mp3PRO is a most impressive technology for webcasting. mp3PRO minimizes bandwidth requirements, delivering high-fidelity true stereo sound at 44.1kHz, reducing "cut-outs" (buffer underruns), and achieving high-power FM radio sound quality more easily and economically than webcasters can using first-generation MP3 compression at up to five times the bitrate of our lowest resolution stream. It also extends to dial-up listeners the high-quality sound previously enjoyed only on higher bandwidth connections. And best of all, it sounds great!

A huge advantage with mp3PRO as a next-generation technology is backward compatibility. Even if your media player does not support mp3PRO, you can still enjoy mp3PRO webcasts as long as the player supports MP3 audio streams! And better still, MP3 is an established industry standard supported by more media players than any other codec. With that said, odds are in your favor you can tune in right now with the media player you already have on your system!

mp3PRO Benefits

Without an mp3PRO supported media player, listeners may still enjoy our webcast but with only roughly half the sonic intensity and at a sample rate of 22.05 kHz, sounding on dial-up connections much like the audio quality of AM radio without the static and sounding on high-speed connections like low-power "college" FM radio.

If you are a Windows listener, Winamp is by far the best. Period. But regardless of version (Winamp releases are in their version 5.x generation now), you will still need to install the Thomson mp3PRO Audio Decoder plug-in.

On Macintosh, Audion 3 supports mp3PRO and offers other cool stuff you don't get with iTunes. Regardless of its mp3PRO features, it is often rated as the best Macintosh media player with qualities superior to that of iTunes.

Linux XMMS users are still waiting for an mp3PRO plug-in to materialize, but at least you can still run Winamp (with the enhancements described above) on Wine, a Win32 emulator included in all the latest commercially distributed X versions.

Another very good reason we use mp3PRO is that Groovera is a no-budget webcaster who is insistent upon on quality - quality for us is quality for you!

Additional Notes

• If your platform does not have mp3PRO software available, a media player that allows a firm sample rate setting of 44.1kHz will render the audio stream with sound quality very close to that of mp3PRO.
• Philips Streamium is the ultimate! For those of you who have high-end audio systems and would like a network audio appliance for your home or office, Streamium is not only the best choice of appliances, but it is also the only one that supports mp3PRO. Go to http://www.streamium.com for their latest product line and specifications. Also, read the "Network Audio Appliance" section of our article "Connecting Your Computer To Your Audio Receiver For Optimal Sound" for more information on using Streamium devices and purchasing links.
• MusicMatch does support mp3PRO but I do not recommend it as it is geared specifically towards usage of the MusicMatch service and its commercial agenda. Instead, Winamp is highly recommended, being a far more robust, feature-rich audio player with greater support of the many audio formats available - and with an mp3PRO plug-in available.
• jetAudio does support mp3PRO, but you must pay for a licensed version to enjoy the benefits. The free version of Winamp is more robust and feature-rich and supports a free mp3PRO plug-in.
• Winamp 3 does not support the Thomson mp3PRO plug-in for Winamp. If you are using Winamp 3, upgrade to version 5! Assume there was a very good reason why Nullsoft went back to continuing builds of Winamp 2.x after the version 3 release...besides version 5 is the best yet!