Information about Mp3 Player

More commonly referred to as an MP3 player, a digital audio player or "DAP" is a portable, handheld digital music player that stores, organizes and plays MP3 and often other audio files. Most DAPs are powered by rechargeable batteries, some of which are not user replaceable. Listening to music stored on DAPs is typically done through earphones, but external speakers and docking stations are also available.

Digital audio players are generally categorized by storage media:

• Flash-based Players – These are non mechanical solid state devices that hold digital audio files on internal flash memory or removable flash media called memory cards. Due to technological advancements in flash memory, these originally low-storage devices are now available commercially ranging up to 16 GB. Because they are solid state and do not have moving parts they require less battery power and may be more resilient to hazards such as dropping or fragmentation than hard disk-based players. Basic MP3 player functions are commonly integrated into USB flash drives.
• Hard drive-based Players or Digital Jukeboxes – Devices that read digital audio files from a hard disk drive (HDD). These players have higher capacities currently ranging up to 160 GB. At typical encoding rates, this means that thousands of songs – perhaps an entire music collection – can be stored on one player. Because of the storage capacity, devices that also display video and pictures are often hard disk drive based. Such multi-media devices are usually called portable media players (PMPs).
• MP3 CD Players – Portable CD players that can decode and play MP3 audio files stored on CDs.

History

The precursors to MP3 Players/DAPs were portable CD players and MiniDisc players. Even though the media they play uses digital storage methods, neither is generally called a "digital audio player" because they do not play MP3 or other music/audio codecs, Non-mechanical DAPs were introduced following the popularity of the precursors.

The world’s first mass-produced hardware MP3 player/DAP was created in 1997 by SaeHan Information Systems of South Korea which sold its “MPMan” player in Asia starting in the late spring of 1998. SaeHan’s licensed its player to Eiger Labs which sold the 32 MB Eiger Labs MPMan F10 portable flash-based player to the American market in the summer of 1998.^[1]

The Rio PMP300 from Diamond Multimedia was introduced in September 1998, a few months after SaeHan’s MPMan and the Eiger MPMan F10. The Rio was a big success during the Christmas 1998 season as sales significantly exceeded expectations, spurring interest and investment in digital music. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) soon filed a lawsuit alleging that the device abetted illegal copying of music, but Diamond won a legal victory on the shoulders of Sony Corp. v. Universal City Studios and digital audio players were ruled legal devices. Because of its notoriety as the target of the RIAA suit, the Rio is often erroneously thought to have been first to market.^[2]

In 1998, Compaq's laptop engineers made the first hard-drive-based MP3 player and licensed it to a Korean company HanGo Electronics which sold it as Personal Jukebox or PJB-100 starting in 1999. Using a 2.5” laptop hard drive for song storage instead of (then) low-capacity flash memory created significant improvement in space limitations of the earlier DAPs. The Personal Jukebox (PJB-100) had 6.0 GB of storage space, which held about 1200 songs or 100 CDs (hence the name PJB-100) and was the beginning of what would be called the jukebox segment of digital audio players.

Apple Computer unveiled its 5 GB hard drive-based iPod in October 2001. Having focused on developing an intuitive user interface and using a new 1.8” 5 GB laptop hard disk drive from Toshiba, Apple's smaller form factor and industrial design made the iPod a hit with the users of its Macintosh computers. In July 2002, Apple introduced second generation players including iPod models with Windows compatibility through Musicmatch software. Although online music services such as Real Networks’ Rhapsody offered legal music downloads on a subscription basis, the opening of the iTunes Store in 2003 established the business model of selling individual songs for purchase and download at an average price of €0.99 ($0.99, £0.79). Apple's iPod line-up, which grew to include microdrive and flash based players, has become the market leader in DAPs.

In 2003, the term "Digital Audio Player" and the acronym "DAP" were first popularized as the name and focus of the website DAPreview.net. The term and the acronym were subsequently adopted by news editors at Engadget.com, one of the most popular technology-related blogs, and they have since become a common way of referencing these devices among the gadget-savvy.

In 2004, Microsoft introduced their Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology under the PlaysForSure brand. This technology allows consumers to rent music from subscription music services such as Napster, Rhapsody, and Yahoo Music Unlimited and transfer it to their compatible digital audio players. Microsoft did not use PlaysForSure when it released its own Zune music player because of limitations over sharing music between devices^[3] and in 2007, Microsoft announced a new DRM technology to cover more file types than music and video.

In 2007, Creative released the first official 16 GB flash player in history with a new model of the ZEN V Plus, the highest capacity for flash players.

Uses

As digital audio players have spread, new uses have been found for them. This includes podcasting, in which radio-like programs, or even TV-like video feeds, are automatically uploaded to the device to be played at the user's convenience.

Some modern digital audio players are technically portable media players, as they support video playback.

Audio acquisition

All commercially available digital audio players can play music that has been ripped from Compact Discs via computer. In addition to ripped CD tracks, many digital audio players can accept downloaded music from online music stores. However, such stores often use proprietary formats and DRM, which means that the tracks can only be played on suitably licensed and restricted devices. For example, songs you purchase from iTunes might not work on any digital audio player other than an iPod.

There are also music online communities such as GarageBand.com where music is available at no cost under Creative Commons licenses.

Another way of getting audio files is to rip the songs from radio broadcasts. Many players have the ability to record songs played on the built-in FM tuner. Recently, a Swedish company called PopCatcher has developed a technology to save songs from Internet radio and can distinguish between songs, DJ talks, and commercials for convenience.

Audio formats

MP3 is the dominant format, and is nearly universally supported. The main alternative formats are AAC, supported on players from Apple, ATRAC, on players from Sony, and WMA, on players from Microsoft and partners. Unlike MP3, these formats support DRM restrictions, which are often added to files from paid download sites. Alternative formats which are completely patent-free are available but less widely supported – examples include Ogg Vorbis, FLAC, Speex, and Module file formats.

Controversy

Further information: iTunes Store, and Digital Rights Management

While not controversial in and of themselves, issues related to digital audio players, including but not limited to content distribution and content protection (DRM), are matters of continuing controversy and litigation.

References

See also

• Comparison of portable media players
• Internet radio device
• Podcast
• Portable media player
• Media Transfer Protocol
• USB mass storage device class

External links

• Collecting MP3 Portables – Part I, Part II and Part III - Richard Menta's three-part article covers the first digital audio players on the market with pictures of each player.
• CNET MP3 Player Reviews