Why are mp3s so large?

[Srikanth]

Why are mp3 files so large in size? The other day I was downloading an mp3 file and it was really huge. But the same file in other formats(.wav .mid etc) were smaller.
Why this difference in size?
Which format is best for what?

Thanks,
Srikanth

 

[Imported]

Were they the same song? MP3s encoded at different bitrates will vary in size. Sometimes when I download an mp3 it's the whole CD instead of the song, so that also could be what's happening.

 

[mosdef]

That can't be unless these aren't the complete songs. MP3s are compressed so they are inherently smaller than WAV for example because about 90% of the content (I think) is removed in the compression algorithm. Midi files aren't even songs, they are just tunes. The only other thing I can think of if it's a file renamed with the .mp3 extension to transport it. Otherwise, when dealing with the same conditions (quality, length, etc) of a song, the mp3 will always be smaller.

-mosdef

 

[Giovanni]

Well it makes sense that the midi file would be smaller, since midis just carry notes and tempo information, not actual digital sound. But it's impossible for a song in wav format to be smaller than an mp3 of the same song, unless it's corrupted. About your last question, the only advantage wavs have over mp3s is that mp3s have to be decoded with a player like Winamp, which takes more resources away from your system than wav playback would. As long as you have a decent system, though, MP3's are always better for music.

About this mp3 you downloaded...did it finish downloading? How'd it play?

 

[prodigy]

mp3 files are not large. A wav file of the same song would probably be more than 10x the size. Oh ya, midi's suck.

 

[urbantechie]

Yea, the biggest MP3 I have is about 150+ megs. Not bad for a single song! On average MP3s are about 3-4 megs. Maybe they are 256 bitrate?

 

[Srikanth]

I downloaded only the mp3 format of the song, not the wav format. But according to the website it was on, the wav format was bigger than the mp3. Maybe its just a typing mistake or something like that.

I downloaded a couple of songs and they were really good.

The only thing I hate is that due to their size, these mp3s take a lot of time to download. I just wish they were smaller.

Srikanth

 

[Becks2k]

"at. But according to the website it was on, the wav format was bigger than the mp3"

MP3 is a compressed wav, so if the mp3 and wav are the same song the wav is a bigger file. Think of what a mp3 is. a cd holds 640MBs which is 74minutes of music, wav. 128kbit mp3 the same cd would be only 71MB.

MP3 files arn't large at all they are small. 3MB a song isn't bad when the wav is like 25MB. That is comparable quality, you can find a wav that is only mono, not stereo, and 8 bit not 16 stuff like that