About Real Audio and MP3:

Distributing audio content on the Internet poses a particular challenge for software designers and composers alike. The objective is to provide as high quality a product as possible while using the minimum amount of bandwidth and server space. The current conventional wisdom states that the smaller the file, the more you compromise sound quality.

Engineers who develop internet audio applications focus on compression technology, looking for ways to compress or shrink file sizes without the sound degradation trade off. Currently there are two popular protocols which are used to compress audio for internet distribution.

Real Audio, developed by Real Networks, is a method that uses variable compression ratios to provide different quality levels for different audio needs. Much of the Internet broadcasting that goes on today utilizes Real Audio technology. Since it's inception in 1995, over 50 million users have downloaded and registered Real Networks' Real Audio Player.

MP3 is another popular protocol that creates CD quality audio albeit with much larger file sizes. Controversy swirls around the MP3 format because, although the technology itself is legal, it's high quality makes it a popular method for illegally distributing copyrighted material. For a time, Napster was the premiere website dedicated to stockpiling unlicensed copies of popular recordings. The Recording Industry Association of America aggressively pursues suspected cases of copyright violation and closed Napster down in the summer of 2001. Audio Galaxy, Kazaa and Morpheus have risen from Napster's ashes to continue file sharing on the web.

At the Westerman Way we prefer the MP3 format. Our Real Audio files are optimized for ISDN connections. A three minute file is roughly one megabyte in size.  Clicking on the Real Audio button provides a pop-up player and the content is streamed from our Westerman Way web server. An MP3 file of the same length is roughly twice the size. Clicking on the MP3 selection will download the file to your machine. If you have an MP3 player, you can play the file at your leisure.

Which type of file you choose depends on your Internet connection. If you have a dial-up connection, then the Real Audio format will take less time to download. If you have a DSL or Cable Modem connection, then MP3 is a much higher quality choice. If you have the time, the free disc drive space and want to keep a permanent copy of the song, download the MP3 version. The sound is significantly better.

Advances in compression technology are happening almost weekly and in time we will be able to listen and view high quality audio-visual content on the web that matches what we see and hear on CDs and broadcast television. That's called convergence, where a computer CPU replaces the television set and the two mediums evolve into one.