Metrognome Studios Sound file help

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What do you recommend? The options in summary are:-

1. We recommend MP3 format. It takes about the same time as a WAVE file but it has almost CD quality sound. Unless you already have an mp3 format Player, you must download and install the software first. RealAudio and MusicMatch do FREE players with a quick easy install method.
2. RealAudio format also requires the Player to be installed before you can listen. Its quality is not as good as MP3, but the difference is that RealAudio starts playing very soon after you click the sound clip on the web page, typically within 10-30 seconds, because it "streams" the data, and starts playing the music while it is still receiving the data. With mp3 you have to wait until the complete file has been downloaded. RealAudio can also play Video.

Downloading the RealPlayer G2 and installing it will probably take between 30-60 minutes depending on your modem speed. The advantage is that this is a one-off download, and you will be able to hear decent quality sound, and view video on all web pages which use the RealAudio/Video format. This is a very popular and widely-used format. You will also find the software on many magazine cover discs for free, and this will save you download time.

What is the speed of your connection? If you have a slow modem such as 14.4k we recommend you don't download the RealAudio player, but use the mp3 files instead. The RealAudio excerpts on our site are optimised for 28.8k or better, so by the time you have downloaded the Realplayer (version 5.0 is 1.5Mb) you could just as well have downloaded the mp3 files. Also at this slow speed your Realplayer would keep stopping and starting - very frustrating - unless you set the PerfectPlay option which makes it download the whole sound file anyway, in which case you are no better off than listening to the other formats!

MP3 or WAVE ? The mp3 format requires a suitable mp3 player. This can be the RealPlayer G2, recent versions of Windows Media Player or the MusicMatch mp3 Player (www.musicmatch.com). All are FREE ! mp3 is nearly CD quality, and is far superior to WAVE files when comparing download time. But you need to download an mp3 player first.

Do you have RealAudio already? If so you will be able to play the music straight away. Just click the songnames on our real audio music page.

Do you want to upgrade RealAudio? Currently the RealAudio web site allows you the choice of downloading either the RealPlayer Plus 5.0 version (1.5Mb), or the brand new RealPlayer G2 Plus Beta (2.5Mb). With a 28.8k modem you may prefer to download the smaller version 5.0 player, but for those lucky people with ISDN or T1 connections - go for it! The G2 RealPlayer will also play MP3 format files, although if it is the first time it will probably detect the required Plug-In for the new MP3 format is missing. It will ask if you want to install the Plug-In. This takes only about 1 minute at 28k (its very small), and it will then ask if you want the RealPlayer G2 to be the default player for MP3 format files.

Are you behind a Firewall ? Many companies use a "firewall" to prevent unauthorised access from external Internet users. You will need to ask your system administrator which ports are configured on your firewall Proxy server to allow RealAudio to work, and then set this up in your RealAudio player.

For more information visit How to configure RealAudio Players to work from behind a Firewall. Firewall setup has been tested from this web page and is known to work.

If you don't have RealAudio, you can EITHER download the FREE RealAudio 5 or G2 Player by bookmarking this page so you can come back to it, and then clicking this Realaudio icon...

IF NONE OF THIS HAS HELPED, PLEASE E-MAIL US AT THE ADDRESS BELOW WITH YOUR EXACT PROBLEM AND WE WILL TRY TO HELP.

e-mail address: webmaster AT metrognome.demon.co.uk