Sun, 08 Aug 1999 02:39:00 +0000

If I was in your position Cyberdog, I would use the MP3 file format. These files maintain good sound quality and have a smaller file size compared with WAV files. Once your audience has downloaded the files, they will need an MP3 compatible player to play them.

To create MP3's from a CD is quite easy. You can download any number of free programs that can do it for you. First you need a "ripper" which is a program that converts CD format into WAV format. Secondly you need an "encoder" which converts the generated WAV file into the MP3 file.

I have downloaded two programs from the net for each purpose. The ripper I use is called "CdCopy" and the encoder is called "BladeEnc". These are both available shareware/freeware. Try searching download.com for these.

Last of all you will need a program to play the files once they have been downloaded. The best example I have found is "WinAmp" - winamp.com. This is definitely the way to go - recently I heard that Public Enemy provided song samples in MP3 available for download from their site.

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Jim Shilt — Sat, 07 Aug 1999 02:25:00 +0000

I'm going to go against the flow here. I really like Beatnik player and files. The player can be embedded with a really small toolbar with multiple instances (one for each song). The files are small and the guy that made the player was one of the original developers of web audio. Also when the files are played they do not open another window. (helps make the player integrate into your 50 hours of designing.) Look at beatnik.com. You can also check out a demo site I did for Thompsons Pet Products that shows the use of Beatnik for mouseover sounds and background sounds. discoverynet.com/~tekguy/Thompsons. Didn't get the job but still like the site.

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JP Stones — Sat, 07 Aug 1999 01:11:00 +0000

I would also highly recommend streaming (real) audio - assuming your host supports it.

The file sizes are small and there is no download time as the file stream.
JP

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PJ — Fri, 06 Aug 1999 23:42:00 +0000

cyberdog,

I agree with CJ, use Realaudio or MP3. To convert your wav's into realaudio format just go to www.real.com and download the free Real Producer (or buy it if you want). It is a very easy program to use, it will step you through the process of converting your wav's to Realaudio format. The nice thing about Real Producer is if you ever decide to put up some sample videos you can do this to.

MP3 files will have a little bit better sound quality but the file size will be much larger than Realaudio. There are many utilities out there for creating MP3's so I won't get into that.

Have fun,
PJ

cj — Fri, 06 Aug 1999 20:39:00 +0000

Cyberdog, I would use either realaudio if your server supports it, or mp3 because of its high quality and small file size. If you decide to use mp3, make sure it is okay with your host and let them know that you have permission to do so.

cyberdog — Fri, 06 Aug 1999 19:44:00 +0000

Hi JP et al, I have designed a new website for a young performer up here in Canada, and I need to put some samples of her songs on her music page. Trouble is, I don't yet know how to do this. I've recorded some 1 minute wav files before, but I have her CD here, and I'd like to make some type of sound files of, say, the first 20 or 30 seconds of each of her songs. The surfer could have the option of clicking on the files to hear the music. (or not). (I am not a big fan of embedded audio that plays without your asking it to play).

Many visitors already have asked for samples, so, can you help? (I'm sure this is an easy one for you guys)

Also, which type of file is best for what I need to do? MIDI, WAV, what??

A prime example of what I am after can be found at the following site:
http://www.chantalkreviazuk.com/chantal/index.html

One last thing...is it me or is it really difficult to find a website that explains this in plain old English? I've looked at several sites offering tutorials, they all tell you how to write the code to get the files into your pages, but everyone seems to have forgotten to explain to the real dummies out there (like me) just HOW to actually MAKE the sound file!!! (frustration x 100)
I guess I should've just come to you guys first and saved hours of needless surfing, although I did learn about a few other unrelated web-building tricks, so not a total waste of time.
Thanks so much for any and all assistance,

PJ — Fri, 06 Aug 1999 04:48:00 +0000

Hmmm,

I still think Realplayer is the better format for streaming audio/video. Beatnik is cool for interactive web pages (to add sound to events), and for improving the sound quality of midi files. But if you want BROAD support of your streaming files this isn't the way to go.

I remember checking out the Beatnik plug-in, hmmm, almost 2 years ago and I thought it was great. Then I noticed it was only for Netscape, pretty dumb, they just limited their sales by at least 50%. Since then I guess they've fixed that problem but it would've helped to have IE support from the get-go.

BTW you can embed the Realplayer into your page, but I agree it is much more obtrusive than Beatnik's player.

I guess we're totally ignoring streaming solutions from Microsoft & Apple. I really like the picture quality of Microsoft's streaming software I just haven't used it that much, and Quicktime is still pretty new (as far as streaming goes).

Later,
PJ