Players and Plug-ins
Some of the content on the Internet requires a special type of player to be installed to function with your web browser. A player is a separate program that opens outside of your browser. A plug-in operates within it.

A plug-in adds multimedia functions to your computer. As the name implies it plugs in to your computer and allows for sound, video, and interaction with images.

Common Players
Some of the most commonly used players around are Windows Media Player, QuickTime, and Real One Player. These players work for both audio and video on the web.

Plug-ins
Some of the plug-ins commonly used on the web are Flash and Shockwave. These plug-ins work with flash-enriched sites and/or allow you to use multimedia games and interactive applications.

Audio Information
Certain types of sampling rates and resolutions work best for the Internet.

The sampling rate shows how often sound is sampled. The more it is sampled, the better it sounds. Compact discs are recorded at a rate of 44,100 samples per second, more commonly referred to as 44.1 KHz. For a web file, the maximum sampling rate suggested for use is about 22 KHz.

The sampling resolution is the number of bits assigned to each sample. The more bits there are, the better the quality is. An 8-bit resolution is almost always acceptable for the web; 16-bit is too large.