User guide

Page 10 of 24
1. cda is the format of music files on a music CD, you must convert the cda to a wma format
and if your MP3 player has the capabilities to play wma files, you’re ready to go –
otherwise you must convert the wma to an MP3 file format – taking music from a CD is
called ripping the CD
2. to make the process easier you can purchase programs that do it all for you -
http://www.smartcdripper.com/ for example the free version allows you to rip only the first
five songs off of any CD).
3. you can also download a free program in shareware or freeware that will convert wma to
MP3 – this will convert Windows Media files to MP3 files which can be played in MP3
Players - all Windows Media formats (*.wma, *.wmv, *.asf) are supported -
http://www.hitsquad.com/smm/programs/JodixVidMP3extractor/
4. Windows media player version 10 works too – insert a CD and a window pops up
5. Podcasts and audio books – locate podcasts and audio books using any search engine,
then download and maybe convert, but will need an aggregate reader to update podcasts
automatically
6. Videos – locate a video then convert
7. OR, use iTunes to do it all without the need for any other converters or aggregate readers
- and that’s why we’ll basically be using iTunes for music and podcasting and audio
books in this class – it’s free and easy to use
8. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1651347,00.asp iPod or NOT?
4. A glance at iTUNES (one of a few methods to locate music, videos, podcasts, etc.)
1. Open iTunes – open the iTunes store
2. On the right side under the Quick Links, click Browse
3. Three windows will appear at the top of the next screen and one larger window on the
bottom
4. In the first of the three windows at the top, click on Music and five windows appear
5. Experiment and notice how the search is narrowed down
6. Do the same for audio books and podcasts
5. How much music can you store on an MP3 player
A general guide is that 1 MB (1 megabyte) of memory gives you about a minute of near-CD
quality music in the WMA format. So a 64 MB player using flash memory will hold about an
hour's worth of music.
The chart below gives examples of some common capacities.
Mp3 wma
Memory Number of songs number of hours number of songs number of hours
256 MB 60 2 120 4
1 GB 250 8+ 500 16+
20 GB 5,000 166+ 10,000 333+
Taken from http://www.walmart.com/
6. FYI – TIPS, HINTS, SUGGESTIONS
• iPod – accepts MP3 and AAC (their own file format)
• Most other players accept Windows Media Audio (WMA) files - others include WMA, WAV,
ATRAC, WMV, ASF, OGG, in addition to MP3