creating real audio
How to convert MP3 files into Real Audio and upload them to your web site
The most popular format for listening to audio on the web at present is Real Audio. Real Audio files give the best quality for the lowest file size, as opposed to MP3 files which are still too big for most home users to bother downloading.
The streaming technology for Real Audio is also way advanced to MP3. Streaming means that the audio start playing straight away, while the remainder of the audio file is loaded in the background.
The other advantage for artists is that real-audio files are difficult to download and distribute. Generally the audio quality of real audio files is not good enough to listen to on a stereo anyway.
Before you upload your precious audio to your website you should convert the files to Real Audio first. This will make the files much smaller, quicker to upload, and they won't take up so much space on your web server.
This article explains how to use Real Player Producer to convert an MP3 file into a Real Audio format that is best suited for music on the web.
Before you start: Download and install RealProducer Basic
RealProducer Basic is a free tool from Real Networks that allows you to convert many types of audio files into Real Audio Files.
Download RealProducer from here: http://forms.real.com/rnforms/products/tools/producerbasic/index.html
Follow the instructions on the Real Networks website to install RealProducer
Converting Audio
Start up RealProducer Basic. The window is divided roughly into two halves: Input and Output.
The first step is to select your input file:
- Click the Browse... button next to the Input file box
- Browse to the MP3 file that you want to convert and click Open
Now that you have an input file to work with, you can choose an appropriate coding format for your audience. RealProducer gives you many options for encoding audio for many audiences from Broadband to dial-up. We have found that the setting for a "56k Dial-up" modem gives the best compromise between file-size and quality. The file is very small, the audio is listenable on PC speakers, but not so good that you would want to rip it off and burn it to a CD to play in your car. And the streaming-rate (32 kbps) at this setting ensures that even visitors that are using a dial-up modem will be able to listen to an unbroken steady stream of audio without delay.
- Click the Audiences button in the Output section of the window
- Change the Video Mode drop-down to No Video
- Select each of the Audiences in Job 1 and click the Trash Can until you are left with only 56k Dial-up 34kbps
- Click the small red x in the top right hand corner of the window
Now you are ready to set a name for your Output file and to encode the audio. By default, RealProducer will save your Output file in the same folder and with the same filename as the Input file, but with the RealAudio extension: ".rm". We recommend that you rename your Output file to conform with web file naming standards:
- use only lowercase letters (a-z) and numbers (0-9)
- you may also use the underscore (_)
- do not put spaces (" ") in your filename
So "Triple-S Ute.MP3" would become "triple_s_ute.rm" if named correctly. The reason why we use this naming standard is that it is compatible with all web servers and browsers, and using all lower-case characters saves confusion because web file names are case sensitive, i.e. "triple_s_ute.RM" is a different file to "triple_s_ute.rm".
- Select the Output file under the destination heading in the Output section of the window
- Click the button with the Pencil on it
- Rename your file and click Save
- Click the Encode button
RealProducer will begin encoding the file, it will take a few seconds. Once it has finished you will find the Output file in same folder as the Input file. You can now use the Klixo Upload manager to upload this file to your media folder on your webserver and create a story so that your visitors can listen to your music!
Have fun and don't hesitate to contact Klixo Support if you get stuck
