How to Encode MP3s

PC Users:
This tutorial features Media Jukebox.

1. Download Media Jukebox. It includes a free unlimited basic version that has more features than many commercial products have. Advanced users can upgrade to the plus version at any time for a reasonable cost. The Plus feature set is available for free for 30 days' trial.
2. Download the installer into the My Download directory on your hard drive.
3. Double click on the install program icon and follow the installation instructions.
4. Now to rip a CD or song
5. into .mp3 or ogg vorbis format you have to place the CD you want to rip into your cd-rom drive.
6. Click on the + sign near the "CD & DVD" icon to view your cd-rom drive(s). Click on the desired drive and the song list should appear.
7. Under the "tools" menu choose "Convert Format". Now click the "options" button.
8. See the button "Encoding"? Click it. This is now where you choose what format and bitrate you are going to encode to.
9. A standard is of course to encode to "Lame MP3" at anywhere from a quality 128 up to 320. The higher the bitrate(quality), the larger the file.
10. An alternative to ripping a .mp3 file is to use Media Jukebox to rip an Ogg Vorbis file, the resulting file size is smaller to the same as a MP3, but it sounds better. I just ripped an .ogg at 256 and it sounds great.
11. Now that you have choosen you encoding format, press the "OK" button and now hit the "Copy" button. The program will now copy the .wav files on your CD to your computer, then convert the .wav files to the file format that you have specified, and finally it will delete the large ( 40-70mb ) .wav files that were created to make your MP3 or OGG file.
12. Enjoy, Turn it up loud. Media Jukebox has many cool features, check out the advanced ones while you can within the first 30 days from installation of the program. We also have more encoders, rippers, and tools in the Angry Coffee MP3 toolbox at the bottom of this page.