Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3

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dstrenz
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2006/01/15 19:58:41 (permalink)

Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3

How come all the music uploads here are mp3s rather than m3us? Some advantages of m3u are:

M3u files are streamed (in Win Media Player and Winamp at least) and start playing almost immediately (after a little buffering).
MP3 files don't start playing until the whole song is downloaded.

So, if a song doesn't appeal to you, you don't have to download the whole file to find that out.

With m3u files, you can encode using a higher bitrate and get higher quality sound without causing a long wait to download.

To support m3u files, all you have to do is upload a tiny m3u file along with the mp3. Winamp can generate it for you. The format is described here: The M3U (.m3u) Playlist File Format.

Here's an example/test. The first one is a link to an m3u file, second is to a mp3. The mp3 is 7.5megs, 320Kbps.
http://donstrenz.com/mp3/sugarplumfairy.m3u
http://donstrenz.com/m3u/sugarplumfairy.mp3

Notice how much faster the m3u starts playing.
#1

14 Replies Related Threads

    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/15 20:02:09 (permalink)
    Sorry, the link to the mp3 should be http://donstrenz.com/mp3/sugarplumfairy.mp3
    #2
    fac
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/15 20:11:50 (permalink)
    How come all the music uploads here are mp3s rather than m3us?


    I don't think that's true. Lots of people here host their stuff at SoundClick, which offers both streaming and downloading (if the artist allows it).

    Me, I have my own website were I host my mp3's with high quality (192 Kbps), but I also upload all my tracks to Soundclick for people who can't wait for the download.

    http://facproductions.net

    Lots of gear. Not enough time.
    #3
    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/15 20:30:16 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: fac

    I don't think that's true. Lots of people here host their stuff at SoundClick, which offers both streaming and downloading (if the artist allows it).


    Hmm, I haven't seen any streaming stuff here, but it's not a big deal. I am curious why though.
    #4
    lawapa
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/15 21:38:32 (permalink)
    Streaming on anything but a high speed connection flat our sucks. The quality of the sound that is ;)+). Dialup is lofi at best. If best is the right word. True soundclick allows both. And having to download a file does take time. But to really hear a good reproduction of any tune short of hi-speed one must be patience. Now MP3 is not reallt hi-fi to begin with. And 192khz is better than the average 128. But I simply can't stream anything so I'd be left out. Working on getting back on hi-speed. Cause Dialup sucks :)+)
    #5
    fac
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/15 21:46:01 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: dstrenz
    Hmm, I haven't seen any streaming stuff here, but it's not a big deal. I am curious why though.


    Then you must see THIS VERY IMPORTANT THREAD

    Lots of Soundclick sites there. My own is http://www.soundclick.com/facproductions

    http://facproductions.net

    Lots of gear. Not enough time.
    #6
    Digital Aura
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/16 14:55:29 (permalink)
    Yeah. Most everybody offers their stuff through SOUNDCLICK. Myself included, although my sig takes you to my website. When I throw out a tune for feedback I always go the SOUNDCLICK streamable option.
    NEVER AS A DOWNLOAD.
    SOundclick offers 128kbps streaming play that cannot be downloaded (it CAN be re-recorded, but why bother at 128kbps).
    As you say, it's just so nice to stream stuff rather than download it all the time!
    #7
    agincourtdb
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/16 15:59:36 (permalink)

    ORIGINAL: fac


    ORIGINAL: dstrenz
    Hmm, I haven't seen any streaming stuff here, but it's not a big deal. I am curious why though.


    Then you must see THIS VERY IMPORTANT THREAD

    Lots of Soundclick sites there. My own is http://www.soundclick.com/facproductions


    Nice to make a very important contribution

    Streaming never worked for me when I had dialup. Not once. At best I'd get to hear 20-30 seconds of a song before the buffer emptied. Since there's no appreciable difference in hosting space usage, I'd just as soon handle .mp3s


    #8
    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/16 20:29:27 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: lawapa

    Streaming on anything but a high speed connection flat our sucks. The quality of the sound that is ;)+). Dialup is lofi at best. If best is the right word. True soundclick allows both. And having to download a file does take time. But to really hear a good reproduction of any tune short of hi-speed one must be patience. Now MP3 is not reallt hi-fi to begin with. And 192khz is better than the average 128. But I simply can't stream anything so I'd be left out. Working on getting back on hi-speed. Cause Dialup sucks :)+)


    There should be no difference in sound quality at all because the m3u file merely points to the mp3 file.

    But I see your and agincourt's point about dialup. If the connection speed is erratic, it's impossible for the mp3 player to estimate how much to buffer.
    #9
    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/16 20:31:00 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: fac
    Then you must see THIS VERY IMPORTANT THREAD

    Lots of Soundclick sites there. My own is http://www.soundclick.com/facproductions


    Thanks for the link. I see the streaming icons on SoundClick now. Lots of good music in that list too.
    #10
    triscuit
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/19 00:47:39 (permalink)
    Hey thanks for the tip. I'm still not sure how to do this though. Care to leave some step by step instructions?

    Do I need to open up the file and put a new header on it?
    #11
    lost sheep
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/19 05:34:35 (permalink)
    MP3 files don't start playing until the whole song is downloaded


    I don't know if this is true anymore! Until recently I would have agreed, but I now have a new system running Win XP Pro and I haven't run Real Player since I got it. When I click on any MP3, and I've just checked with your links, Windows Media Player V9.00.00.3250 launches and starts streaming the track, with a slight buffering delay...

    I am running a 512kb ADSL / Broadband connection which streams the file quite happily.

    ??? You tell me
    #12
    lost sheep
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/19 11:53:37 (permalink)
    Those really nice people at Microsoft just upgraded me to Media Player 10... Relieved to say MP3s are still streaming!
    #13
    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/19 11:59:37 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: triscuit

    Hey thanks for the tip. I'm still not sure how to do this though. Care to leave some step by step instructions?

    Do I need to open up the file and put a new header on it?



    Assuming you don't mean for SoundClick (which I know nothing about), sure. Here's a template:


    #EXTM3U
    #EXTINF:60,The Song Name
    http://mysite.com/mp3/mysong.mp3


    So,
    1. Copy the above text into a text file.
    2. The number next to EXTINF is the length of the song in seconds. So open it in an mp3 player, note how long it is and multiply the minutes*60 and add the seconds and change the 60 to that value. When it's being streamed, the mp3 player will use that info to show how long the song is.
    3. Change "The Song Name" to the name of your song. The mp3 player will display that text when it's playing.
    4. Change the last line of the file to the url of the mp3. The mp3 player will buffer it and play.
    5. Save the file to the website with the extension '.m3u'.
    6. Make your links point to the m3u file instead of the mp3 file.

    That's all there is to it. After you do one, you can just edit it and save it as whatever.

    #14
    dstrenz
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    RE: Suggestion/Question: m3u vs mp3 2006/01/19 12:02:36 (permalink)
    ORIGINAL: lost sheep

    Those really nice people at Microsoft just upgraded me to Media Player 10... Relieved to say MP3s are still streaming!


    That's good to know. BTW, the m3u files are simply play lists. So, you could add any number of songs to it and they 'should' stream like that too, buffering all the while (assuming you've got the bandwidth and a fairly fast connection)
    #15
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