JVC HX-Z3 Disc Play Introduction, MP3 Introduction, When playing a CD-Ror CD-RW, What is MP3?

Disc Play Introduction

This unit has been designed to play back the following discs:

•CD (Audio CD)

•CD-R (CD-Recordable)

•CD-RW (CD-ReWritable)

•MP3 disc (MP3 files recorded on a CD-R or CD-RW)

When playing a CD-R or CD-RW

User-edited CD-Rs (CD-Recordable) and CD-RWs (CD-ReWritable) can be played back only if they are already “finalized.”

•You can play back your original CD-Rs or CD-RWs recorded in music CD format or in MP3 format. (However, they may not be played back depending on their characteristics or recording conditions.)

•Before playing back CD-Rs or CD-RWs, read their instructions or cautions carefully.

•Some CD-Rs or CD-RWs may not be played back on this unit because of their disc characteristics, damage or stain on them, or if the player’s lens is dirty.

•CD-RWs may require a longer readout time. This is caused by the fact that the reflectance of CD-RWs is lower than for regular discs.

About the CD ready lamps

Each CD ready lamp corresponds to the disc tray of the same number.

•When and why they light up?

–When you turn on the unit for the first time after plugging into a wall outlet, all CD ready lamps (CD1 READY, CD2 READY, and CD3 READY) light up. From the next time on, CD ready lamp(s) light(s) up according to the previous condition.

–Each time you press the disc tray open/close buttons

—0(CD1, CD2, and CD3), the corresponding CD ready lamp lights up.

•When and why they go off?

Only when the unit detects there is no disc loaded on a certain tray, the corresponding CD ready lamp goes off. (“NO DISC 1,” “NO DISC 2,” or “NO DISC 3” appears on the display.)

•When and why they flash?

The corresponding CD ready lamp flashes during playback and pause.

If the loaded disc is an MP3 disc

The corresponding CD ready lamp and the MP3 indicator will light up.

MP3 Introduction

What is MP3?

MP3 is an abbreviation of Motion Picture Experts Group 1 (or MPEG-1) Audio Layer 3. MP3 is simply a file format with a data compression ratio of 1:10 (128 kbps*). By using MP3 format, one CD-R or CD-RW can contains 10 times as much data volume as a regular CD can.

*Bit rate is the average number of bits that one second of audio data will consume. The unit uses kbps (1,000 bits per second). To get a better audio quality, choose a higher bit rate. The most popular bit rate for encoding (recording) is 128 kbps.

MP3 disc structure

On an MP3 disc, each song (material) is recorded as a file. Files are grouped into a directory (or folder). Directories can also include other directories, creating hierarchical directory layers. (See “How are MP3 files recorded and played back?” on page 14.)

This unit manages files and directories as “tracks” and “groups.” This unit can recognize up to 255 tracks per group, up to 64 groups per disc (up to 16,320 tracks). The unit ignores those exceeding the maximum numbers and cannot play them back.

About MP3 discs

•MP3 discs (either CD-R or CD-RW) require a longer readout time. (It varies due to the complexity of the recording configuration.)

•When making an MP3 disc, select ISO 9660 Level 1 or Level 2 as the disc format.

•This unit does not support multisession recording.

•This unit can play MP3 files only with the following file extensions— “.MP3,” “.Mp3,” “.mP3,” and “.mp3.”

•Files other than MP3 are ignored.

•Some MP3 discs may not be played back because of their disc characteristics or recording conditions.

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