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What Is the Music Format for DSi?

Although Nintendo DSi is more popularly known for gaming, it includes a built-in media player that allows you to play music. In order to listen to music, you must first copy compatible formats to your gaming console. Incompatible formats won't play, and may actually cause system problems, so it's important to determine which formats and settings are best for your gaming console.

Music Format
- Nintendo supports music files in AAC format with file extensions such as .m4a, .mp4 and .3gp. Music files in other formats will not play. In fact uploading them to your gaming console may cause errors such as freezing and crashing. Compatible AAC files should also maintain a bitrate between 16kbps and 320kbps. The sampling rate should be anywhere between 32kHz and 48kHz. Music that doesn't meet these guidelines may not play properly and can cause unexpected errors when you upload them to your gaming console.
Converting Files
- Nintendo is incapable of playing audio files in formats other than AAC, so music in formats such as MP3 have to be converted. Copyright files cannot be converted to AAC formats compatible with DSi. If you have a variety of non-copyrighted files, you can convert them to AAC using audio conversion software. Nintendo itself does not provide an audio conversion software, but several are available for use if you perform a simple search. There are a variety of free audio conversion programs on the Internet to choose from.
Uploading Music
- Once you've determined that your music files are compatible with your gaming console, uploading them takes minutes to complete. To save music to your gaming console, you'll need an SD card with up to 2GB of storage space or an SDHC card with up to 32GB of storage space. After inserting the card into the card slot and connecting the gaming console to your computer, you can transfer compatible music from folders or location you saved the files to the card displayed in Windows Explorer if your using a PC or Finder if your using a Mac.
Playing Music Files
- Once you've uploaded your favorite songs, select the "Nintendo DSi Sound" icon on your player's menu. Select the "Play with your music" option to display the SD card screen. You should see a list of the songs you uploaded organized in folders. To play a song, select the desired folder, highlight the song, and then select "Start." DSi also provides an "Auto" feature that allows you to play songs in a random manner.

Nintendo DS