MP3: The Definitive Guide

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By Scot Hacker

Publisher: O'Reilly Media

Released: March 2000

Pages: 400

MP3, standing for MPEG-1, Layer 3, is a codec for compressing the size of audio files for digital distribution. Much more than a definition, MP3 is nothing less than a cultural and economic revolution on the Internet. Every day, hundreds of thousands of MP3 music files are searched for, shared, recorded and listened to by computer and Internet users of all kinds. Either alone or collected into massive download sites, the MP3 revolution is seriously threatening the traditional ways people find, listen to and create music. MP3 players and encoders are available for all major computer platforms, including Windows, Macintosh, Linux and BeOS. MP3 hardware players include portable players you can take with you jogging or exercising from manufactures like Sony, Diamond and Philips to home stereo and car stereo players.

MP3: The Definitive Guide introduces the power-user to just about all aspects of MP3 technology. It delves into detail on obtaining, recording, and optimizing MP3 files using both commercial, and Open Source methods. Coverage is complete for four platforms: Windows, Macintosh, Linux and BeOS. In depth chapters describe all aspects of the MP3 experience from distributing, streaming, broadcasting, converting and playing to archiving your collection. Readers will learn how to test their equipment, optimize their encoding times, evaluate their playback options, control and organize a collection, even burn their own CD's or distribute their own music to a massive worldwide audience over the Internet. In addition, the author fills readers in on the complex legal issues surrounding MP3 files. Everything you need to know to enjoy MP3 today and tomorrow is contained in this single volume.

MP3 is here to stay, and the applications for this versatile compression format are expanding exponentially along with its user base. MP3: The Definitive Guide should appeal to a broad audience of users, from the those just getting into this exciting new technology, to those who want to fully immerse themselves in the complexities and possibilities that MP3 presents.

Chapter 1 The Nuts and Bolts of MP3
1. MP3 Basics
2. Rights, Piracy, and Politics
Chapter 2 How MP3 Works: Inside the Codec
1. A “Perceptual” Codec
2. The Anatomy of an MP3 File
Chapter 3 Getting and Playing MP3 Files
1. Choosing and Using an MP3 Player
2. Players by Platform
3. Obtaining MP3 Files
4. Organizing Your Collection
5. Equipment Considerations
Chapter 4 Playlists, Tags, and Skins: MP3 Options
1. MP3 Options and Considerations
2. Equalization and Sound Quality
3. ID3 Tags and Playlists: The Virtual Database
4. Skins: Dressing Up MP3 Players
5. Plug-ins: Extending Your Reach
6. Listening to MP3 Streams
7. Performance Considerations
Chapter 5 Ripping and Encoding: Creating MP3 Files
1. General Encoding Principles
2. General Ripping Principles
3. Ripping and Encoding Tools
4. Ripping from Other Sources
5. Roll Your Own Compact Discs
Chapter 6 Hardware, Portables, Home Stereos, and Kits
1. Playing MP3 Through Your Home Stereo
2. Portable Players
3. Hand-Held Computers and Other Devices
4. Home Stereo MP3 Players
5. Car Players
6. Kit Players
Chapter 7 The Not-So-Fine-Print: Legal Bits and Pieces
1. The Rules of Engagement
2. The Players
Chapter 8 Webcasting and Servers: Internet Distribution
1. The Fundamentals of Internet Distribution
2. Offering Files for Download
3. Webcasting: Real-Time MP3 Broadcasting
4. An Interview with MP3.com’s “High Geek”
Chapter 9 Competing Codecs and Other File Formats
1. The Architectures
2. The Codecs

Appendix ID3v1 Genres
Glossary
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Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of MP3: The Definitive Guide is a hermit crab (Coenobita perlatus). The hermit crab is commonly found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and inhabits the areas surrounding the islands of Aldabra, Mauritius, and Samoa. Despite the name of the hermit crab, which alludes to a solitary lifestyle, Coenobita perlatus are very social creatures. They characteristically travel in groups of 25 or more, and have been found living in colonies of over 100 in the wild.

Hermit crabs make their homes by occupying the discarded shells of gastropods in order to protect their soft, coiled abdomens and inner organs. They prefer shells that fit snuggly in order to prevent evaporation of moisture. Most hermit crabs carry water in their shells, which they use for breathing and a water source when they are far away from the sea. Maureen Dempsey was the production editor and copyeditor for MP3: The Definitve Guide. Colleen Gorman and Clairemarie Fisher O'Leary were the proofreaders. Melanie Wang, Nicole Arigo, and Madeleine Newell provided quality control. Brenda Miller wrote the index.

Hanna Dyer designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Kathleen Wilson produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 3.32 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

Alicia Cech designed the interior layout based on a series design by Nancy Priest. Mike Sierra implemented the design in FrameMaker 5.5.6. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Rhon Porter using Macromedia FreeHand 8 and Adobe Photoshop 5. This colophon was written by Maureen Dempsey.

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