What are the system requirements for this music service?
What is the quality of the files?
What software players can I use to play and arrange this music on a computer?
What are AAC files anyway?
What are FLAC files?
Can I get my files any time?
My files don't play properly, or don't play to the end. What do I do?
Can I download multiple copies of my purchased songs?
Will these downloads work with my iPod?
Apart from iPod, what other portable players will these downloads work with?
What will appear on my credit/debit card bill?
What is your privacy policy?
This service works on Windows, Mac and Linux.
PC requirements: Windows 98 or above.
Mac requirements: Mac OSX
A compatible software audio player is required (see below).
Our files are encoded as mp3, AAC or FLAC. Our mp3s are encoded using LAME preset extreme which creates files with a bit rate of about 250 kbps. The AAC format files are encoded at 192kbps. Both are virtually indistinguishable from CD-quality audio, and both are much better than most music files on the internet which are by and large encoded at 128kbps.
Where available, the FLAC encodes are superior still. The audio is compressed without any loss in quality, similar to how zip works but with better compression for audio files. This makes FLAC's the highest possible quality for digital downloads. The file sizes are however on average approximately four times the size of the mp3/AAC versions.
Examples of compatible software players for mp3 / AAC include:
iTunes (mac and pc)
Real Player (mac and pc)
WinAmp (Windows)
foobar2000 (Windows)
XMMS (Linux)
Popular players for FLAC:
WinAmp (Windows) with FLAC plugin
foobar2000 (Windows)
MacAmp Lite X (Mac)
Cog (Mac)
VLC player (Mac / Windows / Linux)
XMMS (Linux) with FLAC plugin
Windows Media Player with FLAC plugin
AAC files are MPEG 4 Advanced Audio Coding files, they are smaller in size and higher in quality than most mp3 files and are the same files that are used in the iTunes music store.
FLAC encodes are superior in sound quality to mp3 and AAC. The audio is compressed without any loss in quality (similar to how zip works but with better compression for audio files). This makes FLAC's the highest possible quality for digital downloads. The file sizes are however on average roughly four times the size of the mp3/AAC versions.
We guarantee that the files will be available to download for thirty days after the date of purchase. You can collect your files immediately after completing the checkout process by following the link to the download area, or you can use the link in the email we send you to access the download area at another time within the 30 day period. However it is possible that at times of very heavy demand or in case of exceptional technical problems you may be requested NOT to collect your file(s) immediately.
Keep trying! If you didn't experience any error messages during download, then your files should be fine, and any playback problems will be to do with your own player. Check the file size on your player, and compare them with the file sizes given on the website. If they match, then the songs have downloaded properly and there is probably a problem with your player. As a last resort, contact and we will sort it out for you.
You can download a second copy of the files to a second computer/storage device OF YOURS. We guarantee that a second copy will be available to you for up to thirty days after the date of purchase.
Your iPod is compatible with both mp3 and AAC. At the time of writing the iPod does not have FLAC support.
There are many mp3 players currently on the market, but fewer AAC and FLAC players. Apart from Apple, some other manufacturers are now offering portable AAC players, e.g. Panasonic. COWON audio, and the iRiver with the Rockbox firmware replacement both offer FLAC support. Otherwise, you will need to convert your AAC / FLAC files to mp3's in order to use them on most portable players. You can use a software converter such as:
dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC)
GX::Transcoder
Both of these are completely free.
Your bill should show a transaction labelled "state51/Internet" on the date you purchased your download(s).
Please see the "privacy" page in the Help section of the Threshold House website.
Shopping basket