Nero Express copying question

newtechie · Dec 26, 2005

How do I create a user database? It's asking me to create one but the cd songs are pulled from the internet.

Thanks.

whompus · Dec 26, 2005

With it telling you that. In advanced options you must have it selected to use user database. Open the left sidebar in express then select options then the database tab and take the checkmark out of user database and make sure there is a checkmark in the freedb box for the internet if you want to use the free database offered by them. You could always compile a database if you wanted with a database creation software. But why spend all that time creating and then updating often a db when theres is vast and free.

whompus · Dec 26, 2005

This is info on db from nero.

The Nero CD database
Unfortunately most Audio CDs contain no information about the tracks that are on them – only Audio CDs with CD Text do this. When an Audio CD is created this means that the titles and artists of the tracks usually have to be entered manually. However Nero Burning ROM 7 has a built-in CD and title database designed to locate the titles, artists and all the tracks on an officially released Audio CD. This is achieved with a kind of 'fingerprint' on the CD. The information obtained in this way can be used or a range of purposes, such as:

Generating meaningful filenames when saving audio tracks (see also: 'Encoding'). These filenames make it easier for you to compile your own Audio CDs and also provide the information that is printed on the cover by Nero Cover Designer. Information about the title and artist is also saved in the audio file provided the audio file format allows this. This is possible with MP3 and WMA (MS Audio) files for instance, but not with WAV files.
Automatic addition of CD-Text when copying Audio CDs. This makes it possible to create CD copies that are in a way better than the original because they get more information. With the added CD-Text, an audio CD player with the right equipment can display the title and artist on a CD.

Importing the program database

Depending on how your PC is configured, the database can take up to one day (!) of processing time to import! This is unavoidable because of the sheer size of the database and the large number of cross-references that Nero Burning ROM 7 has to create. Once imported however, read access to the database is very fast. You can cancel the download at any time but we do not advise this, as it CANNOT be resumed. The database would have to be imported again and this would create double entries.

Select 'Import Internet Database' from the 'Database' menu.
Select the drive that contains the unzipped directory.
Select the destination path for the database.
When the import is complete you will see a window asking you if you wish to use this database as the Nero Burning ROM 7 program database. Click Yes to confirm your choice.

Creating a user database

Unlike the program database which contains information about published CDs, the user database is suitable for your own CD compilations. Creating a user database will ensure that information about CDs you have created yourself is not lost if the program database is overwritten.

In Windows Explorer create a directory (target directory) to hold the user database.
Select 'Create a New User Database' from the 'Database' menu and highlight the destination path for the new user database.
When the import is complete you will see a window asking you if you wish to use this database as the user database. Click 'Yes' to confirm your choice.

Configuring local Nero databases

If when you imported the program database/user database you answered 'Yes' when asked if you want to use these as your new database(s), then the directories are entered automatically. However you can still review the settings on the relevant tab after you have imported the database(s).

Before using the Nero database just take a little time to make sure that the settings are right. To configure these settings, select 'File' > 'Options' and then the 'Database' tab. You will see that there are three setting areas.

Configuring the Internet database for reading

As well as the local database, Nero Burning ROM 7 supports access to Internet databases with CD information that comply with the so-called CDDB standard. The free Internet CD database 'http://freedb.freedb.org' is preset as a preference - Nero Burning ROM 7 can access this directly on the Internet provided you have an Internet connection.

Select 'Options' from the 'File' menu and click the 'Database' tab.
Check that 'freedb.freedb.org' is preset as the read server in the 'Use Internet CD database' area.
Check that '/~cddb/cddb.cgi' is set as the address.
Check that '80' is entered as the port.

Remember that errors made in keying these parameters are likely to cause network failures. When you change these parameters you must also make sure that correct spelling is used. If you are using a proxy server you should enter the data required to access your proxy server in the Proxy Configuration dialog box. If you don't have the necessary information, please ask your network administrator or Internet provider. If in doubt, try without a proxy server first.

Configuring the Internet database for writing

As well as downloading CD descriptions from the Internet database you can also make them accessible for other users. In this way you can help improve the quality of the Internet database when you own a CD that does not exist in either the local or the Internet database. This does not apply to CDs with tracks you have compiled yourself. However since it is unlikely that anyone else owns an identical CD, entries about such CDs should not be uploaded to the Internet database, as this would create meaningless CD entries.

Select 'Options' from the 'File' menu and click the 'Database' tab.
Activate the 'Submit E-Mail address' checkbox and check that 'freedb-submit@freedb.org' is shown as the address.
Enter your email address and the name of the SMTP server in the boxes provided. Please ask your network administrator or Internet provider for the name if you do not have this information.
The 'Application Name' field shows the name and version of the program used to upload CD database entries – i.e. Nero Burning ROM 7 and the installed program version.

When uploading CD entries remember that Internet databases are not normally updated immediately by the Internet database administrators as new entries must first be checked for plausibility. This means that if you upload a CD description today, it would probably not appear on the Net for several days.

Configuring database settings

Information from the CD databases can be used for a variety of purposes. You will find the necessary checkboxes in the lower section of the 'Database' tab:

Open the database during 'Save Track':
When this checkbox is activated Nero Burning ROM 7 opens the database dialog box when the 'Save Track' option is selected from the 'Recorder' menu. You can now save the necessary information when you convert audio tracks to audio files. See also: 'Saving audio tracks'.
Open the database during 'CD Copy':
When this checkbox is activated Nero Burning ROM 7 opens the database dialog box while the Audio CD is being copied. Nero Burning ROM 7 uses the information obtained in this way to create CD-Text. If you do not have a recorder that can write CD-Text, you can also use the information to create a cover for the CD with the Nero Cover Designer. The information about the audio tracks will be automatically added by Nero Burning ROM 7.
Open the database during '*.cda Drag&Drop':
When this checkbox is activated Nero Burning ROM 7 opens the database dialog box while Audio CDs are being dragged and dropped. There is no need for you to enter a name for the CD and the tracks added to the compilation.

The database dialog box and how it is used in Nero

Depending on how Nero Burning ROM 7 is configured the database dialog box appears on many different occasions, such as when copying Audio CDs or saving audio tracks to harddisk. This is done to get information about titles and artists on the CD and its tracks. This is then used to create CD Text information or to generate meaningful filenames when tracks are saved. The database dialog box first tries to get CD Text information about the loaded CD from the source drive. If this information is available, the dialog box is not opened. If CD-Text information cannot be obtained (for example because the CD contains no CD-Text or the source drive does not support CD-Text), then the dialog box is opened. It now searches in the Nero CD database (if installed), in the user database (if installed) and in the Internet database if required. Another feature is that it searches through the database of the Windows CD player which can also manage a list of CDs that have already been detected.

The search results are then shown in a list. The dialog box may find several different entries or none at all. There can be several different entries when different CDs have the same 'fingerprint'. This 'fingerprint' is obtained from the start positions of the individual tracks, the number of tracks and the playing time of the CD. It is obvious that CDs with the same number of tracks, the same playing time and the same track start positions will also have the same 'fingerprint'. Neither Nero Burning ROM 7 nor the Internet database can tell them apart. There will be different entries for an existing CD. It will be down to the user to select the correct entry. Other errors can be caused by the fact that many older recorders did not have the 'Disc-at-once' mode. Without this mode the start positions of the tracks on the CD can 'slip'. If an inaccurate CD copy like this is used for uploading, then there will be duplicates of CD entries, or CDs that are actually in the database will not be found. This is a problem you will unfortunately have to live with in the CD database.

If there is no entry in the list of possible CDs and if no suitable entry can be found in the Internet database either ('Access Internet Database' button), then the only solution is to define your own entry. You can create this entry by clicking 'Create A New CD Entry'. Don't forget to enter the title and artist for every track. This is particularly important if you intend to upload your CD entry to the Internet at a later time. There is no sense in 'burdening' the Internet database with incomplete entries.

However we recommend that you only make newly created CD entries available to the general public on the Internet for purchasable original CDs. Likewise, there is no sense in uploading descriptions of CDs you have compiled yourself as they will only clog up the Internet database and in any case no other user should own this special CD. Please remember too that you can only upload entries in ASCII characters to the Internet database. This database does not support special characters such as German 'umlauts' or special Asian characters. Special characters should therefore be written out in ASCII notation, e.g. 'Marius Mueller Westernhagen' instead of 'Marius Müller Westernhagen'.

The selected entry is used by Nero Burning ROM 7 as a source of information for artist and title entries and entered in the user database where it can be used for future access to the CD. If you do not wish to use an entry, click 'Cancel'.
Click to expand...

I say why go through that when freedb is easy and free to use.

newtechie · Dec 27, 2005

Hi Whompus,

Thanks for your reply.

I do use the internet database as my personal choice but why everytime I wanna copy a cd it asks me if I want to create a user database?? The only option I have checked in preferences is to use the internet cd database so I'm baffled to why it keeps telling me I need to create a user database.

Log in or Sign up

Nero Express copying question

newtechie Regular member

whompus Active member

whompus Active member

newtechie Regular member

Share This Page

Log in or Sign up

Nero Express copying question

newtechie Regular member

whompus Active member

whompus Active member

newtechie Regular member

Share This Page

Useful Searches