From the name, an MP3-player means that the main function of such a device is playing songs in the MP3 format (MPEG Layer 3 compression). Now it appears unrealistic to find a portable player which cannot cope with this format. Modern media players do not only allow listening to music or viewing photos but also watching video though many of them only with an integrated display.
The vast majority of products support the playback of tracks in the WMA format (Windows Media Audio is Microsoft’s competitor of MP3), some models are capable of playing OGG files (the Ogg Vorbis compression format) which are gaining popularity among listeners.
Radio can be a nice addition to playing music to receive programmes in the FM-band. You may like to listen to current news or you may just get tired of your tracks recorded in the player. So if you are a radio fan, choose a model equipped with an FM-tuner.
Some MP3-players can act as a voice recorder. Some devices can only record a loud conversation at a distance of half to two meters, while others are quite suitable for lectures in the classroom.
Flash players are divided into two groups of devices, the MP3 players to only play music and the so-called MP4 players (although it is more correct to call them mini PMPs or mini Portable Media Players), and they are capable of video playback. It is worth mentioning a small group of products using removable flash cards, such as SD.
If there is a colour screen, the player can have a video function. The MP4 players have colour screens with a diagonal between one and two inches, and more. The vast majority of devices are not able to play videos in the standard computer resolution compressed by the popular codecs DivX and XviD (the MPEG 4 versions). Before uploading to the player it is require? to at least reduce the resolution to fit the screen, and it is often need to convert in the corresponding player format. So watching video in the so-called MP4 players is often marketing ploy rather than realistic features.
When we speak about the devices with flash cards, they are suitable primarily for those who have a good stock of such cards.
The contemporary HDD players often called Jukeboxes can rightly be called PMP (Portable Media Player) units. The hard disk capacity can be several tens of GB allowing the player to keep all the available music. Though the dimensions and weight are high, there are also some advantages. Since the device is so large anyway, the player can have a high-quality screen with the appropriate diagonal. Then video will become real. Of course, most models will still have to be converted but you can buy video clips for the Apple iPod in the right format (or downloaded if they are for free) in iTunes Store.
One of the main characteristics of a MP3 player is the built-in memory. Less capacious models are cheaper, but the products with more memory can store a good collection of songs. Let us count how many tracks will fit in one or another capacity. An average song in MP3, if not too much to save on quality, requires about 5.5-6 MB, its duration is about 3.5-4.5 minutes. Thus the GB player can store 170-180 songs or an average of 12 albums. Continuous listening will last for some 11 hours. Not so much!
The models which store music on memory cards are standing aside. But we can speak about the necessary capacity of a memory card.
So, choosing a flash player it is recommended to select a model with the capacity of at least 1 GB or even better two gigabytes and more. A product with limited memory will quickly disappoint you because you will have to update your music collection almost every day.
HDD players initially have a larger hard disk but it is worth considering whether you will watch videos or transfer files.
By the way, one should check the USB interface version for communication with the computer. A simple USB 2.0 (also USB 2.0 Full Speed) for high-capacity models is clearly insufficient; there should be USB 2.0 High Speed. Otherwise, copying music on the player will take too much time.
MP3 players can be considered as removable drives (Mass Storage or MSC, UMS). You can copy music and other files from the player back and forth as you wish. There are no restrictions or taboos. But a player relies solely on the file name or the contents of tags. It is necessary to organise the library, which implies a complex structure of folders (for example, genre / author / album), and maintain the structure when transferring to the player. It is somewhat more complicated than using a programme shell. However a lot of player users are eager to have Mass Storage.
Particular attention should be paid to the sound quality of a player. Most contemporary models are built on multiple hardware platforms and are not much different from each other within a platform. But we should keep in mind the human factor as some design engineers or programmers may make mistakes. Therefore instead of demonstrating impeccable sound, an MP3 player plays with noticeable distortions.
Before downloading music or images on most media players, it needs to first be processed by a computer in a special program. Check if your player has a software disc.
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