All you need to know about MP3/MP4 Players
How do MP3/MP4 players work?Mp3 players at the basic level broadcast a digital signal. A bunch of ones and zeros that can be read by a computer program that make up your song. The problem with digital music is that just a few seconds of audio track take up a huge amount of space. This is where file compression comes in and what “MP3/MP4” technology IS at it’s base. Digital file compression roughly involves getting rid of the data that is unnecessary. Scientists a long time ago found out that our ears are not able to pick up all the sounds that are around us. And that by taking out certain sounds, they can create much smaller files, thus compressing them, while the listener can’t ever tell the difference. There are many other file formats other than MP3/MP4, some are even playable through MP3/MP4 players, but MP3/MP4 is the most popular.
What’s the difference between a hard drive and a flash MP3/MP4 player?Hard Drive – Hard drive MP3/MP4 players can hold much more data than a flash MP3/MP4 because they use a hard drive. They can normally hold anywhere from 4GB to 60GB(you’re talking thousands of songs here). They also tend to have more features and a larger screen size.
Flash player – Flash MP3/MP4 players use a memory(or flash) card to store data. Flash MP3/MP4 players have a much smaller storage capacity, ranging from 32MB to a few gigs. Flash players have no moving parts though, and are usually much smaller and lighter than hard drive players. They can take a beating and are perfect for use with sports. Flash mp3 players also usually have a longer battery life. One last note about flash MP3/MP4 players. Most of them are upgradeable, in that you can just pop out the flash card for a larger capacity flash card. This is not possible with hard drive players without a good amount of technical knowledge, and is not recommended.
Micro drive players - A new type of player has emerged recently called a micro hard drive player. It uses a very small hard drive inside the player, thus allowing it to hold more capacity than a flash player but also be lighter and smaller than your normal hard drive players. Micro drive players though have the same other disadvantages as regular hard drive players, such as moveable parts that can’t be used while working out. They are also not very cheap as of yet. You’ll be paying the highest price per MB for micro drive players.
What is the price range of MP3/MP4 players?This is a tough question to answer, because so much depends on the type of player you get and what kind of features it has. MP3/MP4 players can run anywhere from $50 on the cheap end, to $500 for top of the line MP3/MP4 players. This will depend on whether your player can hold 256MB or 40GB, whether it has a large user friendly color screen or not, as well as many other options that we try to cover thoroughly throughout this guide.
How many songs can an MP3/MP4 player hold?Here's a little chart to give you a rough idea of how many songs different sized players can hold:
Capacity # of Songs*
128 MB - 32 Songs
256 MB - 64 Songs
512 MB - 128 Songs
1 GB - 256 Songs
5 GB - 1,250 Songs
10 GB - 2,500 Songs
15 GB- 3,750 Songs
20 GB - 5,000 Songs
30 GB - 7,500 Songs
40 GB - 10,000 Songs
60 GB - 15,000 Songs
120 GB - 30,000 Songs
*Based on an average of 4MB per song.
What is the battery life of an MP3/MP4 player?Battery life can range anywhere from 8-10 hours to approx 35 hours. Check the detailed information before purchasing your MP3/MP4 player for this data. The main difference in MP3/MP4 player batteries is whether they are rechargeable or not. Interestingly, the rechargeable batteries are usually the ones that last the shorter amount of time. Though you won’t have to go buying a new battery every time your MP3/MP4 player is starting to run low on juice. Most hard drive MP3/MP4 players come with a non removable lithium-ion battery that last anywhere from 2-4 years.
How does my mp3 player connect to a computer?MP3/MP4 players have two main interface types. USB and FireWire. Most PCs have some sort of usb port. Either USB 1.1 or 2.0. 2.0 is a smaller connection type than 1.1 and faster. Most mp3 players will have this connection type, as well as most newer computers. If your MP3/MP4 player has a 2.0 connection, but your computer only has the older 1.1 connection, there are adapters that can be purchased to make the connection for you. Mac computers use FireWire. Some newer model MP3/MP4's also have Ethernet connection capabilities. Before you purchase a player make sure you know what connection types it has, as well as what connection types you are able to accept. There’s nothing worse than buying a new MP3/MP4 player and then suddenly realizing you can’t put any music on it!
Do I need any special software to use my mp3 player?Depending on what operating system you have you may need some software to be able to connect your MP3/MP4 player to your computer and transfer files. Windows XP/Vista does this without the need for any software. Older operating systems may need it. Either way, your MP3/MP4 player will come with all the software you’ll need to be able to use it. It will probably also come with extra software for using jukebox functionality, making different playlists, etc…If you are unhappy with the software that comes with your MP3/MP4 player, there are plenty of free software packages available on the internet.
What kind of MP3/MP4 player user am I?Just as there are many different MP3/MP4 player users, there are many different MP3/MP4 players to fit your personality and need type.
Do you commute to work? Will you be listening to a lot of music in your car? You will need to make sure you have cassette/cigarette adapter to use with it. Don’t have a tape deck in your car? You will have to use a direct line-in jack to hook the mp3 player up to it. Make sure you have one. If you commute using public transportation you’ll probably want a smaller and lighter MP3/MP4 player. A flash MP3/MP4 player would probably be right for you.
If you plan on listening to most of your music around the house you probably want a larger capacity MP3/MP4 player to hook up to your stereo that can hold most of your music collection.
IF you travel a lot you may also want a large capacity player to hold as much music as possible. Unless you have a laptop with you that stores your music. Then a smaller flash player would be fine to use and transfer music back and forth from the laptop.
Always make sure you know what you’re looking for before you start looking!
Where can I get music to put on my MP3/MP4 player?There are a few ways to get music to play on your MP3/MP4 player. One is to simply copy your music cds onto your computer(or directly to your MP3/MP4 player, depending on what kind of player you have), and then transfer them to your player. The software that comes with your player should be able to handle all this. If you already have music ripped or downloaded on your computer, the process is also just as easy as dragging the files onto the MP3/MP4 player.
There are also many peer to peer networks. The quality of the music files is iffy though, so be careful. You don’t know who did the encoding and you can never be sure what you’ll get.
The last is online music stores. There are many online stores out there and you need to be careful which one you use. With licensing wars, and usage restrictions, and format types, you need to make sure your player will be able to play songs you download off these sites, especially since you’re paying for them! Check back soon for our in development section on online music stores.
Is there anything else I need to know?Of course there is! But we have specific sections dedicated to covering any of your other questions. And if we don't have the page yet, it's in the works.
If you’d like to know what different features are available for MP3/MP4 players we're developing an MP3/MP4 features page which will cover all available features on most MP3/MP4 players. We are also going to have an MP3/MP4 player accessories page to assist you in purchasing accessories for your MP3/MP4 player.
If you know all you need to know about MP3/MP4 players, and need help finding the right one for you, check out our
store to find the right MP3/MP4 player for you.
