My first listening to "real audio" was on the Kn7k demo., and the sound was very disappointing. With MP 3 downloads the sound is first class listened to on my computer. I can't understand why anyone would choose to use real audio particularly for a deonstration. Is it 'cos it's cheaper?

Peter

Beats me too! Most people who wish to download the demo, are likely to have a copy of Windows Media Player, to play the MP3 file, but the 'Real Audio' files require an additional piece of software to be downloaded, before the file can be played. Even MP3 may not give a true representation of the original sound since during the recording process, much of the original sound is 'thrown away'. All MP3 files are not necessarily recorded to the same standard. The amount of compression use during recording, can be varied by the person configuring the recording setup. If the compression is excessive, in order to make a smaller file, the MP3 file will bear little resemblance to the original.

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Willum

Real Audio is streaming media. So people with 56K modems or slower can hear the audio without downloading the entire file. MP3 files have to be downloaded prior to hearing anything at all which is usually a 30 min (or longer) download on a modem. This is the main reason for websites using Real Audio. While a modem user may click on a Real Audio file which will start playing in 30 secs he will be much less likely to download a MP3 which will take 30 mins to hear a note.

And to enable audio to be streamed that quickly it has to be lower quality to deliver it to the user user realtime. If you compress an MP3 file down to the size that can be downloaded by a modem in 3-4 mins then it would be a very similar quality.

Of course if you have a broadband connection then MP3 files are usually going to be much higher quality and download time is not an issue. It is always nice to see sites that offer music samples in both formats for high speed and low speed connections.



[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 08-09-2002).]

Thaanks Nigel. I must say that if I want to listen to music I'm happy to wait for an MP3 download - unless of course I just want to listen to a player's style or arrangement, which hasn't happened to me yet.

Incidentally I'm now being asked to provide user name and password before I can make a post. Is this a new procedure i.e something to keep "intruders" out or have I just been getting away with an easy way to post. Just curious.

Peter

It sounds like something has happen to the BBS cookie that remembers your username and password. Just click on the "Preferences" link near the top of the BBS pages and reset the cookie. Then next time you type in your Username and Password it will be stored and retrieved automatically. From time to time cookies seem to get screwed up and require resetting. Who knows why ???


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 08-09-2002).]

COOKIE MONSTER ??????

Thanks again Nigel - cookie monster has been slain!!

Incidentally Albertg's post led me to what a demonstration should really sound like. Great........

Peter