Sony NW-S203F - Manual (Page 64)

NW-S203F/S205F.GB.2-699-315-12(2)
 
Advanced Features
What are Format and Bit Rate?
What is format?
The format of a song refers to the method used by SonicStage to store the
song’s audio information when songs are imported to SonicStage from the
Internet or audio CDs.
Common formats include MP3, WMA and ATRAC, etc.
MP3: MP3 (MPEG-1 Audio Layer3) is a common audio compression
technology developed by the MPEG working group of the ISO (International
Organization for Standardization).
MP3 can compress audio files to about 1/10 the size of standard CD audio songs.
WMA: WMA (Windows Media Audio) is a common audio compression
technology developed by Microsoft Corporation. The WMA format produces
the same sound quality as that of the MP3 format with smaller file size.
ATRAC: ATRAC (Adaptive Transform Acoustic Coding) is a general term used
to refer to ATRAC3 and ATRAC3plus formats. ATRAC is an audio
compression technology that satisfies the demand for both high sound quality
and high compression rates. ATRAC3 can compress audio files to about 1/10
the size of standard CD audio songs. ATRAC3plus, a more advanced version of
ATRAC3, can compress audio files to about 1/20 the size of standard CD audio
songs.
AAC: AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) is a common audio compression
technology developed by the MPEG working group of the ISO (International
Organization for Standardization). The AAC format produces the same sound
quality as that of the MP3 format, with a smaller file size.
What is bit rate?
Bit rate refers to the amount of data used to store each second of audio.
Generally, higher bit rates provide better sound quality, but require more storage
space for the same length of audio.
What is the relationship between bit rate, sound quality, and storage size?
Generally, higher bit rates provide better sound quality, but require more storage
space for the same length of audio, so you can store fewer songs on the player.
Lower bit rates enable you to store more songs, but at a lower sound quality.
For details on supported audio formats and bite rate, see  page 90.
Note
 If you import a song from a CD to SonicStage at a low bit rate, you cannot improve
the song’s sound quality by selecting a high bit rate when transferring the song from
SonicStage to the player.
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