You need a new thread for this, fttom.Originally posted by fttom:
Charles, I'm asking forgiveness to start with. I'm borrowing your thread, since you've got all the techies on here, and they'll see this. I've got a question.
I think that I want an MP3 player, but I'm not sure what one really is, what it does, how do I put music on it, where do I get this music, etc. If I do want one, what kind do I want, what features to I need/want, etc.
What's a good price range?
Ok, Folks, Help!
Thanks, Charles. I now return this thread to you.
I'll tell you what I know about MP3 players, which isn't much. An MP3 is a compressed audio format. Depending on the degree of compression, the sound can be very close to CD quality or it can sound like an old AM radio. You get MP3 files by downloading them from the internet (remember Napster?) Or you can use one of the various software utilities, such as EZ CD Creator, to convert individual tracks or entire CDs to MP3 format on your hard drive.
MP3 players may have built-in memory to store music files. They may have replaceable or expandable memory cards (like a digital camera.)These may be very compact and have no moving parts. Typically, these connect to your computer with a USB cable to load the songs.
My favorite flavor is a portable CD player that will play conventional CDs or CDs that are recorded in MP3 format. I have one of these in my car and I can put about 5 hours of music on one CD, with no loss of quality that I can detect.
Depending on the player, you may have a LCD readout that will show you the name of the song, the artist, the length or other information about the track. There will probably be fast forward and rewind controls, a repeat function and maybe a search function, which is useful if you have 70 or more songs stored.
Questions?