MP3 vs. WMA

[craig78681]

I listen exclusively to spoken word audio (recorded streams, podcasts) on my MP3 player. Because of a known, but unresolved, problem I have to convert the recorded ASF files manually after the recording session ends. Currently I am converting to 32Kbps MP3 format (so high fidelity is not a requirement). My player supports the WMA format as well. Many of the files being converted contain 55 minutes (13MB - 20MB) of audio and seem to take at least 10 minutes to convert (at 100% CPU utililzation). Is there any advantage (particularly with regard to how long it takes) to switching to WMA for my target format? Any disadvantage?

[Cheryl Wester]

This is more a matter of personal choice. As an example I prefer mp3 as my car plays that easily. The best thing to do is experiment and see what you prefer and what works best for what you want. Ideally, I would think, you would want the smallest file possible for your player. Also, in many cases you can just change the extension of an asf file to wma and it will work. Try it with what you are doing and see if it works for you.

We are getting closer on the new converter and it should resolve the other problem you are having of it not converting automatically.