You mean you have an iPod, but you don't know what MP3 means? This was the shocked question that I asked my friend. He had been using MP3's for his music needs for something like two years at this point, but it turned out he didn't understand the very technology he was addicted to.

Come to think of it, I don't really understand HTML, so I guess I'm in the same boat.

But happily, I do understand the MP3 format, so I was able to explain it to my friend and I will do the same for you.

First off, MP3 is an abbreviation for MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3. I know, what does that mean? MPEG is the acronym for Moving Pictures Experts Group, which is the group that basically made MP3 a standard in audio industries around the world. So what we have here is the original MPEG technology, but converted for use in sound recording and production. This is why it's called Audio Layer 3.

But how is it done and why is it so great?

I'll try to keep this simple and leave out the jargon. Basically, MP3 files are the result of two processes. The first is usually called ripping, or decoding This is where an audio file, like from a CD, is ripped and broken down. Then, using a special algorithm, an encoder will convert the audio into the MP3 format. The technology in use today has perfected this process so well that there is practically no deterioration in quality of sound from the original to the MP3 format. What is more, the MP3 formatted music file is about one-twelfth the size of the original file that was found on the CD.

So as we understand how an MP3 is done, we can also see why it is so great. CD's, while a spectacular improvement on cassette tapes, are still bound by the physical holder of the music files: the CD. The files are big and in a world where we want things smaller and easier to carry around, the CD Discman was beginning to be seen as too bulky.

Thus, when the MP3 format was introduced to the public, the idea of being able to carry around hundreds of songs on a small hard drive with a built in reader and player became what we now know as the iPod. And other MP3 players of course.

Flexibility is another massive advantage of the MP3 format over CDs. These files are so small that they can be easily and quickly shared, with no hassle over decoding or copyright. And this, of course, is where the music labels began to call foul. Since MP3 format can be read, used and shared, thus circumventing any copyright and requirement to buy CDs, music labels saw themselves as out a few million bucks.

Hence the Napster lawsuits and such. But we've really gone too far afield. The point is that the MP3 format is a fully digital, flexible, tiny music file that can be used by anyone who is willing to download a decoder and an encoder. And that's pretty much it.

Learn more about this author, Jared Garrett.
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