Sure, I make backups of my CDs. My car (Excursion) was broken into twice and now, I keep all my originals at home. My question, is....it used to be that I could use Roxio to just copy disk to disk and make compliations and every thing was fine. Something has changed. Everything now seems to be MP3. I do not have, at my age, (Senior Citizen,) nor do I desire to own and run around with an I-Pod stuck in my ears. I have heard that MP3 is actually lower quality audio. It seems that most all the copy programs are now geared up to pull audio tracks off disks and transfer them to MP3 or wav. Roxio 9 will allow you to pull the tracks, but converts them to WAV or MP3. I have a need to get rid of some real hated tracks on my CDs and do my own compilations. However, I would prefer not to lower the sound quality of the new compiled burn. I did a search and found several programs for "image" copy. That's the whole CD at once. Any CD works fine, and in fact is the only one that does not balk with underruns. But, I can't use it to make compilations. There are some notes about the new Any DVD that mention CD copy, but would like to know if you can pull in and separate the tracks and chose what you want to burn. And burn them in the original audio format. I would appreciate an education on really what is a CD audio format, and why we are pushed to Converting our signals to another form. Is wav actually CD format? Is there a program out there that actually keeps things in the original format Tejas
audio CDs are stored in a format called linear-PCM. Linear becasue the 1s ans 0s are one long continuous line, and PCM stands for pulse code modulation. when ripping a CD to the computer to create your own compilation, you can easily rip the CD to its individual tracks and keep the same CD quality when creating your CDR. The ripping process is usually two stepps: ripping and converting. first you rip the CD to the computer in an uncompressed format such as wave, which is the same CD quality as whats on the original CD, and then you can compress to mp3 or whatever other compressed format you like. when you compress mp3 properly (with LAME and VBR 256kpbs) you can create very decent quality mp3s, but no, they are not as good as the original CDs. so all you need to to is rip your CDs to your computer as wave files, then just burn the ones you want to an audio CD. I highly recommend using EAC (exact audio copy) to rip your CDs. it is free, and is THE best cd ripper there is...period. only it can assure you a 100% accurate rip of your CD. you can also use EAC to burn an audio CD, but i'd also recommend looking into nero, it is a very good burning app (much better than roxio)....
I have Roxio Easy CD/DVD Creator 6. Don't know anything about the newer versions (so don't ask me). Anyway, Roxio 6 allows you to copy a track or tracks from one disk to your blank CD. You can pick and choose the tracks and the order of the tracks. IF you don't fill the disk and don't FINALIZE it, you can come back later and record another assortment of track(s). When it is full, Finalize it and you should be happy. I got this version of Roxio because it works with Win XP. Used to LOVE the old Adaptec Easy CD Creator, but it does not work with XP. You might want to locate a copy of Roxio 6 online. It would be real cheap. Mine was new, some time back. Got it for less than ten bucks on eBay.
@tejasmed Are you sure the settings are set right in the Roxio 9 program? I'm using v7 & and can rip the files with my version. AnyDVD won't rip a CD either, I just tried it. I know MusicMatch will. There's a free version. I would check my settings in Roxio and make sure they are not set to rip to mp3 rather than a wav. file.
i still recommend using EAC to rip the CD, then you can use whatever burning app you want to create the compilation CD. perhaps you are having trouble ripping because it has some form of copy protection. check the link in my sig below to the guide on how to get around copy protected audio CDs.
Windows Media Player will also rip and burn files. You can sort and shuffle. You can choose output formats such as MP3 or WMA. Most CD players can handle MP3; check yours before you burn a boat load.
yes but he doesn't want to rip to mp3 or other compressed format, and he doesn't have an mp3 compatible cd player. i have had nothing but bad experiences ripping with WMP. why use something crappy like that when the best ripper there is is free....
I still can't believe the lastest Roxio suite can't rip a wav from a CD. I've used EZ since version 3. I stopped buying at 7 and still use it for CDs. Every new released changed how things were done. It got more complicated and I just hated buying new progrs everytime I changed operating systems. There were hardly any updates with each version. Now I use Nero for DVDs and, YES I have both installed without issues. @djscoop I checked your sig for EAC set. It looked like a lot of trouble just setting it up. Not saying it's not the best, but I'll stick with EZ 7 or musicmatch for simplicity and quality outcome.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried Windows media and ripped to wav and burned a few tracks to a CD-RW for a test. It worked. The sound is about the same. If you rip to a file, (WAV) then Roxio 9 can see it and put it into a line up and then burn. You can try putting the files directly off the disk to Roxio, but it will balk and say they are illegal format. If you try to copy directly off the disk and put the files in a folder, it will not read them properly. They need a rip program. I will try that EAC to see how that does. As far as Roxio 6, I probably still have my original copy. I worry about trying to re install it. Roxio 9 does not like sharing space with older programs. Roxio 9 was a nightmare, I have had to rip it out twice and re install it. Messing with all the CD stuff knocked out my ability to browse my ripped DVD iso. files and make a burn. Had several blue screens with severe warnings that my computer hard drive was going to be damaged. Went away when re installed. I almost went to war with Roxio over 7, 7.5 and 8. It took the longest time and some severe up dates to stabilize my system. Check the latest post about going in to your msconfig and un checking Roxio folder watch. It helps. Another FYI that might help for slow computers and burn problems is going in and totally removing DAP (Down Load Accelerator Plus.) Then go back and put it in again. What happens, is that things get left in the mother file and cause things to slow down. Boy, it was like a breath of fresh air when I did the re install. Again, thanks, I will download the new toys. Tejasmed
all of those settings and configs you have to do for EAC are really only for converting your CDs to mp3 files...if you just want to rip them to wave, all you need to do is install and click rip...but whatever works for you
For what it is worth. I have looked at EAC and LAME; found it to be way too baffling to install. It said I needed this and that which is OK on the surface. But some of the things it said I needed to install as a file turned out to be a giant text-like file of gibberish upon download. So what was that? I could not figure out just what to do with it and simply gave up. After all, my existing programs and methods were working perfectly for me. Maybe not "Exact" as in EAC, but fine for me. I have never had all the grief that tejasmed has mentioned. If my ears can not hear any difference, it must be good enough (for me).
for DJSCOOP Hate to inform you, but I tried EAC. It loaded and during the set up balked and gave me the blue screen of death. I fully deleated it and stabilized again, then tried it one more time. Instant blue screen and lots of nasty notes about my computer hard drive going to be destroyed. I ran all my virus programs and registry fixes over night. What ever Roxio 9 has put in there, it does not like to share with anything else on a system. This is why I wish I had a whole separate computer from my work computer. I work at home through my company server across town and can't afford the down time. Well, back to the drawing board for now. I went back and tested the Roxio .ISO DVD burner and it still works, as well as the Clone CD, so that will have to do for now. Tejasmed
Let me chime in with some support for poor ol' djscoop, who has been technically right, right from the beginning. 'Tis true you might find the software ain't friendly, but he's right. It is categorically the best; that's not just an opinion. Haha! So listen carefully when djscoop speaks, because he's telling you the unmitigated truth! Trouble is, there is an axiom about computers: You should never try to learn anything at the same time that you really need to know it. When you do that, perplexities are just bound to make things difficult. You always need to learn when you don't NEED to know: I'm right, right? So this car situation has kind of got to you, tjasmed, because you need to solve it and it's really not the right time to be learning EAC. Put it this way: there just ain't no time for the ZEN, and you do need the Zen. Back to another point you raised in the beginning: in theory, an older person would not pick up the difference in mp3. mp3 is to music as JPG is to visuals; it removes a huge amount of weight and leaves you with a very, very good remnnant. mp3 does not do true surround sound, which .WAV files do. But in a car, that's not a concern, is it? Now, when I said "in theory" about the sound quality, there is a really sticky wicket there. I'm not a senior citizen yet, being only 60. But I am aware that my hearing, which has been fine-tuned to 40 years of differentiating, say, the forest sounds of Golden-crowned Kinglets from the call-notes of Brown Creepers, is acute compared to most folks half my age. I absolutely love hearing things, so I've treasured this particular miracle, even to the point of sacrificing some excellent Blues jams that were just too loud for my ears. Therefore I don't know if you will truly not perceive a difference in mp3—but for me, the difference requires a better atmosphere than a car.
Grongle You are absolutly right. I love your attitude. At 67, I still have fair hearing, but playing lights (light shows) under rock bands in the late 60's did knock off a little off the edge. I have a passion for New Age Music, and it is far more intellectual and easier on the nerves. To each his own. As I mentioned, an Excursion can be broken into in 2 seconds with an ice pick. I got tired of re paying for stuff. What I appreciate is you and everyone else taking the time to explain a few things. Being a Ham Operator and having built some of the first computers from scratch, I am amazed at the rapid progress (Moore's Law) I had to keep re-inventing myself to find jobs because the world will not hire you when you get old. I say this in hopes that some of the younger set will listen and keep on doing what they are doing.....finding out what makes things work and keep learning something new every day, you will need the skill on the next job. It appears that I can live with the .wav and the existing tools. I have my stash now, and I am ready for the yearly trip to Terlingua and Big Bend where I am the chief photographer for the Chili Contest. With everyone's help, I now have "ear" comfort to keep me company on the trip. Regards, Tejasmed
@ Grongle: thanks for the support buddy, glad so see some new faces around here. @rulisky: installing EAC is really not that complicated. if you can program a VCR (if anyone still uses them) then you can install it. you install the program file for EAC. you download the LAME plugin and config. put those files into the EAC program files directory. thats it. the rest of the configuring is very basic. its not much harder than installing any other programs out there. and if you still don't get it by following the step-by-step guide, then i dont' know what to tell you. if you don't want to go through the horrible hassle of dragging a few files over, then use whatever works for you. @ tejasmed: thats strange you had such major problems installing EAC...what version did you download, and what OS are you running? I'd recommend sticking with the older and more stable versions of EAC and LAME listed in the guide. My point was not to try and force anybody to try using EAC or anything else, as I stated above; if you have something that works for you, then use it. but the original post was asking for help in creating custom audio CDs, so my first response was to recommend A) what I know from personal experience works great and B) what the best software is out there. is that the only choice? No, of course not. but would you recommend a software thats absolutely horrible, or one thats really good? Anyways, let me just end by saying that I have been around here for a while, and welcome to aD for those who are relatively new. Keep in mind that this is a terrific forum where great people come on their free time to offer support and advice. We're not here to try and show off or talk trash about other people's opinions (except for macs, thats my one exception...lol). Some options don't work for others, and thats why there are many different ways of doing the same thing. So if someone thinks your opinion isn't they best, then oh well, its not the end of the world. I've seen too many people get banned by getting into arguments over the pettiest stuff... edit 4 typo
@djscoop I looked at the saved link and it said EAC 0.95b4 In any case, I think I have the situation in hand now that I understand .wav a lot better. Some of the other programs are serving the purpose very well. When I was a kid, I used to thrive on buying little Chinese puzzles and spending time learning how to take them apart and put them back together. I guess the passion continued when computer programs came along. I get real "into" something when I know it should work, but won't. Sometimes it is real simple, like the time a circuit board would crater every time it got to a certain temp. A spot of solder did the trick. Or a program....something else eating up the cpu time that we can't see. Get rid of the hidden bug, and all works. Since my job depends on the reliability of this computer, I guess that I need to save up and build me that "killer" machine I always wanted and then I can tinker all I want without endangering my job machine. Guess I need to scan the forums to find out what everyone is doing with the new dual core stuff. I use Matrox dual screen now, I want to go for the gold and get Quad! Thanks for all the help Tejasmed
@djscoop I looked at the saved link and it said EAC 0.95b4 My system is Entel Pent 4 Prof XP Plenty of memory. In any case, I think I have the situation in hand now that I understand .wav a lot better. Some of the other programs are serving the purpose very well. When I was a kid, I used to thrive on buying little Chinese puzzles and spending time learning how to take them apart and put them back together. I guess the passion continued when computer programs came along. I get real "into" something when I know it should work, but won't. Sometimes it is real simple, like the time a circuit board would crater every time it got to a certain temp. A spot of solder did the trick. Or a program....something else eating up the cpu time that we can't see. Get rid of the hidden bug, and all works. Since my job depends on the reliability of this computer, I guess that I need to save up and build me that "killer" machine I always wanted and then I can tinker all I want without endangering my job machine. Guess I need to scan the forums to find out what everyone is doing with the new dual core stuff. I use Matrox dual screen now, I want to go for the gold and get Quad! Thanks for all the help Tejasmed
