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click poem title link for sound file
Sound File Formats
RealAudio .RA .RAM .RM -- accessed through .RAM files--These
are RealAudio files which "stream" through your computer to
your speaker(s). Typically, no downloading is involved as
these files flow into a buffer which, when filled, plays the
sound back. New versions of internet browsers (like the current
releases of NetScape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer) come
with a RealAudio Player built into them; so all you have to
do is click on the RealAudio file and it will fill the buffer
and play back to you. If your browser does not have a RealAudio
Player built into it you can easily download one as free-ware
from Progressive
Networks.
RealAudio .RA-- (RA download) --These are RealAudio
files which can be downloaded onto your computer for playback
when not online. If your browser does not have a RealAudio
Player built into it you can easily download one as free-ware
from Progressive
Networks.
.WAV--This is the most common soundfile format, and
is primarily found being used on PCs. .WAV files small enough
to fit into your RAM can be played back on the "Sound Recorder"
or "Media Player" that comes with Windows. Files too big to
fit into your RAM can be played using a hard disk player/editor.
Free-ware, share-ware, or demo versions of hard disk players
are easily downloadable from the web. For easiest playback
of .WAV files from hard disk, try Cool
Edit from Syntrillium. This is a download format.
.AU--This is the initial Sun soundfile format. Smaller
.AU files can be played using your NAPLAYER which comes with
NetScape. However, the current version of NetScape can only
play soundfiles that are a few seconds long because it must
load files into your RAM before playing them. If you want
to play .AU files we recommend that you first save them to
your disk and play them from a program that will play them
from your disk--such as the share-ware Cool
Edit from Syntrillium. This is a download format.
QT--QuickTime Video from Apple Computers. Download
here.
This is a download format where noted.
WMP-- Windows Media Player, extension .asx. RealPlayer
may be able play files after updating components and with
considerable effort. Most of these are from Slate Magazine,
also from Microsoft. Enough said. This is a download format
where noted.
.MP2--MPEG is a compressed audio format used on PCs,
Macs and SUNs. MPEG audio quality can be respectable, achieving
the minimum FM radio standard. It compresses files from various
sampling rates and 16 bit resolution down to files as small
as one fourteenth their original size. As one would expect,
the greater the amount of MPEG compression the lower the quality
of sound. The MPEG
player is available from Xing in Mac, PC and SUN versions.
It can be configured to automatically play MPEG files directly
from NetScape under the "Preferences" menu. Again, this will
only play files after loading them into RAM. If you want to
play files too big for your RAM, MPEG files can also be played
from your hard disk on Cool
Edit from Syntrillium. This is a download format.
.MP3--is short for MPEG-1 Layer 3. Do to recent popularity,
many free players. Go here
for mp3 FAQ and troubleshooting. These files can also be played
on a Realplayer. This is a download format.
.M3U--is an MPEG-1 Layer 3 which is streamed like
RealAudio. See above.
.AIFF--This is Mac soundfile format. These files may
be played using the bundled Mac audio player. Quicktime might
play some of these files. This is usually a download file
format.
.MID: MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface
and has been the rage among electronic musicians throughout
its six year existence. It is a powerful tool for composers
and teachers alike. It allows musicians to be more creative
on stage and in the studio. It allows composers to write music
that no human could ever perform. But it is NOT a tangible
object, a thing to be had. MIDI is a communications protocol
that allows electronic musical instruments to interact with
each other. (Quoted from the Philip Glass homepage.)
This is a download format.
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