This is a brief summary of frequently asked questions. For more detailed information, please refer to the topics under the Help files.
Q. Does the MusicMatch Jukebox use the MP3 format?
A. Yes. The MusicMatch Jukebox has both an MP3 player and encoder, developed in partnership with Xing Technologies. This is the fastest CD quality encoder on the market.
Q. Are the MP3 tracks which the user encodes encrypted?
A. No, all tracks recorded by the user are not encrypted.
Q. Can I make .wav files with the MusicMatch Jukebox?
A. Yes, you can. These tracks will be saved to the directory you choose, and will not be included in your Jukebox database.
Q. What is the difference between the standard and full versions of the
MusicMatch Jukebox?
A. The full version of MusicMatch Jukebox will allow you to record an unlimited number of tracks from your CD collection on to your PC, while the standard version will only allow you to record 5. Both versions will allow you to download an unlimited number of our tracks from our website. Both versions allow unlimited play capabilities. The registered version will not improve your program's performance.
Q. How do I upgrade from the standard version to the full features version?
A. You must upgrade from within the MusicMatch Jukebox program. Click on "Upgrade", then click on "Purchase Full Version". You have three ways to upgrade:
· Upgrade via our secure server on the Internet
· Upgrade via our toll-free telephone number
· Upgrade via check and order form sent through conventional mail.
Either way you choose, we will send you a full features enable key which will convert your standard version to a full features version. Once unlocked the program will remain unlocked permanently.
Q. What are the compression options which MusicMatch Jukebox offers?
A. Tracks compressed using the MP3 compression with CD quality will be compressed at 12:1. Tracks compressed using either the MP3 near-CD quality will be compressed at close to 18:1 and the RealAudio near-CD quality compressed track will be compressed at 17:1. Tracks compressed in Radio Quality (Real Audio) will be compressed 70:1.
Q. What is the sampling rate?
A. The standard 44 khz/128kbps is the only rate currently available.
Q. How much memory will files recorded from a CD by the MusicMatch Jukebox take up on my computer hard disk?
A. This depends on which compression routine you use, either near-CD quality or CD quality. For near-CD quality, a three minute song will take up only 1.8MB of disk space, compared to 31 MB for an uncompressed WAV file. Using CD quality, the file size will be just under 1 MB per minute of song.
A comparison done using a Plextor 12/20X Drive is as follows:
Compression type Original File Size Record Time Compressed File Size
MP3 CD Quality (12:1) 27.2 MB / 2min:30 sec. 0min:35sec. 2.46 MB
MP3 Near-CD Quality (18:1) 27.2 MB / 2min:30 sec. 0min:35sec. 1.54 MB
RealAudio Near-CD (17:1) 27.2 MB / 2min:30 sec. 1min:40sec. 1.60 MB
.WAV non compressed 27.2 MB / 2min:30 sec. 0min:13sec. --
Q. How long does it usually take to record a song from a CD to your hard drive?
A. In addition to the above compression option you select this also depends largely on the processing power of your PC. The speed is also determined by the seeking accuracy of your CD-ROM drive. Your drive's seeking accuracy will determine the number of errors that occur as audio files are extracted from a CD during recording. The larger the number of extraction errors, the more time it will take the error correction routines in MusicMatch Jukebox to fix them. The jukebox has a record option which allows you to elect greater error correction if necessary. If you select error correction, recording time will usually increase substantially. For most drives, default mode recording performance (without error correction) will be bound by the speed at which files can be compressed.
For example, a 266 MHZ processor and a high quality drive, using CD quality MP3 compression mode will record at 4.3x play speed. WAV files will typically record at close to the maximum audio extraction speeds of the CD-ROM drive. While some drives cannot extract audio data faster than play speed, most drives will perform much faster. Overall, WAV file recording speeds run from 1x -20x play speeds.
Q. When does the compression take place in the recording process?
A. File extraction and compression are performed in parallel. You don't have to worry about filling up your disk with WAV files. Only the compressed file will be saved on your PC.
Q. Can all CD-ROM drives record music in digital format?
A. No. Only CD-ROM drives that support the Red Book audio format, and have a reasonable level of seeking accuracy, can record music from CDs to computer hard drives in digital format. Many older CD-ROM drives, and some new ones, do not support this capability. You will need to use the analog record option of MusicMatch Jukebox if your drive does not support digital audio extraction.
Q. What is the difference between analog and digital recording?
A. The biggest difference is the speed with which you can record. Analog recordings will always be 1x the play speed, whereas digital will be faster (depending on your drive, PC processor and compression type selected). The sound quality difference of analog recording compared with digital should be minimal. The amount of conversion errors you hear are primarily dependent on your PC system. Factors which will affect the sound quality are the soundcard and the required level of multimedia realtime performance.
Q. Using MusicMatch Jukebox, can I play other songs from the Internet?
A. Yes. The jukebox will play all songs in MP3, MP2 and RealAudio formats. To add these files to your database, go to the Database section of the program. Then click "Add songs from Disk".
Q. Can I install my copy of MusicMatch Jukebox and all the songs in my music database to a new PC?
A. Yes. The registered program and data files will install on any PC. New keys are no longer necessary.
Q. When I'm recording songs, how do I prevent CD's from automatically starting to play as soon as I put them in the drive?
A. Go to Control Panel, system, device manager, CD ROM drive, click on your specific CD ROM brand, settings, and then make sure that "auto-insert notification" is not checked.
Q. How can I personalize the MusicMatch Jukebox playlist category descriptions?
A. To create your own category descriptions, go into Explore and find the bravadj.cat file in the MusicMatch subdirectory. Open this file using Notepad. This file will display all current default categories, which can then be edited to fit your personal descriptions.
Q. Can I make CDs with the Jukebox program?
A. No, you are currently not able to de-encode files (go from MP3 to.wav). This feature will be added with our September release.
Q. Is there an NT version of the program?
A. The NT version will be released in September, 1998.
Q. Is there a MAC version of the program?
A. No. We are currently evaluating a MAC version. If enough requests are received, this will become a priority for a future release.
Q. How do I uninstall the MusicMatch Jukebox?
A. Go to Start/Control Panel and click on Add/Remove programs.