BleepingComputer.com: Wav Versus Mpeg Format

I just downloaded a scad of Christmas music for children (yup, the Chipmunks and songs with cats and dogs meowing and woofing holiday songs - and was very careful to check that it was a legal site and songs were truly free, etc.

Each full song downloaded just as quickly as I clicked 'Save as' (wow!) and while they play just fine, I noticed they are saved in a format called 'wav'.

The other music on my computer are in a mpeg format - and apparently I have the option of right clicking on each wav song and choosing 'convert audio format'. Does this mean I could convert each into a 'mpeg' format - and if so, is there a reason to do so?

Thanks ever so much,
Mara

.wav is an audio format.
.mpeg is a video format.
Two different things.
Are you sure it's not .mp3, which is an audio format, instead of .mpeg.

A .wav file is an uncompressed audio file, which means it's big.
An .mp3 file is a compressed audio format, which reduces the file size considerably.

CD's you buy in the store are usually in .wav format.

Whether to convert them, or not, depends on what your going to play them on, and how much room your going to have for storage.
if you convert (reduce file size) to .mp3, make sure the "bit rate" is not less than 128.
Anything less, and you might notice a reduction in sound quality.
More is OK, but then your file size increases.

Let us know what you plan on doing with the songs, and we'll better be able to explain you options.

Thank you so much for being kind enough to reply, tg1911 - truly do appreciate it!

And of course you are completely right - I should have said mp3, not mpeg (which also explains a lot about my computer skills - grin!)

The first thing I shall do is burn a copy of the songs onto a CD - but our grandson wants me to put them in his "MP3 player" so he can listen to them all the time (not quite sure how to do that, actually).

I have another question if you don't mind, tg1911? A friend has told me they use a software program called 'WinMX' to download free music from the internet. But I am very confused about this as I think (but am unsure) that this falls in to something called 'file sharing' - which is apparently both illegal and can 'open' your computer up to bugs?

Thanks again,
Mara

If you allow me MaraM, WinMX falls under that catagory of P2P/Filesharing programs. Since it is against Forum policy to provide any information whatso-ever on this subject I can however advise to stay away from the likes of Winmx and similar ones.

If the CD player your going to use to listen to the music is mp3 compatable, you can convert the files to mp3, and burn them to disc.
I would suggest that you make copies of the wav files, and convert them to mp3. and save the originals.
That way, if anything goes wrong with the conversion, you still have the originals to try again.
Just burn the originals to CD, and save them somewhere safe.

If the player is not mp3 compatable, just burn the wav's to CD, and they should work in the player.
Then as I said earlier, make copies of the wav's, convert them to mp3, and your grandson should be able to transfer them from the computer, to his player, using the software supplied with his mp3 player.

What foozie said is partially correct.
A lot of people associate file sharing with pirating of copywrited material, which is not always the case.
There are a lot of files, that are perfectly legal to share.
Material whose copywrites have expired, somebodys personal work, that they want to get out to as many people as possible, new bands, that aren't under contract with a recording label, that want to get there music heard, etc., are examples of files, that are legal to share.
The problems start, when you share copywrited material.
That's illegal, and is not allowed to be discussed at Bleeping Computer.

The other thing you mentioned, "bugs", are a very real security risk, since you don't know who you're downloading from.
If you aren't very careful, it wouldn't take much to download a virus/trojan, and totally hose your system, not to mention the other problems associated with file sharing.
Here's an interesting article that will explain the other dangers associated with file sharing:
Risks of File-Sharing Technology

If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Fozzie, thank you so very much for letting me know - and if it's a taboo here, then I know it must be what I suspected- and there will be no chance whatsoever that I'll follow my friend's advice and use that site or any similar one.

If I'm not doing something wrong here by asking (and if I am, please do delete my posting and I'll completely understand) ...

I'm afraid I'm totally and completely confused now about free music. Some - from CNet, for instance - is that okay to download and use? - or is all free music wrong to download, I wonder? (If downloading the free music from CNet is a no-no too, even if you have to delete this posting, perhaps you'd be kind enough to send me a personal message as I'll have to delete the children's xmas songs I got last night).

Oh dear, I suspect all the other members here must know this type of thing but please bear with me, I'm learning as quickly as I can - gentle smile.

Thanks again,
Mara

tg1911, on Dec 1 2006, 08:01 PM, said:

What great and easy to understand information at the site of the link you provided, tg1911 - thank so very much!

Now I realize that P2P applications are hazardous to our computer's health for several reasons and far more importantly, it allows stealing from copywrited material - eek!

I shall be very, very careful to only download music that is legal to share and doesn't involve opening up my computer to attacks - but even so, will ensure the Zone Alarm and AVG are always working!

Your help has been wonderful - and my little grandson will be thrilled I didn't have to delete his 'Meow Meow Merry Christmas' songs - huge smile!

Thanks again, kind man...

Mara

You're very welcome, Mara.
I'm glad you found the information useful, and easy to understand.
It's good to hear you were able to avoid the devastation of having to delete his 'Meow Meow Merry Christmas' songs.
That would have been terrible.