I took my dog out for a walk.
While it was ****ing on Mr. T's leg, he seemed distracted by:
"Sonic Man" wrote in message
...
I would prefer to manage just one format long-term, but I will consider
your suggestion if I understand it better. Why is it better to use .wav
for archiving (on CDRs), and not for example MP3? Do you see the .wav
standard as more long-lived?

What I meant was store the .wav's as red book audio CD's. Yes, I do see
that standard as more long lived. It's been around for over 20 years now,
and no sign of going anywhere soon. Unlike any of the other formats.
And when you want to change format's in the future, you will not want to
start with a compressed format, unless you really have a tin ear.

And if the .wav files are only for archiving, not for playing, why not
store them on DVDs, to save on storage volume?

You could archive the .mp3's to DVD, but then many DVD players would not
play them.
You may not care, your choice.

MrT.

Tricky stuff, archiving. If the corporations get their way even MP3's won't
be playable in 10 years time. They have an advantage in that you can store
not only the music, but the track titles, sleeve notes, sleeve picture,
whatever in the file itself. Even at a lowly 192Kbits, I'm pushed to tell
the difference these days, but then I'm getting old, as is anyone else with
a significant vinyl collection.

The way I archive mine is:

Use 2 turntables
Play both sides (just to get the crap off).
Record side 1 while another is being 'scoured' on TT2. (WAV, 48K[it's an old
card]). Note that this is NOT recordable direct to CD.
Scan sleeve during recording (it's OK, the pc will cope!) I have alignment
marks in masking tape on the scanner. Done right you can get away with a
single stich to the necessary 2 images and not lose too much. 200dpi usually
does me, there's nothing like a big bitmap to give a pc indigestion.
Record Side 2 whilst processing image.
Repeat until bored.

Tea

Copy the files to another hard drive, just in case.
Run WAV's through Soundforge (other processors are available), removing
dodgy clicks and scratches. Be very gentle with these tools, the odd click
is nothing compared to a decimated splash cymbal. Do not be tempted to add
echo/reverb/'enhancement'. Back in something I actually understand, an
ancient WaveLabLite, convert processed files to 44100 (CD spec). Then 'top
and tail' them, and chop them up into their component tracks, removing all
silent gaps. This takes an inordinate amount of time, at least an hour,
usually much more, especially with our beloved prog rock with no track gaps.
Taking care not to destroy the input files, rename the chopped sections as
their album, track name and track number. Burn the original, unprocessed
files to CD (marked DO NOT PLAY!), then delete them if happy.

Tea

Load the processed, chopped WAV files into your chosen ripper (I use
MusicMatch, no flames please) and turn them into MP3's. I use 192, many will
argue. Tough. This will not only make hi-tec MP3's out of your old vinyl, it
will sort them into their appropriate place via the WAV file name.
MP3's have a 'hidden' section, known as tags (ID3V2, don't argue). Once
ripped, I open the track tags and add in the scanned sleeve, the year, the
engineer, whatever. This is where MP3's fall down, as you only need this
stuff once per album, but I add it in to every track as space is cheap these
days. There is no decent 'full-album' MP3 format.

Finally, I print out a cover and inner from the tags I've entered (the
crappest part of MMJB this is) and burn the *WAV* files to CD, as a straight
audio disc. Remember to set a 2 sec gap between tracks if it's that sort of
record. The burner will often give an option to write CD text for the
player, which I kinda like, but takes yet more time.

OK, so now you've got a copy of the raw data and the finished album on
separate CD's, and a set of MP3's to play on the pc/Walkman/iPod. I usually
burn 2 copies of the audio, again just in case. From printing the jewel
case, your room will be awash with slivers of paper, test prints, bad prints
and you have run out of ink. Using every ounce of your willpower, delete all
the WAV's you've created.

If you can do more than 2 of these a day, you're an obsessive, and should
see a doctor.

Go to pub.

--
Despite appearances, it is still legal to put sugar on cornflakes.