MP3, WMA, iPod and all that jazz

For a good audio glossary that will help to explain some of this terminology, check out the CNET portable audio glossary. Here is a description of the file formats that can be used with digital audio books.

Format

Description

MP3

This is an audio file which is called MP3 because it has been compressed through MP3 encoding to make the files smaller.

WMA

This stands for Windows Media Audio and is the Windows Media Player format used on many computers and over 500 devices.

IPod/Apple

IPod/Apple Apple has a proprietary format for its audio on computers and on handheld players like the iPod. The iPod will not play Windows Media Audio files.

Ogg Vorbis

Ogg Vorbis This is an "open source" codec which means no one has to pay a licensing fee when it is used, unlike MP3 or WMA.

 

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