About

Encryption

When recording, I save in wav file format at 44,100 Hz, 16-bit, mono. This is the highest Sound Forge allows. I save in mono because these programs were never done in stereo. I burn these files to dvd as a safe guard against mp3 file corruption. Should anything happen to the mp3's I should not have to re-record from tape.

Converting to mp3. The trade-off between audio quality and file size is the pertinent subject of debate. The factors are:

encoding technology
format algorhythms
bitrates
frequency (sample rate)
mode (stereo/mono)

The "lame" encoder is by far the best. Algorhythms effect everything. Bitrates effect file size. And frequency and mode effect quality. I made a comparative study in order to determine the best configuration to use. The table shows what I found.

Format	Bitrate	Frequency	Quality	File Size (mbs)	Notes
wav	706	44	cd	122	-
mpeg I	128	44	best	22	ideal but onerous
mpeg I	128	32	good	22	no advantage
mpeg I	64	44	acceptable	11	minor loss
mpeg I	32	44	bad	5.5	forget it
mpeg II	128	22	okay	22	no advantage
mpeg II	64	22	okay	11	large file
mpeg II	40	22	can be stereo	7	still large file
mpeg II	32	22	best if mono	5.5	internet standard

For a time I was offerring both high and internet quality files, but due to server abuse I was forced to remove the near-cd quality files. That said, the internet quality files sound very good in most cases.