Sony NW-A1000 Series - Manual (Page 59)

NW-A1000/A3000.GB.2-659-086-12(1)
Advanced Feature 59 59
What are Format and Bit Rate?
What is format?
The format of a track refers to the method used by CONNECT Player to store
the track’s audio information when tracks are imported to CONNECT Player
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 of the size of standard CD audio
tracks.
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
of the size of standard CD audio tracks. ATRAC3plus, a more advanced
version of ATRAC3, can compress audio files to about 1/20 of the size of
standard CD audio tracks.
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 tracks on
the player.
Lower bit rates enable you to store more tracks, but at a lower sound quality.
For details on supported audio formats and bite rate, see  page 90.
Note
• If you import a track from a CD to CONNECT Player at a low bit rate, you cannot
improve the track’s sound quality by selecting a high bit rate when transferring the track
from CONNECT Player to the player.
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