the physical support for data can be flash, micro drive, hard drive, or CD.

Flash memory mp3 players are the most popular. The most recent players have flash memory between 256 MB and 4 GB. If we consider the fact that the average length of a melody is 3 MB, it results that actual flash memory players can store between 80 and 1200 melodies. Flash memories have no moving parts, so the players can be easily manipulated without the risk of damaging it.

Micro drive mp3 players have much more storage space than flash memory players, varying from 5 GB to 10 GB. Hard drive mp3 players have the largest amount of memory for multimedia files. Mp3 compatible CD players became pretty old-fashioned due to their size. The CD can easily crash if you drop the CD player from your hands and the capacity of a CD is just 700 MB. You should check also for discounts if you want to save some money.

Nowadays many of the mp3 players also have lots of other interesting functions. A newer mp3 player can also FM radio, agenda, possibility to sort and group melodies, recording and playback capabilities as well as many others.

Other Features of MP3 Players

The newest mp3 players have wide color screens where you can play DVD quality movies. We can't finish this mp3 player review information without speaking about other important features of mp3 players, like voice recording or FM radio tuner and sometimes even TV tuner.An mp3 player with 5 GB of memory can record up to 40 hours of high quality sound. In the last two years, mp3 players have become the most common device for listening to music. Very small, portable, and with a large storage capacity, an mp3 player can also be fashionable.

How to Buy MP3 Players

If you want to buy MP3 player devices, it's not a difficult choice. There are players to respond to all kinds of needs. Here are a few tips on how to buy MP3 players that meet your expectations.If you want to listen to some music while jogging, then you probably need a light-weight device, such as a flash-memory player. Get the highest-capacity player you can afford
When you want to buy MP3 players, either flash or hard drive-based, make sure you get the model with the largest storage space within your price range. Some flash MP3 players use replaceable batteries, but most hard drive players have built-in rechargeable batteries that are hard to remove. Hard-drive players can keep playing for hours and hours.