http://www.mp3insider.net Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:57:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Yesterday's post about CD ripping introduced one of my favourite ripping applications, CDex. This is 100% free software, and does an admirable job that's good enough for most of us. It's especially good for ripping CDs in new or near-new condition, and plays very well with the freedb database (so ... http://www.mp3insider.net/ripping/cdex-howto-free-download/ Most of us have a good chunk of money invested in CDs. But it’s not so much the circular piece of plastic… it’s the music that’s on it. The music is the main reason we shell out thirty-odd dollars to grab the latest and greatest tunes, and the packaging is ... http://www.mp3insider.net/ripping/why-rip-cd/ I logged on this morning after our 3-day Australia Day weekend, and the traffic stats for this little blog blew me away! So Stumblers, whoever you are, thank you for visiting and making my day. It means a lot. It also means I need to drag my sorry arse into action ... http://www.mp3insider.net/general-stuff/thank-you-stumbleupon/ Ever wondered how an MP3 encoder worked its magic? A search on Google will give you thousands of definitions, so I went back to some old documents to understand better what actually happens when an MP3 file gets encoded or decoded. Here are some factoids about the process. http://www.mp3insider.net/mp3-format/what-is-mp3/ You've probably heard that you clean CDs from the centre outwards, and not in an arc. Here's why. Audio CDs have error correction. Technically it's called Cross-Interleaved Reed-Solomon Code, or CIRC for short. There are two levels of error correction, C1 and C2. C1 corrects bit errors, and C2 corrects frame errors. An ... http://www.mp3insider.net/ripping/how-to-clean-your-cds/ I listed the core topics of this blog in yesterday's post, but there's one topic that I need to get in front of you pretty fast. It deserves attention early in this blog's life, and that's because some of you will have a good chunk of your MP3s obtained from ... http://www.mp3insider.net/sneaky-tricks/hide-mp3-collection/ Visit any electronics store, and you won’t have to look far to find the department where portable music players are sold. From inexpensive players that double as a memory stick for your PC through to shiny Apple iPods that cost hundreds of dollars, there’s a portable player that hits every ... http://www.mp3insider.net/general-stuff/introducing-mp3s/ This blog will provide lots of information that relates directly and indirectly to all things MP3. It’s a subject that interests me. There’s something crazy happening when a boring, committee-designed ISO standard that no-one gave a shit about, ended up developing the potential to shake up an entire industry, send ... http://www.mp3insider.net/general-stuff/the-first-post/