We call these things MP3 players, but the truth is, something like this iPod Nano here
plays all sorts of music formats aside from MP3. In today’s video, I'll do my best to help
make sense of all the different music file formats and show you how to identify them on
your computer.
The MP3 format is the most well known of the bunch, probably due to the fact that these
files work with just about everything, your Mac or PC to your iPod or mobile phone. It is
also easy to spot with their .mp3 file extension. Now MP3s get a lot of headlines but
chances are that many of you have your music collection as AAC files and might not
even be aware of it. I say that because AAC is the format used by Apple for any songs
purchased through their popular iTunes software. It’s also the default format for music
you’ve ripped into iTunes from CD. To determine if a song is AAC, see if the file ends in
a .m4a extension. The format works with any iPod or iPhone and technically speaking, it
does a more efficient job than MP3s when you compare the size of the file to the fidelity
of the audio. Still, AAC files aren’t as universal as MP3 files.
Another popular audio format especially for Windows users is WMA, which is identified
with a .wma file extension. This codec was developed by Microsoft and the acronym
stands for Windows Media Audio. The format is falling out of popularity for music
downloads but since it’s the default format for ripping CDs into Windows Media Player
software, people tend to accumulate these files without knowing it. You also see WMA
used for subscription music services like Napster or Rhapsody, since the format lends
itself well to copy protection. WMA files are comparable to AAC files when it comes to
sound quality and size but when it comes to compatibility with devices like cellphones
and MP3 players, WMA files has support on a wider range of products that AAC.
Unfortunately, they're not supported by the iPod. So if you want to get them into
something like the Nano, you need to convert the files first.
Other formats that are supported by the iPod include WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless and
audible files. WAV, AIFF and appropriately a .wav and .aiff extensions and offer
completely uncompressed audio. This can be a good thing if you're looking for sound that
is literally identical to CD quality but the files are obnoxiously large and in most cases,
people can't hear the difference compared to MP3.
For the sound of CD quality in a much smaller file size, there’s Apple Lossless, which
iTunes users can select in the import settings as the format for ripping CDs. Like AAC
files, Apple Lossless files in a .m4a extension but the audio quality is much better.
Because this is a proprietary format however, its usefulness is limited mostly to Apple
products and software.
Finally there is audible files which typically end in a .aa extension and are used
exclusively for audiobook content downloaded from audible.com. This is a copy
protected format so your ability to play audible files will depend on what devices or
software you're using, but they will work on the iPod.
So that about covers all the major audio formats you're going to find on your computer.
There are other specialty formats out there such as FLAC and OGG, but you typically
won't find them on your computer unless you’ve got to have your way to get them there.
for CNET.com, I'm Donald Bell.
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