The engineer does not make an mp3. They cut the cd at a MUCH higher quality than mp3, that being 16-bit, 44.1K. If you're playing straight off the cd, however and not ripping beforehand, the mp3 designation WM is giving you would be incorrect.

so when everything is said and done should the final be in wave or Mp3 or something else?

Well what do you mean? All mastered cds are uncompressed wav. If you're ripping cds, wav is a much higher quality than mp3, but mp3 is much easier to put on portable players and things.

If you are "Saving" ("Ripping") the tracks to your PC, WindowsMediaPlayer (WMP) defaults to WMA files (Windows' version of an MP3). I think you will need a plug-in for WMP to save Wave files. WMP won't even rip MP3's w/o an extra plug-in! I know you can rip Wave files with Nero - that's what I use.

If you are simply insering the CD into the computer, and trying to PLAY it directly off the disc, you should be getting standard Wave file resolution - even with WMP.

:cool:

all that makes since....I was just wondering......I've always finalized in a stardard wave file.....its just when I was burning to my Mp3 player, it would need them in mp3 format(this of course was my own music), but when ever I burned someone elses music it went right on, and all the songs said mp3, so I was just wandering if the commericial cd was out put in mp3

thanks for all the help