Can somebody explain AAC, AIFF, MPEG, WAV, file abbreviations

Try this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparisonof_audiocodecs

tt2

You can search via Google or Yahoo to find out what the acronyms mean.

An AIFF is the same as a WMA. These are full size audio files - as far as I know the same as what a audio CD is burned.

Apple Lossless is a file about half the size of a full size audio file but the same quality - no loss of audio quality. Not all players will play a Apple Lossless file.

If you have the CD there is no point is having a full size download - just 'rip' to the format that you want and put the CD in storage.

MJ

Mike Johnson12 wrote:
...
An AIFF is the same as a WMA. These are full size audio files - as far as I know the same as what a audio CD is burned.

I think you meant WAV... and although WAV's can be in CD Audio quality, 16 bit samples at 44.1 khz, a bit rate of 1411.2 kbit/s, the WAV format can also be used to record at much lower sample rates.

tt2

Correct - lazy and not doing my own search.

MJ

What are the different devices?

MJ

None of the big players, iTunes, Amazon, etc. sell downloadable music in uncompressed form. A 256Kb ACC audio file (which is what iTunes sells) is some 18% of the size of the original uncompressed file, a considerable saving on storage (for the both buyer & seller) and bandwith during the purchase. For most people the quality is perfectly acceptable. If you really want the original CD data then just buy the CDs.

tt2

gr8fandini wrote:
What I wanted to do was download cd's in true cd format to the computer because we have several devices that all use different formats. I want to keep the cd library on the computer and from there plug in and download what ever music I want at the time, or burn a cd of my own playlist anytime I want with out having to go thru a bunch of different cd's just to make a cd with a large variety of songs from a bunch of cd's. Does that help explain why I want to be able to make heads or tails of the different formats?

No it does not! If you want to play your music in a bunch of different devices, the most compatible format is MP3. However, most devices, iPod included, can handle multiple formats without a problem. Also, if you want to burn an audio CD from your files, iTunes does not mind if you start with different formats all in the same playlist.

The advantage of using a CD-equivalent format, such as WAV, AIFF, FLAC, or Apple Lossless, is to get full CD-equivalent audio fidelity. It does not help compatibility across devices, in fact quite the opposite.

how can i burn my itune purchased music on to an MP3 disc so i can put many songs on the disc?

Suggest that you start your own thread and not hijack someone else's.

MJ

Hi Bill--

gr8fandini wrote:
I want to keep the cd library on the computer and from there plug in and download what ever music I want at the time, or burn a cd of my own playlist anytime I want with out having to go thru a bunch of different cd's just to make a cd with a large variety of songs from a bunch of cd's.

If you want to keep "master" files of your CDs on the computer, then use either AIFF or Apple Lossless to import them. Either one will have the same audio quality as the original CD, but Apple Lossless will give you smaller files. You can convert to other formats from either one, and transfer to another device, or burn to CD directly from the AIFF or Apple Lossless files.

charlie

how can i burn my itune purchased music on to an MP3 disc so i can put many songs on the disc?

Read this page - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AudioInterchange_FileFormat

It appears that you have not been doing any of your own leg work.

Again - if you have the CD - what is the point of saving a copy to a HD when it is already on a CD and you can covert that CD to any supported format at anytime. If you have lots of disk space and want to buy more then it is your $$.

MJ