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There are several different
types of Mp3 software available and it all performs
different tasks.
Encoder
An MP3 encoder is a special
piece of software that will encode an audio file
(WAV, AIFF, or other format) into the MPEG 1 layer
3 standard format. When an audio file is encoded,
harmonic data is stripped away and specific MP3
data is added. The encoder removes harmonics that
it determines to be inaudible to the human ear or
masked by other frequencies. Data reduction of this
sort is referred to as perceptual noise shaping.
Decoder
Decoder software allows the
user to listen to MP3 files. There are numerous
decoders available with a variety of features. One
of the most popular decoders is a shareware program
for PC called WinAmp. A comparable free player for
both Mac and PC is Quicktime. Fraunhofer’s
ISO/MPEG3 player is available at: ftp://ftp.iis.fhg.de/pub/layer3/mpl3_14b2.hqx.
Ripper
Ripper software reads audio
CD's from a CD-ROM drive
and converts the 44.1kHz
16-bit audio format into
WAV or AIFF for software
conversion into MP3.
Some programs are capable
of ripping a CD file
directly to MP3.
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