Creative TravelSound MP3 User Manual page 52

Making MP3s or WMAs — encoding
Encoding is the second phase of making an MP3 or WMA file. Encoders are used to convert the stored
audio tracks, usually WAV files, into these formats. The encoding process is considered lossy
compression, which means that some data is lost during compression. However, using the standard
sampling rate and bitrates will ensure that your MP3 or WMA files retain much of their audio quality.
The standard bitrate of most MP3 files is 128 Kbps, although some are set higher, at 160 or 192 Kbps.
Higher bitrates will result in larger MP3 file sizes, with better audio quality. For WMA, it is touted that
audio tracks encoded with half an MP3 file's bitrate can offer similar audio quality. As such, 64 Kbps
WMA files are quite common.
Use Creative PlayCenter, Creative MediaSource or a number of third party applications (not bundled) to
extract audio tracks and encode MP3s or WMAs. When creating unprotected WMA files, ensure that the
digital rights management function is disabled. For example, in Windows Media Player, under Options,
click the CD Audio tab, and then click the Enable Personal Rights Management check box to deselect
it.
An MP3 and WMA Primer D-2