Media Guide
what are mp3s?
why mp3s?
what if I don't have a computer, or convenient access to the Internet?
how do I just play them from here? - why does it take ages to play?
how do I download them on my computer? - why does it take ages to download?
how can I play them in a normal CD player?
I have an mp3 file, now how do I play them on my computer?
what's all this RSS nonsense?
An mp3 is a compressed audio file. Because an mp3 is a file, it acts as any
other file on a computer - it can be saved on a computer, cd, etc. Since mp3s
have become so popular there are now other devices apart from computers which can play
mp3s - such as portable mp3 players, in-car mp3 players or cd players with mp3 capabilities.
The benefits of mp3s over tapes fall into 2 categories. The first category involves the benefits of digitsing the
sermons and the second, the benefits of mp3s over other formats available. Digitising a sermon means
recording the sermon into a file on the computer. This retains the quality of the recording and allows
us to easily reproduce and distribute the sermons. However, simply digitising the sermon occupies too
much space, so a compressed audio file can be made to reduce the size of the file. Mp3s are just one of
several formats that are able to do this. The benefit of mp3s over the other formats is due the to their
popularity. Free mp3 players exist for all computers, and
portable mp3 players are available for as little as ten pounds on ebay. With most computers now connected to the
Internet, the sermons can be distributed freely, allowing people access to the sermons anytime, anywhere,
for use in any machine or portable mp3 player.
We certainly do not want to exclude people access to the sermons, so there are a few solutions.
If you have a computer, but no access to the Internet, then we can copy the sermons onto a cd for you on
request. If you do not have a computer the best option is to buy an mp3 player and ask me or anyone else
to copy the sermons to it for you. Failing that you can simply borrow the tapes, but bare in mind that
there is only one tape per sermon - so please be prompt in bringing them back. By all means make a copy.
The tapes are available upon request.
Just click a link and your computer should do the rest. The technique the computer uses is called
pseudo-streaming. If your connection is slow it will probably sound intermittently. If it doesn't work,
just download them (see below).
Our servers do not currently support streaming for programs such as RealPlayer, and your computer may
be using a default player which does not try to pseudo-stream.
Try changing the default player to one that does - for instance Windows Media Player. Open Windows Media Player,
and go to the Tools menu, then Options. Click the tab labelled 'File Types' and tick the MP3 audio format (mp3).
Close Internet Explorer and re-open Internet Explorer and go back to the website, and try clicking the link.
This should then open Windows Media Player and start playing the content fairly quickly.
Since other players are installed on your system, they may try to 'take over' this setting. If possible, don't agree to this
else you will likely have to perform this task again.
For Windows machines, find a tape number which is a link and right click it, select 'Save Target As'.
Save it somewhere on your computer where you will remember.
The files are typically 6mb. If you are not using a broadband service, it could take a while to download
(e.g. 20mins). There are programs available which can improve downloading files and can handle resuming the
download when a connection drops half way through (for example, for Windows users, see
getright).
To convert the mp3 file to an audio CD, follow these steps...
Download "DeepBurner Free" from http://www.deepburner.com/index.php?r=download.
Install the software (its free) and put a new CD-R in the computer. If the computer asks you to format the CD don't. Load DeepBurner from the Start menu -> all programs -> DeepBurner -> DeepBurner.
When it loads, choose audio cd and then two windows will appear inside - one 'explorer' and the other 'audio cd#1' view.
If the program asks - choose 'No Multisession'. From the explorer window find the mp3 file you downloaded and want to convert to the CD.
Then get the two windows next to each other and drag the file across to the 'audio cd#1' window. Still in the audio window, click burn and change 'Session At Once' to 'Disc At Once' and then click the burn button in the lower right corner.
After it finished (after pausing on 100% complete for a minute or so) a "ta-da" sound will be made to indicate completion. Now play it in a CD player. Note that some modern CD players will accept the reusable CD-RWs.
There are many mp3 players available, and it is likely that your computer is already equipped to play
mp3s. Find an mp3 file and then open it. See what happens. For Windows users, if some sort of 'Open with'
dialog window appears, then you do not have an mp3 player on your computer. Regardless of whether you have
a default player or not, you can always just download another free mp3 player from the Internet - there are
plenty.
We now offer RSS audio feeds. For an explanation of what this is, see wikipedia. For specific information on the feeds provided, click on one of the 'Media Categories', then click the orange RSS button off to the right.
