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AIFF |
Audio Interface File Format (AIFF) was developed by Apple
and is the audio format for Macintosh computers. This format does not
support compression. |
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Bit Rate |
A bit rate is the amount of information (or bits) that is
transferred per second (bit per second or bps). MP3s are measured in
thousands of bits per second (kbps) and the higher the kbps, the higher the
sound quality. 128 kbps is the standard MP3 bit rate. |
Blade / BladeEnc |
An open source WAV to MP3 encoding engine used
in many MP3 software programs. |
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Buffer |
An area
of memory used to speed up access to devices such as a CD-R/W. It is used
for temporary storage of data read from or waiting to be written to a
CD-R/W. |
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Buffer Underrun |
When a CD burner requests data from the write buffer and
there is no data, the write laser doesn’t have any more data to write
therefore causing a buffer underun. The CD recording cannot be
interrupted in mid session and when this occurs you will have a defective CD
burn. |
|
Burn-Proof |
Burn-Proof is a technology developed by Sanyo, which helps
prevent buffer underruns. |
CDDB |
An online based Compact Disc Database (CDDB)
that allows you to download artist names, album
titles, track names etc. This information is displayed in your MP3 player. |
|
CD-R |
Compact Disc Recordable (CD-R) is a recording device that
allows you to record data and audio CDs only one time. |
|
CD-RW |
Compact Disc Rewritable is an extension of CD-R whereby you
can rewrite data or audio to the same CD multiple times. |
|
CD-ROM |
A
Compact Disc-Read Only
Memory (CD-ROM) is designed to store data in the form of text,
graphics and audio.
CD-ROMs use the Yellow Book standard as published by Philips. |
CD Text |
A red book CD standard that allows
album titles, artist
names, and song titles to be embedded on an audio CD. Some CD players
can read this data. |
|
Codec |
A codec (compression/decompression) is any technology that
is used for compressing and decompressing data such as audio (MP3) or video
(MPEG). |
|
Constant bit rate (CBR) |
Constant Bit Rate is an encoding method that maintains the
same bit rate across the entire audio file. |
Digital audio extraction (DAE) |
Digital Audio Extraction (DAE), also known as CD
ripping, is the process of extracting audio from CD which is copied to hard
drive in WAV format. |
Decoder |
The process of converting an MP3 to WAV. This
may be done in order to edit your WAV file. |
|
Disc at once (DAO) |
During the CD burning process, the entire CD is written at
once without the write laser being turned off. |
|
Encoder |
The process of converting a WAV to MP3 audio format.
This reduces file size while maintaining sound quality. |
|
ID3 |
A tagging system that allows you to put music information
such as artist, song title, album title, lyrics within your audio files. |
ISO |
International Organization for Standardization
(ISO) is a non-governmental global organization established in 1947 that
works to develop standards across goods and services. |
ISO 9660 |
A widely used data interchange format adopted in
1987. CDs created in this format can be read by Unix, Macintosh and Windows
computers. |
|
Jitter |
Jitter is caused by the inability of many CD-ROM drives to
accurately seek a specific sector on an audio CD therefore resulting
in pops or clicks when listening to the ripped audio track. |
LAME |
LAin't an Mp3 Encoder (LAME) is an open source MP3
encoder engine used in a large number of MP3 software titles. |
|
MP3 |
MP3 is an acronym for MPEG layer 3, which is a compressed
audio format. A compression ratio of up to 12 to 1 compression is possible,
which produces high sound quality. |
|
MPEG |
The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is a working group
under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) that sets the
standards for encoding audio and video in digital format.
Official
MPEG Homepage |
Normalization |
Due to volume differences between audio tracks,
normalization allows you to set the volume consistent between tracks during
the encoding or burning process. |
|
Ogg Vorbis |
A non-proprietary, patent free open source audio
compression format that is similar to MP3. |
Peer to Peer (P2P) |
A sharing and delivery of user specified files
among groups of people who are logged on to a file sharing network. Napster
was the first mainstream P2P software that enabled large scale file sharing. |
Red Book CD |
A CD audio standard defined by Sony and Philips
in 1980 that was published in a red binder, hence the name. |
|
Ripping (CD Ripping) |
The process of digitally extracting audio from CDs to your
hard drive in WAV format. |
Streaming |
Streaming audio allows for on-the-fly listening
to an audio file. The audio file is streamed from a server where it is
received and stored in your buffer on your computer. If you use WinAmp
or RealAudio, you will see a message displayed telling you that the audio
file is being buffered. The file is not saved on your hard drive. |
|
Track at once (TAO) |
During the CD burning process, each track is written on its
own and the writer laser is turned off before starting to burn the next
track. This causes a 2 second gap between tracks. |
Variable bit rate (VBR) |
Variable Bit Rate adjusts the bit rate depending
on the sound. For example, if there is silence in a song, the bit rate would
decrease and if there is a full symphonic sound the bit rate would increase.
VBR offers a higher sound quality at a smaller file size. |
Wave (.wav) |
A file format for storing digital audio data in
waveform. |
WMA |
Window's Media Audio is Microsoft's audio
encoding format that is starting to gain popularity due to its high quality
output at lower file sizes. A 96 kbps (and in some tests a 64 kbps) wma file
is equivalent in sound quality to a 128 kbps MP3 file. |
Yellow Book |
A CD-ROM standard defined by Sony and Philips in
1983 that is an extension of the Red Book standard. This standard enables
CDs to contain data along with audio. |
