If you buy the mp3PRO plugin, you can choose which format you want to use to encode your files.
You can find detailed information about converting audio files in the sections 'Encoding Audio CDs' and 'Encoding tracks that are on hard disk'.
MP3 settings
To choose a setting, click on the button next to the pull-down list and select the option you want.
Encoding audio files in MP3 format is always lossy. The encoding process uses psychoacoustic models to remove those parts of the audio file which are judged to be inaudible. Most people find it hard to tell the difference between encoded MP3 files and the original versions, provided that the files were encoded at a sufficiently high bit rate. However, it is inevitable that a certain amount of acoustic information will be lost. The amount of information lost depends primarily on two factors. These are the bit rate of the MP3 file and the quality of the psychoacoustic model used to reduce the amount of data.
When you encode a file in MP3 format, the following settings are available:
Experienced Nero users can click on the 'Expert' button for additional audio file encoding options.
This indicates that the MP3 file is an original and not a copy. This information can be important if copy protection comes into force at a later date. It is also useful information for the user.
The user can set this bit to whatever he or she wants. It is aimed primarily at those users who want to decode or analyze MP3 files themselves. The bit is stored in the MP3 file, but is ignored by almost all programs.
This bit indicates that the MP3 file is copyright protected. It is also used for the SCMS (Serial Copy Management System). It currently has no effect when playing or burning the file.
When this bit is set, checksums are saved with the MP3 file when it is written, which allow corrupt parts of the file to be identified. These may have become corrupted when downloading the file from the web, for example. Many decoders ignore these checksums, while others reproduce a corrupted MP3 section as silence, in order to avoid introducing interference into the file. If this option is selected, the MP3 file will be very slightly larger.
If this option is set, a special type of encoding can be used which only stores the directional information and volume for high frequencies. In normal use this option should be set.
This option allows the input signal to be downmixed from stereo to mono. This can be useful when encoding a stereo source with a very low data rate, in which case only mono encoding makes sense.
As MP3 blocks within an MP3 file can be of different sizes and as some MP3 players cannot handle blocks of different sizes, this option can be used to determine how these blocks will be handled. In Nero the default is "ISO", which is the method specified in the ISO MP3 standard. The settings "always" and "never" will always or never pad MP3 blocks of different sizes.