64 pages * 210 x 148 mm  ISBN 1870775678

MP3 files, the latest digital music format, have taken the music industry by storm. What are they? Where do you get them? How do you use them? Why have they thrown record companies into a panic? Will they make music easier to buy? And cheaper? Is this the future of music?

All these questions and more are answered in this concise and practical book which explains everything you need to know about MP3s in a simple and easy-to-understand manner. It explains:

* How MP3 works
* How to play MP3s on your computer
* How to use MP3s with hand-held MP3 players
* Where to find MP3s on the Web
* How to create your own MP3s
* How to tune into Internet radio stations
* How to record your own CDs from MP3 files
* Other digital audio music formats

Whether you want to stay bang up to date with the latest music or create your own MP3s and join the on-line digital music revolution, this book will show you how.


CONTENTS

1. MP3 essentials
What is MP3?. Other MPEGs. Why was MP3 developed?. Why MP3 is important for musicians. Consumer benefits of MP3.

2 .How MP3 works
Digital audio. Sample rate. Sample resolution. MP3 compression. Lossy vs lossless. MP3 bit rates. CBR and VBR. MP3 audio quality. Other MP3 compression systems. Other digital audio compression formats. Microsoft WMA. AT&T a2b. Liquid Audio. Yamaha Sound VQ. CDs vs MP3s.

3. Legal issues
Music copyright and wrongs. Fair use. UK vs USA law. Are MP3s illegal?. A history of suits. Napster and friends and enemies. Does piracy affect music sales?. DRM and SDMI. Is Big Music Brother watching you?. The future of MP3.

4. MP3s - where to find them, how to get them
How to download an MP3 file. Streaming. Quick start - MP3 music sites. Internet record labels. MP3 search engines. HTTP and FTP. Ratio sites. Interrupted downloads. Fixing MP3 files.

5. Internet radio and webcasting
Internet radio. Internet radio quality. How to receive Internet radio. Finding Internet radio stations. Internet radio lists. Internet Radio restrictions. Webcasting.

6. MP3 software
Insidious installations. The players. MP3 utilities. Changing your default MP3 player. ID3 tags.

7. MP3 hardware
Looking for a hand-held. Specialist players. Transferring songs to an MP3 player.

8. Creating your own MP3s
MP3 encoding. Dedicated audio rippers and MP3 encoders. Commercial MP3 software. MP3 encoding on the Mac. Burning an audio CD from MP3 files. Track-at-Once vs Disc-at-Once. Putting your music on the Web.

Appendix
MP3 music Web sites. MP3 sharers, search engines and site listings. MP3 software Web sites. MP3 software lists. Streaming audio software. MP3 hardware Web sites. MP3 resources.