What Is MP3 File Compression?

MP3 compression puts more music on less disk space.

On a regular CD, one minute of music needs about 10MB (mega or million bits) of file information. But with MP3 file compression, the music uses far less file information to put more music on the same CD.

Compression and Loss

Some forms of file compression are "lossless" because they lose no information. But MP3 compression actually removes some of the music information to make the file smaller.

Quality and Size

Even though MP3 compression causes a loss of information, the quality of the sound remains acceptable. MP3 reduces the file to about one-tenth of its original size.

Psychoacoustics

MP3 compression follows a coding and decoding model that relates to psychoacoustics, the study of how the human ear and brain perceive sounds. The model keeps information important to sound quality.

Information Discarded

MP3 file compression discards sound frequencies beyond the range of human hearing. It also discards sound information covered or blocked by louder sounds.

Bit Rate

The bit rate expresses how much data passes through the process each second. MP3 uses a bit rate of 128,000 bits per second, which makes a good balance between file size and music quality.

References

• Home Tech Answers: MP3 File Compression