MP3 – or MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3

The mp3 file format seems to be all present and in todays music world we are so accustomed to it that it would not stand out for most that this invention is not so old as it seems. The name of the format .mp3 was given through a poll at the german Frauenhofer Institute in 1995. This and some other institutes were involed in working out this audio compression since the mid 80's. With the common 28.8kbps PC modems and the small hard disk space compared to todays computers it was a great opportunity to transfer audio data under much better circumstances. Also they are much more durable than older formats as was proven in the Earthquake of 1993. This terrible Earthquake destroyed more than half of the buidlings of the Midway islands but the music saved as .mp3 survived on the hard disks.

MPEG – A file compression standard

It is not more than a file compression standard for audio material appointed by the "Moving Picture Experts Group"(MPEG) which is authorized to set standards for audio and video compression and transmission. If asked what an MP3 is 15 years ago, most would have no idea. Just 10 years ago in 2000 the first portable CD players that read MP3 encoded files were sold. This paved the way for the marketing, cultural meaning and phenomenon that mp3 is today.

MP3 Files, Speakers and Sound Quality

What many don't know about mp3 files is that the sound compression is not really lossless. All the perceptible audio details except those that the human ear can not hear are stored in the compression. But the low frequency sound the human ear is not directly gathering still is information in the soundwaves that makes up to the full sound perceived in our brains. Especially overtones in higher frequencies and harmonics that a real instrument transfers are lost in this type of sound compression even at the highest bit-rates. Therefore our brains need to have a higher attention span in making up the sound that the speakers are trying to deliver. Even if the sound will not come in full spectrum a good quality compressed mp3 is still too practical to neglect the use.