MP3 player?

[justgamma]

Please don't laugh at an old lady. lol

Could someone explain what an mp3 player is and how it works.
I read of some people recorded streams of AAR to listen at work, but I have no idea how or what I'd need.

Thanks.

[bemildred]

1. "mp3" is an audio file format.

There are a number of such formats.

An "mp3 player" is a program (on a computer) or device that can play
back such files, like a turntable can play a LP record or a CD
player a music CD. So, just another audio/music format.

Sounds like you want an mp3 player device, like a CD player, you can
carry around with you, and a way to get the mp3 files onto the device
so you can listen to them at work.

I would wager if you talk it over with a salesman at Circuit City
or some such place he will explain it to you and try to sell you
all the stuff you might need.

[trogdor]

3. The significance of MP3 is...

...data compression. You can cram between 12 and 15 ALBUMS of music on one CD, and they still sound better than the product of the best, most expensive cassette deck recording on the best quality tape you can buy. A three minute song is about 3 MB in size. I play these CD's in my car, on a stereo I bought at Best Buy for $200 a couple of years ago. I suspect a similar system can be had now for 2/3 or less that.

The MP3-capable CD players now cost as little as $20. A hard drive based MP3 player now has between 20 GB and 40 GB of space, which translates to 5000 and 10000 MP3 files respectively. The latter can easily house my ENTIRE music collection, including the CD copies I made of my LP collection, at least 300 albums in all, and still not come close to full. These cost around $200-$300 or so.

[bemildred]

4. There are other compressed formats.

Not that I disagree with anything you say.

[SlackJawedYokel]

2. You'll want to record the Real Media stream first.

http://all-streaming-media.com/

Then convert it to an MP3 file(64-128bit will be fine for talking) and then you can put it on an MP3 player.
If you're not big on music collecting, I'd recommend you look around for one with less than 1GB of memory. Smaller, cheaper.
http://www.bananapc.com/products/productInfo.aspx?category_id=1330&product_id=13032&searchString=44570704-b&Op=2">512MB Sandisk Cruzer($85).
They make 128MB($56) and 256MB($67) versions as well.
http://www.buyxg.com/store/item.asp?key=MP-101-202">256MB Phison($47).
Check Pricewatch.com for more choices.

Of course if you wanna do the full fledged MP3 music experience, nothing beats an IPod.

Good luck.

Cletus

[bvar22]

5. Or just download the archived programs from:

whiteRose Society at:

http://www.whiterosesociety.org/

A comprehensive list of archived left radio with:
Thom Hartman
Mike Malloy
Randi Rhodes
and others.

This site is updated daily.
I frequently download the shows, copy them to CD, and play them in my car.

For justgamma who started the thread:

An mp3 player is just like a CD Player, only it plays mp3 files. A standard CD player won't play mp3 files because they are in a different format. Some Players WILL play both types, but they are special and cost more.

I can fit about 15hours of talk shows on a single CD in mp3 format.

[RamboLiberal]

6. I have the same question as justgamma

So all I'd have to do is download the mp3 files from a site like White Rose or Randi Rhodes Illegal Archives and then burn them on a CD on my PC then I could listen to the programs on an MP3 player?

How about if I wanted to play in the car - is there a way to connect an MP3 player to the car radio system without getting in to anything real technical?

[SlackJawedYokel]

7. Couple of things about terminology.

MP3 playes have come to mean those little thumb-sized sticks that hold up to 512MB of MP3 audio files.

A CD can have MP3 files burned onto it and played in a CD-player that recognizes the MP3 format.
I've got an older "walkman" style player that was pretty cheap... $30, IIRC.

So all I'd have to do is download the mp3 files from a site like White Rose or Randi Rhodes Illegal Archives and then burn them on a CD on my PC then I could listen to the programs on an MP3 player?
You could listen to them on a *CD player* that recognizes MP3s.

is there a way to connect an MP3 player to the car radio system without getting in to anything real technical?
And for the MP3 to play in your car, you'd either have to have an installed CD player that can recognize MP3s or an adapter of some sort.
The only adapter I'm aware of is the kind that uses a cassette tape.
The only other way would be if the receiver in your car had some sort of "audio in" jack that allowed you to hook up the MP3 player/CD-player through its headphone out.
IOW, probably not.
lol

Good luck.
Cletus

[Old and In the Way]

8. The "next big thing in car audio" will be to incorporate a USB port

onto the radio, so you can plug an MP3 stick directly into it. I haven't seen it yet, but you know they must be out there or are in design now.

[SlackJawedYokel]

9. I'm kinda surprised M$ hasn't produced a Blue Tooth

enabled car stereo, actually.
Co-worker just bought a nice little BT enabled MP3 player so she could do the cordless headphones thing while she exercised.
How hard would it be to have it send to the car stereo?

Heck, I'd buy one.

Cletus

[Old and In the Way]

10. That makes sense, too.

Using your phone as a storage device and bluetooth to feed to the audio receiver. You could obviously use it on PC's equiped with BT, too. People could bring their telephones to the party, instead of CD's.

:-)

[RamboLiberal]

11. Got a portable MP3/CD player last night

Decided on a Panasonic CD/MP3 player since I also like to listen to Audio Books on CD while walking. Been working my way through Stephen King's Dark Tower series and CD player I was using sucked big time on volume. The Panasonic has great volume for aging ears like mine where the volume has to compete with traffic noise (I walk at lunch time at work).

And I bought a $20 gizmo that plugs in to the headphone port that allows me to play the MP3 portion in the car. It transmits to the 88 FM Frequency settings on my car radio.

This is great for the car since talk radio at times I'm in the car in Pittsburgh is almost all RW crap.

Now I can take Randi, Mike Malloy, Thom Hartmann, etc. along for the commute.