MP3+G is a way to store CD+G tracks on your computer. A CD+G disc is a standard audio CD with the addition of graphics (hence the "+G"). A typical CD+G disc can hold around 700 MEGABYTES of information making it very difficult to store on your computer. Something must be done to reduce the size... The answer is MP3+G .

MP3+G actually consist of two files; an MP3 file and a CDG file. Both files must have the same "base" name (the part before the extension) in order to be properly played back.

Most people by now are familiar with MP3 files. MP3 is basically a format designed to compress audio down to a usable size for storage and playback on the computer (and many other devices now too). A typical audio track from a CD would normally take about 40 MEGABYTES of space if stored in it's native PCM format as found on the CD. An MP3 file of the same track might only take 3 to 4 MEGABYTES. In order to achieve this tremendous compression the sound is analyzed and broken down into frequencies some of which may be discarded (because they are not normally heard). The frequency data is then stored in a highly compressed format. When the computer plays back the MP3 file it re-assembles that data back to audio that, while not identical, sounds very much like the original file. When you make an MP3 you can choose different compression amounts in order to save space. The less space it uses, the less it sounds like the original. A typical MP3 will use a compression of "128" or "160" in order to sound very close to the original sound.

Because of their space-saving abilities, MP3 files are well suited for storing the audio part of a CD+G disc. MP3 is an open and flexible standard and there are many programs available to create, edit, and play MP3.

Just as MP3 is a way to store the audio of a CD+G disc, a CDG file is a way to store the graphics portion. Unlike MP3 however, CDG data is RAW. In other words, there is no compression or manipulation of the "+G" data, it is simply stored as-is in the file. Luckily, a CDG file is generally smaller than the MP3 file even without compression. That's not to say that a CDG file couldn't be compressed, but for historical reasons, and for ease of playback the CDG "standard" is the raw data.

A KMF file is basically an MP3 file and a COMPRESSED CDG file merged into a single file. The CDG data is compressed to save even more space than the RAW CDG file by removing unnessesary info. KMF files, however, are proprietary to TriceraSoft.

• Who says MP3+G is a standard? - We do. TriceraSoft's WinCDG 0.50, was the first program to combine MP3 audio and CDG graphics files. At the time (1998) MP3 was an emerging technology and CDG files were created by a DOS program (by Jim McLachlan). We combined them and started the MP3+G craze that brings real Karaoke to your PC.
• What's MCG then? - MCG is a format from a competing company. An MCG file is a compressed (and encoded) CDG file.
• Do I have to make MP3 files with your software? - No, you can use various cd "ripper" programs to create MP3 files.
• How can I save space with MP3+G ? - The two files can be compressed using software such as WinZIP to compress the two files into a smaller single file which can be backed up to standard CD data discs for archival.
• Which is better; MP3+G or KMF? - It depends on your needs. If you need security and space savings then use KMF. If you want a "standard" format and can spare some extra storage space then choose MP3+G .
• What about WMA+G? - WMA is a Microsof format similar to MP3 but a little better at compression. TriceraSoft products will play either.