MP3 RAQ (Rarely asked questions.. I wonder why, but these are rarely asked)

What's an MP3 sound file?
    It's a highly compressed sound file, with extremely high quality and low distortion.

Why use it?
    Saves space on your hard drive, and it also allows transmitting CD quality audio over the internet in less time. For instance, a CD quality wav file (16bit 44,100 samples/sec) that is only one minute long is about 10.09 megabytes. But a one minute long Layer-3 encoded file at 128 kbit/s datarate is only 0.91 megabytes. MP3 is supposed to play on any system with sound capabilities.
There is a MP3 software for any operating system (DOS, Windows, OS2, Linux..)

How does it work?
It is said that, "The encoder changes the audio signal from the time domain into the frequency domain. It then analyzes the frequencies and amplitudes to find those which are transparent to human hearing. Like if there's a really loud sound you won't hear a pin drop, so it ignores the frequencies due to the pin drop."

Let's check if you can play them.

Notice the amount of compression.

So, click on them, either save & play or play.

Here is the sample wav file before compression: sample.wav (66 kb) Ordinary wav. If you hear this a PC, it has a sound card attached - it is working fine!

Here is the same wav compressed as an MP3 file : sampcomp.mp3 (13 kb) 5:1 reduction. If you can play sample.wav but not sampcomp.mp3, then your software is not enough. (or your processor is sth slower than 486 dx2-66..) With proper software which are free to use, you can listen mp3's.

Windows WinAmp is an mp3 player software. WinAmp page here (www.nullsoft.com/amp) For PowerPC, MacAmp is there.

For MS-DOS users, (Win95 dos prompt is included! it is OK, I verified!) there is the DOS MP3 Player page

Players for other systems can be found with a simple search.

(You may need to rename the file extension from mpeg to mp3, (that is, sampcomp.mpeg => sampcomp.mp3) Classifying as a media clip file, IE4.0 changed *.mp3 to *.mpeg when I tried. So a rename *may* be neccessary to process the files with an mp3 player.)

This page is for testing. If no feedback is supplied, it will benefit nobody, all will be just a waste of time.

So please send your comments to:

ilhan@lords.com . It will be better if you write about:

1. your hardware type (like Mac, PC, powerPC ..)
2. operating system (like ms-dos 6.0, ms-dos 6.22, ms-dos 7.0, Windows 3.1, Windows95, unix, linux..)
3. processor type (like Pentium 166 MMX, Pentium 120, 486 dx2-66, ..)
4. Do you have a sound card? (if possible,8-16 bit? Awe32, Sound Blaster, Creative?)
5. browser name and version (Ms internet explorer 3.0, 4.0, Netscape 4.0, ...)
6. problems encountered

I think there should be a standard for songs. I hope that Tatars around the world record the mp3's (or wav's!) and post them wherever possible. Pages of links.We may someday have a great archive of old (and new?) Tatar songs on the web!

Let me quote from my first mail to TMG:

From: "ilhan Akidil" <akidilmu@boun.edu.tr>
To: "TMG" <iskender@exar.com>
Subject: TMG - introduction
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 00:18:48 +0200

"I like old Tatar songs, most of them on old tapes. I think it would be great
to have the songs and their lyrics at internet, songs in MP3 format. Songs
are very distinctive part of a culture in my opinion.  It would be a
significant collection, if 'people' with sound cards and some basic
computer knowledge  'ftp' the songs to 'somewhere'. A kind of song library.
Anyway. "

This was the first step!

Thank you for the visit & your comments.

click here to go back to Old Tatar Songs page, but you'd better use the "back" button, you may avoid the silly advertisement then..

ilhan Akidil, Jan 27, Jan 29 1998 ilhan@lords.com