YouTube is a platform for social chance. It runs on the concept of free speech, constructive conversation, rainbows, and unicorns. All jokes aside, the atmosphere promoted on this social platform is that of unity and creativity. It is an ideal way for anyone to get out there and fully express their views in a safe environment where like-minded people will engage in interesting, valuable and useful means of expression.
It is only natural that the many opportunities YouTube offers come with extra features and also a ton of controversy based on these additional characteristics. For instance, YouTube to mp3 file conversion. As widely used at it is, people seem to have variations of opinion regarding its functionality.
Effects of compressing audio files
The reason why compression is such a controversial subject among techies worldwide is because it is inevitable for differences of opinion to arise. Different people have different preferences and standards. Some focus on quality to the point where they want the best product, no matter what that may entail. Others want the most files crammed in the least amount of space.
Compression is an operation that eliminates data from the processed file, so quality does decrease, but is that really noticeable when actually using the file? The answer is “not really.” It is extremely difficult to hear the difference between a lossless file and a lossy one. Not to mention there are other things that come into play, like the quality of your earphones, for example.
The intelligence of mp3 compression
A mp3 file is made of various frequencies of sound, many of which the human ear is incapable of detecting. It also contains some sounds that are so soft that they are imperceivable. These sounds are the ones that make up the data selected for elimination. In other words, you are basically throwing away the sounds that you don’t hear anyway.
The simplicity of file conversion in 5 easy steps
The next process will describe how to convert YouTube videos to mp3. You can use any browser of your choice and any mobile device you prefer. The first thing to do is visit YouTube.com and open a video that you would like to change into a mp3 file.
1. Select and copy the video’s URL from the address bar
2. Access the YTmp3.com homepage
3. Paste the video’s address in the search box
4. Press the Convert to MP3 button
5. When the file conversion will be done with, the search box will become a Download button. Press it now to get the freshly converted file to your device.
Now that the conversion process is complete, the sky’s the limit! You can repeat the process as many times as you need in order to create compact playlists of your preferred songs.
It’s a very straightforward process, but what else should you keep in mind?
The importance of bit rate
The term bitrate refers to the amount of data which is computerized during a certain time frame.
Commonly, a high bitrate means the respective file will take up more space. We can answer the question of why this is by looking at the definition of the term itself. The more data to process, the bigger the amount of space required by the file.
That’s why you can state that a 160kbps file is lower quality than a 192kbps one. So does this mean that aiming for high quality means you have to sacrifice a huge amount of space on your device? Not quite. There are other various elements to this process that can make a huge difference in terms of user preference. For example, the way the files are compressed.
The debate that keeps on going
The subject I’m talking about is, you guessed it, lossless vs. lossy. A long term battle many are still fighting to this day.
When it comes to this discussion, there are, of course, two sides. On one side, there are those extremists who say the data lost during lossy compression decreases audible quality to the point where the file becomes unusable. Nevertheless, the stable popularity of the mp3 file format stands to support those who appreciate the results of the intelligent condensation process the audio files go through when becoming a mp3, and with good reason.
The hype of mp3 converters and what is to come
Thanks to lossy compression it has become possible to grab your favorite music videos from YouTube, for example, and store them on your hard drive without even needing to worry about the space they take up. Video converting technology is becoming more and more accessible and user-friendly which opens up great opportunities for using audio files that anyone can benefit from.
Nowadays, users are no longer required to learn complicated procedures and use technical know-how to have access to audio or video file conversion. Thanks to websites like YouTube that offer their services for free, people who are passionate about working with this kind of files can now let their creativity speak for itself and enjoy the marvels of technology at no cost or effort.
To sum up
There will always be more to say on the subject, but when looking to what the majority prefers, the typical user will most likely always go for the convenience and speed of a mp3 format over more complicated, expensive and time-consuming ways of upping sound quality with attributes that will probably not even be substantially perceivable in the end.
Maybe the future holds some sort of new innovation to satisfy both ends of the spectrum. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what new-fangled technology will surprise us with next.