Frequently Asked Questions

How are the MP3 and Ogg Vorbis files encoded?
Why can't I play a complete playlist with iTunes?
How do I download files from the playlists?

How are the MP3 and Ogg Vorbis files encoded?

High quality MP3 files are encoded in the MPEG1 format at 44100 samples per second using the LAME encoder and CDex.  I'm using a variable bit rate (VBR) encoding.  The highest bit rate is set to 320 kpbs and the lowest bit rate is set to 160 kpbs.  The encoder is set to a quality of 2 (high) and the VBR quality is set to 7 (medium).  The VBR threshold allows the encoder to throttle back the bit rate for faster downloads during lower bandwidth passages in the source material.

Low quality MP3 files are encoded the same way as the high quality files except the lowest bit rate is set to 48 kpbs and the highest bit rate is set to 96 kpbs.

The Ogg Vorbis files are encoded using the Ogg Vorbis DLL Encoder and CDex.  I'm using a quality setting of 9, which works out to approximately 320 kpbs.

Why can't I play a complete playlist with iTunes?

I don't know why but iTunes seems to play only the first song in an M3U play list file. I'm returning the M3U file with a content type of audio/mpegurl and setting the content disposition to inline.  If anyone knows why this doesn't work, or has a solution, please send me an email.

How do I download files from the playlists?

Right-click on the download icon next to the song you want to download and select the "Save Target As..." or "Save Link As..." option.  Then choose the location where you want the file stored.  Once you've got the file on your local system you can import it into whatever library manager you want.  The MP3 files are tagged so you should get the song title and artist name automatically.

I haven't figured out how to download more than one file at a time.  I'm thinking of setting up some sort of Podcast or RSS News Feed.  More on this once I've figured out how to do it.