Depending on the type of recording, GRN may have several formats available for download.
Audio MP3 standard quality - good quality audio files suitable for general purpose playback - averaging 28MB for a 30 minute program.
Audio MP3 low quality - more compressed audio files for playback on devices with limited storage - averaging 7MB for a 30 minute program.
Audio M3U playlist - a single small file containing links (not the actual audio files) to the standard quality MP3 files used as a playlist on your player. You must be online for these items to play.
Slideshow Video MP4 HD resolution - the best quality MP4 file that contains pictures accompanying the gospel presentation in 1080x720 resolution (AV1) - averaging 41MB for a 30 minute program. Note that AV1 decoding may not be available on some older devices.
Slideshow Video MP4 standard resolution - a single good quality MP4 file that contains pictures accompanying the gospel presentation in 640x480 resolution (H.264 level 2.0) - averaging 43MB for a 30 minute program.
Slideshow Video VCD AVI files - a single VCD resolution video file that contains pictures accompanying the gospel presentation in 352x288 resolution (MPEG-4 Video XVID) - averaging 15MB for a 30 minute program.
Slideshow Video 3GP very low resolution - a single poor quality file of pictures and audio suitable for use on old mobile phones and bluetooth transfer in 176x144 resolution, 8kHz audio - averaging 4MB for a 30 minute program.
Video MP4 HD resolution - the best quality MP4 file that contains live action video, sign language or hand-crafted animation in up to 1080x720 resolution (AV1) - averaging 113MB for a 30 minute program.
Video MP4 standard resolution - a single good quality MP4 file that contains live action video, sign language or hand-crafted animation in 640x480 resolution (H.264 level 2.0) - averaging 164MB for a 30 minute program.
Video MP4 low resolution - a single low resolution MP4 file that contains live action video, sign language or hand-crafted animation in 320x240 resolution (H.264 level 2.0) - averaging 87MB for a 30 minute program.
How do I choose which format to download
We recommend using the HD files wherever possible, as these provide the best quality gospel presentations at near full screen sizes. They use a newer codec which gives better compression.
The lower quality MP3 and video files are designed for playback on small or older portable devices where newer codecs are not supported or where file size is most important, for example:
- where AV1 codec is not supported, such as on older Android devices,
- where bandwidth is limited or your internet connection is slow,
- where data allowance is limited or expensize,
- where sharing is to be done directly to other devices using bluetooth or other peer to peer connection,
- where storage on your device is limited,
- where screen size is small.
What do I do with ZIP files
ZIP files are a reliable way to make sure you get all files in a particular format in a single download. However, you need to Unzip the files to be able to use them.
While Windows can Unzip most of of the files available from GRN, there are some that contain languages that it cannot handle. In this case we recommend the free 7-Zip utility, which can Zip and Unzip files in any format and any language.
Why do some recordings only have 1 or 2 tracks
Audio recordings which have only 1 or 2 tracks may have been designed for cassette use, and we do not yet have a multiple track version of the recording available.
The process of restoration, remastering and making multiple track versions of our older recordings is ongoing, and the website is updated as these are available.
For further information on formats, please contact us.