Welcome to a whole new sound of car music

By DAVID LINKLATER

If you've got a home computer and even a passing interest in music you probably won't need to be introduced to MP3.

The easy storage and flexible playback features of the MP3 format are now very much in the mainstream of home entertainment. Car audio is getting there too, as we shall see.

What is MP3? It's short for Moving Picture Experts Group Audio Layer 3. It's an industry-standard technology for compressing digital music files into a fraction of their original size.

Pop a compact disc album into your computer and you'll see that a track takes up about 35 Megabytes.

Compression rates can be varied, but MP3 can turn that track into a 3.5MB file without a discernible loss in quality.

The theory is that it removes all of the stuff that you can't hear anyway, although the less a track is compressed the better quality it will be.

So MP3 is an ideal method for storing, organising and listening to your personal music collection at home.

It also opens up a world of new music, since many artists are now offering their talents across the Internet in MP3 format. Visit www.mp3.net.nz for example and you'll be introduced to a host of new sounds.

MP3 software is readily available and relatively cheap. Many players can be downloaded for free from the Internet. Encoders (which allow you to turn other formats into MP3) can be bought for less than $100 from sites like www.soundjam.com

Car audio would seem to be one of the most suitable and exciting applications for MP3. The audio industry seems to agree, though the change is only just starting to happen now.

Why so slow? Nothing to do with the software, which is well proven and covers all computer platforms.

No, the problem with "portable" MP3 is having the hardware to store and play the files. Home computers can do both, of course. You can even unite your computer with your stereo system for top-quality sound.

But in cars? That's a bit harder. The most promising is a format that's already familiar: CD.

A standard CD holds 650MB, which is enough for about 20 songs. That same CD could fit 200 songs in MP3 format, though you wouldn't be able to listen to it on a conventional player.

Enter the MP3 CD player. Mark Christensen of Auckland car audio specialist has just installed the first in-dash CD MP3 unit from Sony at $1099. There's also a similar product on the market from Kenwood for $1699.

CD is an ideal format for MP3. It's non-threatening to new users and exploits the storage potential of MP3 in a cost-effective way, says Christensen: "By comparison, the walkman-style memory-chip players look redundant because most only hold a maximum of 64MB - about the same amount of music as a conventional CD."

Don't worry about having to skip through 198 songs to listen to your favourite, either. You can organise your music files using hierarchies and directories just like you do on your computer's hard drive.

Of course, the ability to enjoy MP3 CD is dependent on ownership of a CD burner. But these are commonplace for backup and data storage anyway, getting cheaper by the month ($500 is a good starting point) and becoming standard-fit on many home computers.

MP3 CDs can be created with standard hardware and conventional recordable CDs.

There are other MP3 options available, including expanded memory-card units and portable hard drives.

Rockford Fosgate offers a version of the former that looks just like Darth Vader's stereo. It can be mounted in-dash or in the boot, has no moving parts and holds up to eight 32MB media cards for total of 256MB.

Not as much as a CD, but the cards can be erased and added-to as often as you like via the supplied desktop computer docking station.

The ultimate in storage is a portable hard drive like the one in your computer. Global Junxion's Neo 25 and 35 MP3 units feature 6GB and 10GB drives respectively.

Can't get caught up in too many zeros, but even the fully portable $1499 Neo 25 stores about 200 hours of music and connects to your computer via a USB port.

It's versatile and can also be used as a walkman, although you'll need to make sure your existing car stereo head unit has the right auxiliary connection.

The $1399 Neo 35 is still portable but fits into a docking bay in your car and offers a 10GB drive. It's not likely that you'll be able to fill it with music, but like the smaller 25 it can be used for backing up computer files or games.