TECHNICAL HELP AND
SUPPORT
- What’s
an MP3 file?
- What
format do songs and videos need to be in to upload to the Awards?
- How
do I make MP3s?
- What
is bit rate and what do you encode your MP3s at?
- Why
is the upload of my MP3 file not working?
- I’m
using an AOL Browser and my files appear to be uploading quickly to
the site, but then my Status is still Please Upload Song?
- How
can I listen to streaming audio from the Awards website on my
computer?
- How
come the sound quality of a song can vary when listened to?
- Q:
What’s an MP3 file?
A: MP3 files are a special type of file, which uses the MPEG format.
All MPEG files store audio in a compressed digital form. Currently
the MPEG format defines 3 different categories: MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and
MPEG-4. Each category describes 3 different layers of encoding:
Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3. A true MP3 file is an MPEG version 1,
Layer 3 file. In order to streamline the processing of your files,
we request that all songs uploaded to us are encoded as MPEG version
1, Layer 3, 192 kbps or 128 kbps at 44.1 kHz. Unfortunately, this
setting can be obscured by some of the encoding programs that are in
use, please consult the program’s manual for additional
information.
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- Q:
What format do songs and videos need to be in to upload to the Awards?
A: Song files must be in valid MP3 format. This means:
The MP3 file must be 128 kbps, 44.1 kHz, or 192kbps, 44.1 kHz in
stereo. We recommend using the 192 bit rate (although please be
aware that this will take longer to upload than a 128 bit rate file
- if you have a slow internet connection you may prefer to encode at
128kbps). The MP3
file must be a complete song. We can't accept bits or clips of song
files. Be sure to turn off any ID3v2 meta tags on your encoder. Do
not add any graphics, video, or text to your MP3 files.
All video uploads must be in .MOV (Quicktime) or .WMV (Windows
Media Video) format. All videos will be resized after we receive
them to a frame size of 320x240 and will be encoded for web
playback. Video files should be no larger than 100 MB. Please keep
in mind that video files are significantly larger than music files
and may take over 30 minutes to upload even on a high speed
connection. If you have problems uploading a video you can contact
the video support service on (+1)608-271-3633.
Do not use shareware programs during the ripping or encoding
process. Be sure to purchase a full version program. When recording
your song do not touch the phasing. Many programs will process your
song differently resulting in an incomplete song. If you are unable
to encode your work on a computer you can use the Encoding
Services offered by our technology partners at Broadjam Inc who
will encode and upload your files for you. All Awards entrants
automatically receive free Broadjam MoB membership (worth $25) so that they can use this
service if they need to.
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- Q:
How do I make MP3s?
A: To make MP3 files from an audio CD you will need a program called
a ripper or encoder. Most ripping programs are also an encoder as
well. All that is needed is to place the CD in the CD-ROM drive and,
using a ripper, grab the song off of the CD, which will save it as a
wav file; the encoder then converts the wav file to the MP3 format.
If you would like to read more information about mp3s and
ripper/encoder programs please visit this site.
Listed below are a few programs that can convert audio to mp3
format, but there are many others to choose from. Most of these
sites offer free versions of their software, however you may have to
look to find the free versions.
*Disclaimer: Music Aid and its partners make no endorsement for and do not offer support
for any of the following products.
WINDOWS
Windows Media Player 10 gives you more music and more choices, and
for the first time makes it possible to sync high-quality music,
video, and photos to the latest portable devices. Available for
Windows XP.
Download Windows
Media Player 10
Windows
Media Player Help
MusicMatch Jukebox is an excellent piece of software that enables
you to play, encode and manage your digital audio files. MusicMatch
allows you to listen to your CDs as you convert them to MP3 format.
Features include an easy to use play list editor, a music library
function with CDDB support and the ability to record from multiple
input devices. It's ripper records at a rate 5x faster than the
normal play rate, allowing you to rip through a CD in minimal time.
Download MusicMatch
Jukebox
MusicMatch
User Guide
iTunes originally only available for the Mac is now available for
PC. iTunes allows you to encode and manage your digital audio files
into MP3 or ACC files formats. To upload to the Broadjam website,
you will need to have your files in MP3 format. iTunes also has a
music library function with CDDB support, and can group songs by
album, artist, and more.
Download iTunes
For Beginners: Step by Step Instructions on How
to Create MP3's using iTunes PDF.
iTunes Windows settings help:
dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC)
Often called the Swiss Army knife of audio, dMC can digitally rip
sound from audio CDs to a multitude of formats. Convert from one
format to another while preserving ID tags. Nearly every audio type
is supported, including MP3, MP4, Windows Media Audio (WMA), OGG
Vorbis, AAC, Monkey's Audio, and FLAC (with optional installs from
Codec Central). For Windows Explorer integration, right-click
Convert To which will show a pop up with useful information on audio
files (such as bit rate and length). Record from LPs with an
optional Auxiliary Input install.
Download dBpowerAMP
Music Converter(dMC)
dBpowerAMP
Support
MAC
iTunes lets you create your own personal digital music library,
allowing you to manage and play your collection of high-quality MP3s
with drag-and-drop simplicity. iTunes adds the ability to create
Smart Playlists, plays audiobooks from audible.com and includes many
new MP3 tags for greater customization. iTunes is available for Mac
OS X only.
Download iTunes
For Beginners: Step by Step Instructions on How
to Create MP3's using iTunes PDF.
iTunes Mac settings help:
How
to set import options
Once you’re finished converting your songs to mp3’s it’s a
good idea to listen to your MP3 files before uploading it to make
sure your songs were encoding smoothly and the song files you’re
uploading don’t contain skips or gaps. Now that you have your mp3
in 192kbps or 128 kbps 44.1 Khz format you can go ahead and upload
them to your site.
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- Q:
What is bit rate and what do you encode your MP3s at?
A: Bit rate is the number of bits per second used in the encoding
process. Our Hi-Fi MP3s are encoded at 192kbps, 44.1khz in stereo.
Our Lo-Fi MP3s are encoded at 24kbps 22khz mono. Please have a close
look at the settings of your compressions: MPEG 1 Layer 3: sampling
rate 44.1 kHz, compression rate 192 kbps, Stereo, is necessary.
Otherwise the upload could fail or it may mean reviewing your song
is only possible in Lo-Fi. Before uploading listen to the song in its entirety with an
mp3 player. By doing this
you're in control of any possible interference or any unexpected
sounds within the mp3 file.
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- Q:
Why is the upload of my MP3 file not working?
A: Here are many suggestions that may help your uploading process go
more smoothly: Make sure your computer has the most up to date web
browser (e.g. Netscape, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.). Older
versions of web browsers may not work.
Have patience: The large size of a MP3 file creates a pretty
labor-intensive task for a 56k modem. A 5 MB MP3 file could take up
to 30 minutes to upload. Longer uploading times can result in
"timing out" errors, long waits and unsuccessful uploads.
If your connection drops or is interrupted during the upload, you
will need to re-upload the song. To be able to successfully upload
your file, your upload needs to be completed in less than 40
minutes.
When you are uploading a file we recommend that you do not perform
any other activity on your PC. Every time you do something with your
computer, resources are used up that may slow down the upload
process.
For various reasons based upon the structure of the internet, some
people will continue to experience difficulties with the upload
process, we suggest you try again, it can sometimes take a few tries
to upload successfully.
If you continue to struggle with the upload process you can send
your your CD to Music Aid's technology partners and
they will convert it to MP3 format for a small fee. View the
Broadjam.com Encoding
Services section. All Awards entrants
automatically receive a free Broadjam MoB membership worth $25 so that they can use this
service if they need to.
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- Q:
I’m using an AOL Browser and my files appear to be uploading
quickly to the site, but then my Status is still Please Upload Song?
A: The AOL Browser does not support the upload feature on our site.
We suggest using a web browser like Netscape, Internet Explorer,
Safari, etc. instead of AOL.
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- Q:
How can I listen to streaming audio from the Awards on my computer?
A: We use Macromedia’s Flash to stream audio. If clicking on Play
does not automatically launch the pop-up player, double check that
your browser's pop-up blocker has not stopped it. If the player is
visible but does not play double check that you have the most
current version of Flash on your computer. Also check that your
computer's firewall settings are not blocking anything. Download Flash.
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- Q:
How come the sound quality of a song can vary when listened to?
A: Songs uploaded to the Awards are encoded in Lo-Fi at 24kbps and
Hi-Fi at 192kbps. However, the sound quality of streaming audio may
vary due to which streaming audio file format you're listening to
and your internet connection speed.
Recommended Streaming Audio Formats for Users based upon Connection
Speed:
Lo-Fi - Dial Up Connection
Hi-Fi - Broadband Connection
Click on the bandwidth settings button
on the Flash player to change your current settings.
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