Sony ATRAC Audio Codec

Sony ATRAC3 Audio Codec was developed by Sony for its portable audio players.

The highest bit rate supported by Atrac3 is 132 kbps (which they say is superior to MP3 128 kbps) and supplies a decent quality.

For the best quality ATRAC3 files, you must convert the tracks directly from the audio CD.

ATRAC3 is a compression technology based on Sony's ATRAC (Adaptive TRansform Acoustic Coding) technology that originated with and is supported by MiniDisc. ATRAC3 achieves twice the data compression rate of ATRAC with virtually no loss in sound quality and reduces the size of audio data to 1/10 of the original audio CD source.

The audio compression technologies used by Sony will analyze the digital audio data and reduce its size by applying the newest digital audio technologies.

Compressing audio data provides real benefits:
Drastically minimize the required physical size of recording media while enabling increased music storage.
Smaller file sizes means a reduction in audio data transmission time.

How to install Sony ATRAC3 Audio Codec :
Unarchive atrac3.rar, right-click on atrac3.inf file and choose Install.
You may encounter a prompt saying: "The software you are installing for this hardware... has not passed Windows Logo testing..."; click on the Continue Anyway button.
Then check the installed codec. See Checking Installed VIDEO and AUDIO Codecs In Windows XP guide.