Buyers Guide: MP3 Players

What is an MP3 player and how does it work?

MP3 players are very small music players that can store huge number of songs depending upon its storage capacity. Unlike a bulky home audio system, a walkman or a Discman, the MP3 player is unobtrusive and highly portable. Carry it in your purse, pocket or simply wear it around your neck or arm.

Compression technology has made it possible to fit a large number of songs in such a tiny device. This process shrinks the size of the music file and stores it in the compressed MP3 file format.

The music files are shrunk in two essential steps:

(a) File Sampling: Sampling is a process wherein the analog-signal is converted to a digital signal thus enabling the MP3 player to read that signal. The sampling rate determines the quality of produced sound. A higher bit rate translates into a better sound quality. Expressed in bits per second (bps), a sampling rate of 128 bps is needed to produce high-quality sound.

(b) File Compression: Codec, (compression decompression algorithms) based on principles of perceptual coding and psychoacoustics is used for compressing a large file. Psychoacoustics is concerned with the way human brain perceives sound. Perpetual coding involves discarding imperceptible sound. The quality of this codec and the bit rate (kbps) at which the song is encoded, are other the factors that determine the sound quality.

To play a music file, (provided the player supports that format) be it, MP3, ATRAC, WMA etc, the MP3 device has to decompress the compressed file. This time a decompression codec converts the digital signal back to analog signals thanks to an integrated Digital to Analog converter. The built-in amplifiers in the speakers amplify these analog signals to produce a clear sound.

The latest MP3 players are also capable of downloading songs directly from online music stores such as iTunes, or Digirama and also online videos, but these require a larger storage.

The MP3 player stores the media files in its memory. Nowadays you get nearly 160 GB of storage to accommodate a huge amount of digital data. The number of digital media files that the MP3 player can store increases with the storage size. The approximate size of one MP3 file is 3.2 MB. A MP3 player with 64 MB of internal storage can accommodate around 20 MP3 files. Double the memory, double the number of songs it can accommodate.

The memory system in a MP3 player differentiates one type from the other. Based on the make and model the different types of memory that a MP3 player supports includes: Internal Flash memory, CompactFlash cards, SmartMedia cards, Memory Stick and Internal Hard Drive. Some MP3 Players store and play music from CDs and mini discs.

 Types of MP3 Players:

The memory system in a MP3 player differentiates one type from the other. Based on the make and model the different types of memory that a MP3 player supports includes: Internal Flash memory and Hard Drive, mini hard drive and multimedia players. Some models of MP3 players support external memory including CompactFlash cards, SmartMedia cards and Memory Stick for additional storage. Some MP3 Players store and play music from CDs and mini discs.

(a) Flash memory-based Players:

 Smallest, lightweight and cheapest these Flash memory players are devoid of any moving parts and are shock-resistant. The flash memory can be a built-in type or may be in the form of Memory stick, CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards. Compared to others, these players come with a primitive interface and a relatively lesser storage. These are however capable of storing 512 MB to 64 GB of music, videos and photos. 1GB usually holds about 250 songs, but you may store more depending on the codec used. The iPod Touch is an example of this type of MP3 player. Sony MP3 players, Sansa MP3 players, and Zune MP3 players are some of the prominent options for such players.

Purpose:

• These are ideal for use during workouts and jogging thanks to its being portable and shock-resistant. A 1 GB model should be more than sufficient. The latest MP3 players come with excellent features such as a heart rate monitor, stop watch, calorie counter and pedometer, etc. Look for ones that come with an armband, built-in belt clips and non-slip, sweat-resistant, noise isolating headphones. Gym-goers can go for players with built-in FM tuners that allow them to tune into the gym’s TV while working out.
• For those travelling by bus, bicycle, bike or subway. Team it up with a noise cancelling or sound isolating headphones.
• For sourcing music from the music library on your laptop during long distance and frequent travels.

(b) Hard drive based players:

These types of MP3 player offer a large storage capacity from 10 GB to 160 GB. Equivalent to portable juke boxes, a hard disk player gives best value for money, in terms of price paid per megabyte. Hard drive-based players offer a large display screen for convenient navigation and photo display. Unfortunately, their movable components are not shock-resistant and cause track skipping. They have a low battery life. The iPod nano 16 GB MP3 player and 160 GB Classic are examples of Hard disk based MP3 player.

Purpose:

• A hard -drive-based model is best suited for car usage. You can connect your MP3 player to the car’s music system via a Bluetooth transmitter (if supported by player), an FM radio or a cassette adapter. You can also connect it via an external car stereo with a line input connection or an iPod dock.
• For long distance and frequent travelers who need long hours of entertainment to kill the travel boredom, higher capacity hard-drive based MP3 players such as iPod Nano or Classic are perfect. These are not only lightweight and portable but also store a huge amount of media files.

Features that matter:

(a) Supported Formats: A MP3 player should support all digital audio file formats, such as MP3Pro, OGG, WAV/AIFF, WMA, AAC etc, apart from MP3 files. MP3 players that support ID3 version 2 tags (for storing song details including the artists and the album) and can handle variable bit rates are preferable. Loss-less codecs from WMA, AIFF and Ogg Vorbis require lower bit rates and are most suited for music to be played on quality speakers.

MP3 players don’t support video files in its original form, they have to be converted to formats that the MP3 player recognizes. MP3 players such as an iPod come with built-in video converter software that allows the video to be played on your MP3 player. Every MP3 make supports specific video formats and hence most video converters offer multiple formats and video dimensions options. The iPod and Blackberry series players are MP4 players featuring support for MP4 (MPEG 4) or H.264 formats while brands like Sansa, Creative and Zune support WMV or AVI (Divx or Xvid) formats.

(b) PC Interface: Common interfaces such as FireWire, USB, USB 2.0 help you share and transfer data between your PC and MP3 player. FireWire offers the fastest data transfer rate and is perfect for transferring large amount of data.

(c) Display: Most users prefer MP3 players that offer a color display for viewing JPEG and BMP digital images. A touch screen MP3 player offers superior interactivity while navigating through the menu, audio playlist, and video and photo library. Both flash-based and hard drive based MP3 players come with color / touch screen displays. Crystal-clear OLED screens are easy on power consumption and offer better viewing angles.

(d) Software: Smart software allows functions such as add, delete, drag and drop, create customized playlists, and facilitate digital file downloads from your computer to the MP3 player. Some advanced software versions create automated playlists such as iPod’s Genius playlists. The software automatically selects your favorite songs and creates playlists of similar types of songs from your music library. Depending upon the model, you can organize your music library and create single or multiple customized playlists. A playlist allows you to play songs based on artistes, albums and song titles.

(e) Battery life: The hard-drive based models use rechargeable batteries while the Flash-based use AA or the longer lasting AAA type batteries. A battery with a life of up to 8 hours and above is ideal.

(f) Remote control: Useful for hard-drive based MP3 players, most remote controls come with a screen display, exciting functions and a clip that can be fixed to your bag.

(g) Equalizer: An equalizer lets you control and customize the sound of music according to your mood. Basic Bass Boast, Bass Cut, pop, classical or rock presets are some of the options offered.

(h) Headphones: A good set of headphones make a huge difference in how you listen to audio. To be able to experience music the way it was meant to be heard, it is wise to invest in a pair of good quality headphones. Choose between earbuds, over-the ear type of headphones or ear phones with dangling wires.

(i) File Storage: Some MP3 models let you store data files along with the media files. Look out for players that have good software support and an integrated USB or USB 2.0 port for wireless transfer of data and digital media files between your MP3 player and computer..

(j) Recording: A sensitive, built-in microphone allows audio, voice and live recording onto the player’s memory. In-line recording permits recording from sources like stereos, tapes, vinyl records, PC and CD players, etc. into digital formats such as WMA, WAV or MP3.

(k) Radio: FM tuners equipped MP3 players let you enjoy radio broadcasts along with saved audio. In some cases, you can directly record from the radio onto the MP3 player. Check for FM tuners that offer memory presets and auto channel search.

(l) Expandable memory: Some MP3 players offer memory up-gradation with large capacity memory chips.

(n) Audio books:  Not only audio, now MP3 players can also read out books in form of audio-books. Compatible MP3 players allow you to download audio books from vendors like iTunes (for iPods) and Audible.com. The bookmark feature saves the hassles of fast forward by taking you directly to the page where you left off.

Final word:

MP3 players are available from a simple audio player to one that features high-fidelity audio, music and voice recording, photo and video viewing and listening to audio books. Given this abundance in choices, selecting a MP3 player that offers everything you need is not easy. Use the above listed factors to make a well-informed decision.