MP3

1. First you will need a piece of software called a CD-Ripper, this takes the songs off your CD digitally, rather than taking the data off the disk and then converting it to sound via your sound card. Instead the audio data is written directly to you hard drive as a .wav file. You should remember that for every minute of music you copy off the CD you will use around 10mb of disk space, so make sure you have plenty free!  I use a program called WinDac, it seems to be about the best and is pretty easy to use, you can find a link to download it further down the page.

2. Once you have your song(s) on the hard drive as a collection of .wav's, the next best step is to give them all appropriate names so you know which song is which.

3. Now you are ready to actually make your mp3's, by converting these wav's to mp3's you will shrink them in size from around 10mb per minute to about 1mb a minute! Usually without any noticeable difference in sound quality. To make mp3's you need a piece of software called an Encoder, I use AudioCatalyst MPEG Encoder which you can find on the net if you do a bit of searching. It is also very easy to use but you need to remember to choose the following options: 44100Hz (CD Quality), Stereo and mp3 format to make good quality mp3's.

 Cool MP3 Software

CuteMX v2.5 Beta (1.3MB) - Cool file sharing utility like Napster but for ALL media types.

Winamp 2.72 Full Version (2.17MB) - Latest version of the best and most popular MP3 player. Standard (918KB) and Lite (481KB) versions also available.

GnoTella (Size Varies) - File sharing network like Napster but for all types of files (not just MP3).

Napster Beta 9 (1.58MB) - Latest version of the infamous MP3 sharing software.

Real JukeBox - Plays, encodes and catalogues MP3's. This free version is limited to recording MP3's at only 96kbs quality (standard is 128kbps).

LCARS (51KB) - One of the best Winamp Skin I have seen, changes all the Winamp windows to a 'Star Trek' computer panel look.

Pioneer Amp (55KB) - Another very cool Winamp Skin.

Pioneer DVD Player (55KB) - Great Winamp skin that looks like a 'champagne' finish DVD Player.

WinDac 1.49 (426KB) - Very fast and reliable, easy to use CD 'ripper'.

AMPlifier (601KB) - Converts MP3's back into wav's, necessary to make audio CD's from MP3's.

 Useful Links

  
 http://www.themusiclover.com/  or  http://welcome.to/musiclover or http://themusiclover.webprovider.com/ - Brilliant, often updated site with a whole shed load of mp3's.
http://www.audiofind.com/ or http://gnute.com/ - Mp3 search site. Now also links in with the Gnutella file sharing network.
http://www.cnet.com/Content/Gadgets/Special/MP3/ - Good mp3 search site.
http://www.mp3.com/
http://astalavista.box.sk/ - Mp3 search site.
http://www.mp3place.com/

  
Disclaimer Notice : I am not responsible for anything nasty that may or may not happen to your PC from running any of the files on this page or following any of the tips given.

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