mp3 / wma / ogg ...etc
 

Hi,
I just have a few general questions about the different file formats.
1.) Whats the difference between the file encoding? (file size, quality, etc between mp3, ogg, wma, etc)

2.) If variable or constant bitrate better?

3.) Which formats do you use? (mp3, wma, ogg, wav, etc) (128, 164, 256kbps... etc)

Thank you!

Ogg all the way

Take a look at this site: http://www.xiph.org/ogg/vorbis/listen.html
And this one too: http://www.vorbis.com/

For the info you want.

I like to use mp3s because they are universally understood. No messy file conversions until your ready to burn them on a CD.. if you do that kind of thing.

Yeah, mp3 is just sorta the default format now a days. However, I also really like atrac3 off of a wav. Wav's are bad because they're big, but atrac3 gives you comparable quality (lossless compression) at a size at or below mp3.

You don't need to do anything "messy" if you use K3b, it does it all for you.

ogg, smaller size, better quality, and it's free! BUT - not every player supports it.

mritch.

yeah i like ogg better, but the fact that most mp3 player do not support oggg is kind of sh*ty, therefore the only that i know that supports ogg are IRiver IHP and Rio Karma. I would like 2 c iPod supporting ogg but at current time it doesn't.

OGG

No question, OGG all the way! It just sounds so much better then MP3s at the same bitrate.

And all major player now have support for OGG, via built-in or plug-in.

I like OGG a lot, but MP3's are the universal format, so I have to use those on my MP3 player. It doesn't support OGG yet.