Windows Media, MP3 Jukebox Software, Ripping

Windows Media 4.0:

Windows Media Technologies 4.0 refers to an audio and video format created by Microsoft. Windows Media Audio (WMA) is another audio format supported by MusicMatch Jukebox. Windows Media was created by Microsoft and gives high- quality download-and-play music with very small files. Windows Media 4.0 provides excellent quality for streaming (listening to a file on the Internet without having to download it) as well - especially on slower Internet connections. It also incorporates Windows Media Digital Rights Management, which makes digital content distribution more attractive to artists and publishers by enabling them to distribute their content broadly, but requires a license for consumers to play the content. Windows Media video streams deliver excellent video quality at lower bandwidths.

MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts Group):

MPEG (pronounced M-peg), or Moving Pictures Experts Group is the name of the family of standards used for digital video and audio compression, including the popular MP3 audio format.

You can identify MP3 files because they will end in .mp3. Typically 1 MB is equal to one minute of music or several minutes for spoken word/audio books.

MP3 Jukebox Software:

In terms of MP3 software, jukebox refers to software that offers a complete recording, organizing and playing solution. For instance, MusicMatch Jukebox will rip and encode your audio CDs to MP3 or Windows Media formats, (using the program's Recorder component) organize them in an easy to use Music Library and allow quick creation of Playlists. Many programs are designed to do only one of the steps, i.e. an MP3 player is not a jukebox - it is just a player.

Recorder:

One of the main components of MusicMatch Jukebox is the Recorder. This is where you record (also known as ripping and encoding) your audio CDs to MP3 or Windows Media formats.

Ripping:

Technically, ripping is the process of extracting the digital audio files from a CD. This process is commonly referred to as ripping CDs and this, in conjunction with the encoding process, is known as Recording within MusicMatch Jukebox.

Encoding:

For our purposes, encoding is the process of compressing a ripped audio file into MP3, Windows Media or other audio format. The ripping and encoding processes happen in one easy step within MusicMatch Jukebox and are referred to as Recording.

Encoder:

An encoder is a device that modifies information into a required transmission format. For our purposes, an MP3 encoder is the technology used to compress your ripped audio files into the much smaller MP3 format. We also allow Windows Media encoding, which provides excellent quality at lower bandwidths. Within MusicMatch Jukebox, the ripping and encoding processes are combined in one easy step and are referred to as Recording. MusicMatch Jukebox currently features the next-generation encoder from Fraunhofer, the co-inventors of the MP3 format. It records up to 40% faster than our previous