[ratty]

Hi
I've just got an mp3 player and loaded some tracks from Windows Media, which I had previously recorded on straight from an MD player, so they are not compressed. Because of this I can only get about 7 tracks on. Is there a way of converting them easily (something simple please!). Also, when I try to play them back, the whole thing cuts out after about 2minutes. Don't know if it's a faulty player or because the music isn't specially for mp3. Can anyone help before I go back to the shop and look stupid? Thanks.

[klmgb]

What kind of player is it? Some players its best to download new updated software, you can usually do this from the manufacturers website. Also, how much memory does it have? That's what is going to limit your capacity.

[fredg]

Hi,
Klmgb has asked good questions. Before we can help, can you post back with the name of your player, and the model number? From that, the amount of memory can be found.

[ratty]

Hi
THe make is a Technika, no model number on, 256 mb. The music I'm trying to put on is from a live recording, so can't download from website. Have put in new battery, and just got through a whole track - the one supplied with the player cut out after a few bars! Thanks for your help - appreciate it.

[NeedKarma]

You'll need to find out what extension are the files on your mp3 player: CDA, MP3, WMA, etc.

[fredg]

Hi, ratty,
Here is a link:
http://www.mpeg3.org/about2832.html

It says your brand uses .mp3 files; and it also gives some good information for arranging, in order you want, the music files on the player. Apparantely, no instructions came with this model, made in China.
The music you copy to the player has to be in the .mp3 format. Maybe what you tried copying to the player are a different format, such as .wav, etc.
The average mp3 song is about 500 kb, or 1/2 meg. So you should be able to get a LOT on a 256 meg player!
Best of luck.

[NeedKarma]

The average mp3 song is about 500 kb, or 1/2 meg. So you should be able to get a LOT on a 256 meg player!
Best of luck.

Actually the average mp3 is about 3MB to 4 MB in size. I know, I have about 2,000 of them.

[fredg]

Hi,
Thanks, needkarma, for the info.
My wife has a large collection also. They must have been converted, as her's are much, much smaller. They also could have been recorded at a lesser quality, such as 32 kBits/s, 11,025 Hz, Stereo, 4 KB/s; or something similar.
The Creative Recorder can convert just about any song to MP3, or other formats, with the quality and size of file desired.
They still sound good on the car stereo or our home computer surround sound.

[klmgb]

Most all MP3 players now act as a USB Flash Driveand will hold almost anything but only recognize as music MP3 or WMA(Windows Media). You can hook up the MP3 palyer to a computer and take a look at it and see what's on it. Delete everything on it you don't need and reload it with just the music format it supports(cant go wrong if you just load MP3). You should be able to get 50-75 songs on that thing.
BTW MP3 can be compressed pretty small, its all about the bit rate. Most recorders will let you choose the bit rate when you rip music. Remember, the lower the bit rate the smaller the size of file the lower the quality. 128kbps is considered near-cd quality.

[klmgb]

Ratty
How are you recording that "Live Track" to your MP3 player? What program are you using?

[NeedKarma]

Hi,
They also could have been recorded at a lesser quality, such as 32 kBits/s, 11,025 Hz, Stereo, 4 KB/s; or something similar.

Yes, that would explain it. I believe most encoding is done at 128 or 192 kbps and at 44Khz.