[ Windows 95 ]   [ Windows NT ]   [ Windows 3.1 ]   [ Windows 98 ]   [ Apple/Macintosh ]   [ Unix ]   [ WebTV or a similiar non-computer Internet access ]

Microsoft's Netshow contains a new audio codec (that stands for COmpressor/DECompressor) that uses the MPEG Layer-3 compression. If you're familiar with MP3-format files, you know that they are much smaller than normal WAV-format files, but capable of digital sound reproduction with no appreciable quality loss.

Thanks to this new audio codec, WAV-format files can be created that use MPEG Layer-3 compression and still retain their original quality - but taking up only a fraction of the storage space. And they are truly WAV-format files - you can still use them as system event sounds, if you like. The audio codec, however, will only work with a WAV player that is native to your operating system; if you use Windows 95, it must be a 32-bit WAV player; if you use Windows 3.1, it must be a 16-bit WAV player. And they must be capable of playing ACM Waveform format WAV files. Media Player and Sound Recorder come with all versions of Windows and have this capability.

Now the bad news: you'll need to download and install extra software in order to benefit from the new compression technology.

• Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.51/4.0 requirements:

  Netshow , which contains the appropriate codec necessary to play the compressed WAV files. DO NOT GET THE NETSHOW 2.1 PLAYER WITH REALVIDEO! It does not have the audio codec necessary to play the sound files. Click on the button below to go to Microsoft's Free Netshow Download Page.
  
  




• Windows 3.1 requirements :

  Netshow 2.0, which can be found at the bottom of the Netshow download page. Click on the button below to go to Microsoft's Free Netshow Download Page.
  
  




• Windows 98 requirements :

  Windows 98 users will not need to download Netshow since it is included with the Windows 98 installation package. If you didn't originally install it however you will need to go to the Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs -> Windows Setup -> Multimedia -> Details and from there tick the box for Microsoft Netshow Player 2.0. You will then be prompted for your Windows 98 Setup Disk and the necessary files will be installed. in




• Mac requirements :

  Sound Manager 3.1 or better is required, but Apple seems to no longer offer it for download. However, Sound Manager 3.2 is included as part of System 7.5.3, so the Sound Manager will not need to be installed if you are using that System 7.5.3 or later. QuickTime 2.5 and later also include a proper version of the Sound Manager.
  Mac users do not need to install Netshow in order to play these files.




• Unix requirements :

  Unix users have a bit of a handicap here, since I haven't been able to find a decent MP3 player for Unix platforms. You can, however, download a converter from the folks who developed the MPEG-3 compression software, and convert the compressed files back into standard uncompressed WAV files. Go to the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IIS Audio web page, and there you'll find the utilities necessary to convert the sounds into a playable format for your system.




• WebTV or a similiar non-computer Internet access :

  I'm afraid you're out of luck until there is an upgrade that supports MPEG Layer-3 compressed WAV files.

Excerpts taken from SoundAmerica.com