MP3

Description #

The MP3 (file extension: .mp3) audio format is one you are most likely familiar with. This format uses a type of lossy compression. This means that file sizes can be reduced significantly, compared to uncompressed audio, which led to the popularity of this format for digital music. However, lossy compression results in some information loss, and is therefore not the preferred format for working with ecoacoustic data. Nevertheless, if you have access to files which were recorded using the MP3 format, it will be possible to open them in most software and run typical analysis procedures. Otherwise, it is also possible to convert these files to the WAVE format. See the Converting audiofiles section for more information.