What is MP3, WMA, OGG, WAV, etc.?

These are some of the different audio formats in use today by computer audio software. They all compress your CD music in one way or another to take up less disk space, and less bandwidth while downloading or moving from drive to drive. With the exception of FLAC and WAV, the other formats are what are called "lossy". This means that some of the audio information is lost when encoding standard CD audio to the respective format. The loss occurs in the range not audible to humans for the most part. A quick explanation of the main formats used:

MP3: The most popular format around today by far. Shows no signs of letting up, as there is no copyright protection built in, and files can be moved around easily. This is the format you will find most prevalent on the internet, and is what most DJ's still rip to. Almost all computer software will play MP3 files, and they can be used on virtually any MP3 portable device. Even most CD and DVD players can play MP3 files!

WMA: This is Microsoft's format, which includes digital copyright protection. Licenses must be obtained for the files to be able to play. There are many obstacles to it being a preferred format, and it is linked closely to Microsoft's operating systems architecture, so developers are not always keen on it. Most pay per download sites like Napster, use this format. This is changing quickly though, as most pay per download sites realize, that most consumers prefer their files in easily portable MP3 format.

OGG: This is becoming more popular these days because it is a free format (developers do not have to pay royalties on this format), and it sounds a little better than MP3. Look for some big advances, albeit slowly as it takes on more market share. It is supported by programmers who do it on a volunteer basis, and is a good bet for the future, as it should lower software costs.

FLAC: This is a lossless compression format, similar in style to zipping a regular file. The file sizes are still large though, and it is not easily streamed across the net due to that. It is more suited to the audiophile than the average home user or DJ.

WAV: This is the native format in which Windows plays audio, also generally known as PCM format. These are the full monty - exact digital copies of the audio from a CD, with no compression whatsoever. They sound flawless, but take up a lot of space, and have little or no tagging ability. This is the preferred format for audiophiles, who want an exact copy of their CDs, and are not concerned with space and portability.

One of the most important things to consider when deciding on a format to rip your music into, is going to be portability - if you cannot use the file except on special software, or special players, they will not be of much use to you, should you ever switch players or hardware. Also, if they take up too much space, as is the case with WAV files, you will not be able to fit as many songs on your computer or device.