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| Learning Series | Table
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| Internet Basics | |
| January 2000• Vol.6 Issue 1 | |
How To . . . Listen To Audio On The Internet |
Jump to first occurrence of:
[LISTENING]
[AUDIO]
[GRAY]
 Originally a text-based
medium, the Internet’s rapid growth in popularity has brought with it the
desire to have it do more than just sit there. We want audio! And we don’t
want to have to be rocket scientists to get it. As long as you have a
sound card and speakers, it should be very easy for you to hear all the
Internet has to offer. Step One: Click Me.
You stumble across an audio
file on the Internet and want to hear it. What should you do? Your first
step to listening to a file is to
simply click the link. A few standard players out there are packaged with
many browsers and operating systems. If you have a relatively new browser
or run any recent version of Windows or the Apple operating system,
chances are good you have the necessary equipment to listen to audio
already installed, and your computer will automatically begin playing the
audio file.If not, no problem! You just have to figure out what format the audio file is in, and you can then set out to find a player for it. Step Two: Formats.
A format is the form that a sound file takes so it can be read
and understood, much as this sentence is formatted in English; if it was
in Italian, it would contain the same information, but you might have
trouble reading it. In some cases, certain formats also compress a file,
so it can be more easily delivered over the Internet. (
Compressing a file means condensing the information in
the file so it can be stored in less space or transmitted in less time.)
You can tell a file’s format by looking at the dot and two- or
three-letter extension after its name. For example, you might see
Mysong.wav. Mysong is the file; .WAV is the file extension.Some of the more popular music formats include: • WAV—developed by Microsoft; one of the most common types on the PC • AIF, AIFF, AIFC —developed by Apple • MID—MIDI sound • MPG, MPEG—Mpeg audio • AU—from NeXT, Sun • SND—used for various audio files • IFF, MOD, NST—developed by Amiga (less popular than the above types) • RA, RAM—RealAudio, one of the most popular types of streaming audio. (Streaming lets you slowly download a file and play it as it comes in, as opposed to downloading it to your hard drive and then playing it.) • MP3—similar to the MPEG; used to compress CD quality sound. Step Three: Get A
Player. The following three players should get you through most
of your audio problems. All three are free, are available in Windows and
Macintosh versions, handle multiple formats, and will fight firmly (but
politely) to be the player for every format it can grab. If you
have more than one installed, you’ll have to decide which will be the
default player for each format (check preferences, options, or control
panel on each to see what formats it currently
handles).RealPlayer G2 (http://www.real.com/). From RealNetworks, the G2 player handles most formats, including RA/RAM, WAV, AU, AIFF, MID, MP3, MPG, and more. It is also the only player that handles RA/RAM. Given how popular this format is in streaming, it’s a good idea to download and install this player. Microsoft Media Player (http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia). Even though it doesn’t handle RA/RAM, this player from Microsoft does handle WAV, AIFF, AIF, AU, SND, MID, MPG, and more. It comes bundled with newer versions of the Windows operating system. QuickTime Player (http://www.apple.com/quicktime). Part of Apple’s QuickTime multimedia software, it handles AIFF, AU, WAV, and MID. Additional
Players/Formats. Though the three players above should cover
most of your audio needs, they are by no means the only ones out there or
the only way to listen to audio on the Internet.Liquid Audio. This special music format features high-quality sound in the form of liquid tracks. The Liquid Audio Player 5.0 (http://www.liquidaudio.com/) can play many audio formats and even let you view album art/liner notes while you listen to music. Winamp. If you’re really looking to have fun with your music, try the free Winamp (http://www.winamp.com/). Capable of playing numerous formats, including MP3, CDs, WAV, and more, Winamp also lets you download thousands of “skins” to change the appearance of the application, as well as numerous plug-ins that can extend its abilities (or even turn your monitor into a giant lava lamp). A similar product, called Macast, is available for the Macintosh platform (http://www.macast.net/).  by Rich Gray
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