Before ripping your CDs in the Zune software, it's a good idea to consider the audio format (file type) and audio quality (bit rate) you're going to use.
At stake is both the sound quality of the ripped songs and the amount of music you can store on your Zune.
Sound quality and file size are interrelated: the better the fidelity, the larger the file. However, the larger your files are, the fewer songs you'll be able to pack onto your Zune and your computer.
The default rip setting is WMA (constant bit rate) at 128 Kbps.
Audio format and quality
In general, Windows Media Audio (WMA) files tend to be smaller at a given quality level than traditional MP3 files.
To adjust the quality of the files you rip from your CDs, go to rip settings and choose the audio format and quality setting that are right for you:
Windows Media Audio (constant bit rate)
Encoding audio at a constant bit rate guarantees consistent quality no matter what the characteristics of the music you're encoding.
Choose a bit rate from 48 Kbps (about 22 MB per CD) to 192 Kbps. Using this format, a ripped CD will use about 86 MB of space.
Windows Media Audio (variable bit rate)
Encoding at a variable bit rate minimizes file size while maintaining high quality by using a lower bit rate to encode quieter passages and a correspondingly higher bit rate for more challenging sonic passages.
Choose a bit rate that varies from a low bit rate of 40 to 75 Kbps (about 18 to 33 MB of space per CD) to a high bit rate of 240 to 355 Kbps (about 105 to 155 MB per CD).
Windows Media Audio (lossless)
Unlike other digital audio formats, lossless encoding does not discard audio data to keep file sizes small. WMA Lossless uses high, variable bit rate encoding and decoding (470 to 940 Kbps) to capture every nuance of sound on your CDs.
Using this format, a ripped CD will use about 206 to 411 MB of space.
MP3
MP3 files tend to be a little larger than WMA files of corresponding quality. They have the advantage, however, of being usable with media players that are incompatible with WMA.
Choose a bit rate from 128 Kbps (about 57 MB of space per CD) to 320 Kbps (about 144 MB per CD).
