Alternative Files to MP3 for your Digital Music Player

You may have noticed that not all of the digital music on your computer is saved as the same file type. Not all MP3 players and iPods can play the same types of music files. Some players only play MP3s, but most will be able to read several MP3 file alternatives. Read below to learn more about common file types that your MP3 player can use as an alternative to MP3 downloads.

MP3 File Alternatives:

1. WAV: The Waveform Audio File format (WAV) is a very common form of audio file. WAV files are much larger than MP3 files because they usually contain uncompressed audio information. If you transfer audio from your CDs, it will probably be saved as a WAV file rather than an MP3, and is easier to edit with basic software probably already on your computer.

2. AIFF: Audio Interchange File Format (AIFF) is another uncompressed alternative to MP3. It's favored by audio engineers over MP3 because MP3 files lose some clarity during compression. AIFF files will use much more memory on your MP3 player or hard drive, however.

3. AU: This audio file format is the basic file format used by open-source computer operating systems, like UNIX and LINUX.

4. Raw: This is another uncompressed MP3 alternative for storing raw audio data, and therefore features a large file size. Raw files don't have any "header" information to tell your MP3 player how many audio channels or what bit-rate to play the music at.

5. AAC: Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) files have a similar, "lossy" compression to MP3 files, although they produce better audio quality at the same bit-rates. AAC is used as the audio standard for certain video file types. This file type is also the standard for iPods and other Apple products. Any music you download from iTunes will probably be in AAC rather than MP3.

6. WMA: Windows Media Audio (WMA) files are similar to MP3s in that they compress audio data to make the files smaller. These files allow for digital rights management (DRM) features to be used in the file to prevent copyright infringement.

Tips from Overstock.com:

1. You're only limited to the music file types that your MP3 player will support. Check the manual for your music player for a complete list of compatible digital music files and video files.

2. "Lossless" audio formats are available for many of the above MP3 alternatives, meaning the audio is encoded without losing any audio quality.