GENERAL	AUDIO
What do I need to use the www.rh.hk service?	What is a MP3?
Do I need to be in Singapore to buy songs from you?	What is MP3 PRO?
Where do I get support or how do I contact you?	What is OGG (OGG Vorbis)?
I am new to digital audio technology...where do I begin?	What is DRM?
	What portable devices can play MP3s and Oggs?
PAYMENT	How do I play MP3s and Oggs on my computer?
How much does it cost?
How do I pay?	DOWNLOADING AUDIO
What if I don't like the song once I buy it...can I get a refund?	How fast does my connection need to be to download songs?
	Do you offer both the OGG and MP3 versions of the song?
	What if I download a song and it is defective?
	What if the connection drops?
What do I need to use the www.rh.hk service?
A computer with an internet connection and a web browser that supports JavaScript. Browsers known to work with our service include Internet Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Opera, Safari, Galeon, Epiphany and Konqueror. (Back To Top)
Do I need to be in Singapore to buy songs from you?
No. Anyone in the world can download tracks from us. (Back To Top)
Where do I get support or how do I contact you?
See the contact page for specific contact information. (Back To Top)
I am new to digital audio technology...where do I begin?
Here are some terms that you will come across when using MP3 players, MP3 or Audio Files, CD Rippers, Audio Converters...everything related to digital music!   (Back To Top)
Normalizing The process of making audio files the same volume. (Back To Top) Psychoacoustics Study of what sounds the human ear can detect. MP3 exploits the limits of human psychoacoustics to get smaller file size with limited detectable quality loss. (Back To Top) RA (.ra) "Real Audio" file type from Real Networks. Usually produced by any of Real Networks' proprietary software. (Back To Top) Ripping Also called digital audio extraction, this is the process of taking CD audio and recording it to a computer in any file format. When the transfer is from CD to MP3, the process is both ripping and encoding. (Back To Top) RM (.rm) "Real Media", fie type from Real Networks. (Back To Top) Track-At-Once (TAO) This burning process can write tracks individually, up to 99 total. Automatically places 2 second gaps between tracks. (Back To Top) Variable Bit Rate (VBR) Encoding process where the codec makes the choice for how many bits are used on each segment of music. More complex segments get more bits. VBR was created with the goal of efficient use of file sizes. (Back To Top) WAV (.wav) Uncompressed audio format developed by IBM and Microsoft. Became standard audio file used on PCs. (Back To Top) WMA (.wma) "Windows Media Audio", Microsofts proprietary audio codec designed to compete with MP3. Claims competitive sound quality at lower bitrates. (Back To Top) AAC (.aac) "Advanced Audio Coding", next generation audio codec developed by Fraunhofer that seeks to preserve audio quality at lower bitrates. High licensing costs have kept this audio codec from the mainstream. (Back To Top) AIFF (.aiff) Default sound file on Macintosh computers audiophile - one with extreme interest in high quality sound bitrates - speed at which audio data travels per second. (Back To Top) BURN-Proof Short for "Buffer Underrun Proof", this technology was developed by Sanyo to combat the most common problem in burning CDs. If a data stream is interrupted while burning, the cd creation process is often ruined. BURN-Proof combats this by connecting the data seamlessly between the recorded point and the recording start point. (Back To Top) Burning Term for writing data to a cd. (Back To Top) Codec Short for "compression/decompression", basically an algorithm or system of rules to transform a file. (Back To Top) .cda Not a file format but a way of displaying audio tracks, much like a menu. (Back To Top) CDDB "Compact Disc Database", online lookup tool for retrieving album, artist, and track information, especially helpful for completing MP3 ID3 tags. (Back To Top) CD-R Short for "cd-recordable", this media type allows you to record audio or data files and does not allow erasing. Recording audio files allows for compatibility with car and home stereo systems. (Back To Top) CD-RW Short for "cd rewriteable". These discs can record and erase audio and data up to 1,000 times. However, most car and home stereos do not support this media type yet. (Back To Top) CD Text Disc and track info embedded on an audio CD. (Back To Top) Constant Bit Rate (CBR) Bit rate remains the same throughout the audio file. Compare with variable bit rate (VBR). (Back To Top) Converter Software program that transforms one file format to another. (Back To Top) Decoding Making a format readable. MP3 players "decode" MP3 by being able to play the data format as audio. However, the term usually refers to the process of converting MP3 to WAV. (Back To Top) Disc-At-Once (DAO) Single session burning process that cannot be interrupted and does not allow any data to be added once burned on a disc. Does not add 2 second gaps between tracks as does track-at-once recording. Encoding The process of converting any audio format to MP3. (Back To Top) ID3 Small file that can be attached to an MP3 that contains album, artist, track, and other info. (Back To Top) Jitter Correction jitter occurs with digital audio extraction (ripping)or when digital audio is converted to analog. This correction feature helps restore the audio to its original condition. (Back To Top) kbps "kilobytes per second", a measurement that is used to judge the size of an audio file. Uncompressed audio such as WAV format is 1411 kbps, MP3 compresses this size to about 1/10 on average (varies depending on user settings when encoding). (Back To Top)
What is a MP3?
MP3 is the file extension for MPEG, audio layer 3. Layer 3 is one of three coding schemes (layer 1, layer 2 and layer 3) for the compression of audiosignals. Layer 3 uses perceptual audio coding and psychoacoustic compression to remove all superfluous information (more specifically, the redundant and irrelevant parts of a sound signal. The stuff the human ear doesn't normally hear anyway). It also adds a MDCT (Modified Discrete Cosine Transform) that implements a filter bank, increasing the frequency resolution 18 times higher than that of layer 2. The result in real terms is layer 3 shrinks the original sound data from a CD (with a *bitrate of 1411.2 kilobits per one second of stereo music) by a factor of 12 (down to 112-128kbps) without sacrificing sound quality. *Bitrate denotes the average number of bits that one second of audio datawill consume. Because MP3 files are small, they can easily be transferred across the Internet. Controversy arises when copyrighted songs are sold and distributed illegally off of Web sites. On the other hand, musicians may be able to use this technology to distribute their own songs from their own Web sites to their listeners, thus eliminating the need for record companies. Costs to the consumer would decrease, and profits for the musicians would increase.  Source: http://www.webopedia.com (Back To Top)
What is MP3 PRO?
Thomson Multimedia and the Fraunhofer Institute, creators of the original MP3 format, have launched this updated version of the MP3 codec. It promised more CD-like sound quality in a smaller file. Unlike the original MP3 codec, MP3-PRO, a lossy format, also has a second track that includes the high-frequency sounds omitted from the original, allowing for better-quality recording. However, older MP3 players can't pick up this second stream: an MP3-PRO compatible player is needed to hear the improved sound quality. MP3-PRO files are better than standard MP3s when encoded at bit-rates of up to 128KB/s, but from there on upwards the standard MP3, perhaps surprisingly, has the edge as far as sound quality is concerned.  - Computer Music Magazine, Issue 77, September 2004, www.computermusic.co.uk (Back To Top)
What is OGG (OGG Vorbis)?
Ogg Vorbis (sometimes just called Vorbis) is an open source patent-free audio compression format, developed as a replacement for proprietary digital audio encoding formats, such as MP3, VQF, and AAC. Vorbis files (which have an .ogg extension) compress to a smaller size than MP3 files, which reduces bandwidth and storage requirements. According to many reports, Vorbis provides better sound quality than MP3. Chris Montgomery started the Vorbis project at MIT, but was motivated to make the format available after the MP3 codec (coder/decoder) developers, the Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft Institute, announced that they intended to seek remuneration not only for licensing MP3 encoders, but for any stream carrying an MP3 file.  Because this action could put many small and/or independent Web casters out of business, Montgomery was motivated to make the free MP3 alternative available as quickly as possible. The Ogg part of the name came from the network game Netrek. In Netrek, an Ogg is a tactical maneuver, and the word has entered broader usage to mean "doing something forcefully, perhaps without due consideration of possible consequences." The Vorbis part of the name came from a character in the book Small Gods by Terry Pratchett. - www.whatis.com (Back To Top)
What is DRM?
DRM stands for Digital Rights Management. DRM restricts the number of times you can burn a song you have downloaded or transfer that song to another computer. ALL of the music on www.rh.hk is DRM-free. There are no technology imposed usage restrictions on the files you download. You can listen to the files you download however you like as long as it's for your own personal use. While you won't find DRM on www.rh.hk, all of the songs we sell are still works protected by copyright law and we ask that you respect that. So if one of your friends wants a copy of something you downloaded, do us and the artists you support a favor and tell them to go buy a copy here. (Back To Top)
What portable devices can play MP3s and Oggs?
The MP3s that you have downloaded from www.rh.hk are compatible with most portable MP3 players. Many new portable players support Ogg Vorbis. (Back To Top)
How do I play MP3s and Oggs on my computer?
You will need a digital audio player such as Winamp for Windows, Whamb for Mac OS X or XMMS for Linux (may also need to install certain third-party software). (Back To Top)
How much does it cost?
Most individual songs are $00.79. Full-length albums and sound samples/loops (Sound Library) vary. Prices are in Pounds Sterling (British). (Back To Top)
How do I pay?
We accept VISA & MASTERCARD. (Back To Top)
What if I don't like the song once I buy it... can I get a refund?
All sales are final. Before you click purchase on the final confirmation page, make sure that what you're about to order is correct. Refund will be given at the discretion of the company's management. (Back To Top)
How fast does my connection need to be to download songs?
Any connection will work. Most of our files are typically 3 megs, which will take approximately 14 minutes to download on a 28.8 dial-up, 7 minutes on 56.6 dial-up, and less than one or two minutes on broadband. (Back To Top)
Do you offer both the OGG and MP3 versions of the song?
No, just MP3 for now. But we will be offering both. Check back. (Back To Top)
What if I download a song and it is defective?
We do everything we can to make sure our audio is perfect, but in the rare occasion that you download a defective track, please email musicdownload@rh.hk and one of our customer service representatives will contact you within 24-48 hours. (Back To Top)
What if the connection drops?
REDOWNLOAD POLICY: The music file download link provided is valid for 7 days. After this 7 days period this link is no longer valid. You should try again within this period. Alternatively, you will also have 3 chances to download. We suggest you attempt to download (2nd attempt) after 24 hours from your fist attempt. And if necessary, download (3rd attempt) after 24 hours from your second attempt. If you have made a total of 3 attempts (the maximum number of downloads) the 7 days period is automatically invalid, even if you have made 3 attempts under 4 days. The REDOWNLOAD POLICY expires if 3 attempts are made or the 7 days period is over, whichever comes first. All sales are final. Before you click the download link, make sure that you have sufficient space on you hard disk and the connection is okay. Refund will be given at the discretion of the company's management. (Back To Top)