Instructions: "How to listen to RealAudio files live over the Internet without downloading the file"
(SEE BELOW FOR MP3 INSTRUCTIONS)

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

Step 1: Obtain the RealAudio Player, available FREE for download at the 	following web site: http://www.real.com

Step 2: Install RealPlayer

Step 3: In your web browser, copy the LINK LOCATION for the file you 	want to hear over the Internet

Step 4: Open the RealPlayer program

Step 5: Under the "File" menu, choose "Open Location..."

Step 6: Paste the copied link location into the dialogue box that 	appears

Step 7: Click "OK"


WHAT THE PROGRAM WILL DO:

Realplayer contacts the web site that contains the file. It then transmits small chunks of musical information (called "buffering") to your computer and plays them in sequence.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW MORE...

The files are encoded such that 1 second of musical information takes up 1 kilobyte of space. Thus, if your download speed is 1 kilobyte/second, you will be able to hear 1 second of music every second, which results in continuous play.

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MP3 INSTRUCTIONS

Instructions: "How to listen to MP3 files live over the Internet without downloading the file"

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO:

Step 1: Obtain the Winamp Player, available FREE for download at the following web site: http://www.winamp.com

Step 2: Install Winamp

Step 3: In your web browser, copy the LINK LOCATION for the file you want to hear over the Internet

Step 4: Open the Winamp program

Step 5: Under the little ~ symbol in the top-left corner, choose "Play Location"

Step 6: Paste the copied link location into the dialogue box that appears

Step 7: Click "OK"


WHAT THE PROGRAM WILL DO:

Winamp contacts the web site that contains the file. It then transmits small chunks of musical information (called "buffering") to your computer and plays them in sequence.

IF YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW MORE...

MPEG (Motion Picture Expert Group) files were originally used to compress video only.  The technology has been translated for audio in Layer-3 format, and gives additional streaming capability.