Jump to content

Which is the best size MP3 file for streaming on the web?


Recommended Posts

My mastering engineer provided me with three MP3 file sizes.

 

192 kbps

256 kbps

320 kbps

 

Obviously I would like to use the highest quality but I understand that if someone has a slower internet connection it may take too long to load.

 

What file size do you guys use for streaming and is there a standard? If you send a WAV or AIFF to SoundCloud or any other service like theirs, what size do they usually compress the file to for streaming an MP3 (not for downloading, just playing the song on the net)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like SoundCloud will mangle anything you give it into a 128kbps MP3, but downloads are in the original format (Source plus a bunch of other google results)

 

If there's anything close to a standard then it's 128k. Although I think you'd be OK with 256 these days except on a mobile device, and there are plenty of ways of detecting those so you can serve up a lower bitrate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It looks like SoundCloud will mangle anything you give it into a 128kbps MP3, but downloads are in the original format (Source plus a bunch of other google results)

 

If there's anything close to a standard then it's 128k.

 

OK. I currently have been using 320 kbps on my web site because I'm concerned with quality. It works fine for me and many others that I have communicated with but some people are saying that the load time is up to 1 minute long for a song.

 

Maybe I'll try using the 256 kbps MP3's and see if the load times become faster for those who have been having trouble.

 

Thanks for your reply fastourier!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...