b5media.com

Advertise with us

Enjoying this blog? Check out the rest of the Music Channel Subscribe to this Feed

Our Digital Music

All Downloads Are Not Created Equal

by bhoughton on December 19th, 2007

When you pay for a download, don’t you expect it to sound as good as if you’d bought a CD?

Different download services sell downloads at different qualities. Lower kbps (kilobits per second) means the track will take up less space on your portable player. But the higher the kbps, the better it will sound. You may not notice it on your iPod, Zune or computer. But burn the download onto a CD or stream it through your home stereo and the difference becomes very clear.

Here’s a list of the major download stores and the download quality that they offer from best to worst.

  • Amazon 256 kbps
  • iTunes 256 kbps
  • Napster 192 kbps
  • Rhapsody 192 kbps
  • Zune 192 kbps
  • eMusic 153 kbps
  • WalMart 128 kbps

Who offers the best prices on downloads? Find out here.

POSTED IN: Downloads/P2P

2 opinions for All Downloads Are Not Created Equal

  • Apple Ipod, Ipod Nano and Ipod Video News » All Downloads Are Not Created Equal
    Dec 19, 2007 at 10:55 am

    […] Gaming News, Reviews, Previews, Cheats & Tips - ComputerAndVideoGames.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt When you pay for a download, don’t you expect it to sound as good as if you’d bought a CD? Different download services sell downloads at different qualities.  Lower kbps (kilobits per second) means the track will take up less space on your portable player. But the higher the kbps, the better it will sound. You may not notice it on your iPod, Zune or computer. But burn the download onto a CD or stream it through your home stereo and the difference becomes very clear. Here’s a list of the major […]

  • José Serralde
    Dec 26, 2007 at 12:25 pm

    AFAIK, emusic claims to offer ~192kbps at Variable Bit Rates (VBR), where the compression algorithm adjusts its bandwidth dynamically through the file. I must say certain files average 160 to 175 kbps, but some others do hit the 250kbps. I think the 153kbps you associate with emusic is certainly innaccurate. Thank you! Season’s greetings for ODM.

Have an opinion? Leave a comment:




Site Meter
Close
E-mail It