On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 15:11:38 -0000, "Informer"
wrote:


"Julian Fowler" wrote

One other factor: what media are you using?


Sorry if I am sounding thick but if you want to know what make of CDR's I am
using then at the moment I am using JVC CDR for audio even though I believe
this audio version makes no difference when recording via a PC.

Correct - "audio" when specified for a blank CD-R only means that it
has the built-in encoding that consumer standalone CD recorders look
for. In a PC, or in a (semi)pro standalone recorder, there is no
benefit whatsoever to using the "audio" type. Indeed, because
standaline recorders typicallly operate at low speed (1x-4x) the media
designed for use in them may be less than suitable for PC burners that
work best at considerably higher speeds.

In the past
I have used Maxell CD-R 80 XL-S

Hmmm ... FWIW, Maxell's reputation as a media supplier went from very
good (in the days of cassette tape) to very bad -- like many others,
"their" blank CD-Rs are simply generic media from one of several
different producers in Taiwan, that Maxell slap a brand name on and
charge a premium price for. In the last couple of years it does seem
that the quality coming from the Taiwanese manufacturers has improved;
however, fewer and fewer discs are being made elsewhere. Two
manufacturers that continue to produce in Japan, and have a generally
high reputation, are Mitsui and Taiyo-Yuden. You're unlikely to see
either in shops under those names, although both are available from
several online suppliers (e.g., unbranded TYs can be had from
www.svpcommunications.co.uk for about £25+P&P per 100).


As at least one other poster has responded, though, the first thing
you need to do is acquire a copy of EAC (which will cost you nothing
more than the suggestion to send a postcard to its author!) and use
that instead of WMP for audio extraction.


I will get a copy of this now, thanks guys.

Excellent decision :-)

Julian

--
Julian Fowler
julian (at) bellevue-barn (dot) org (dot) uk

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 15:17:34 -0000, "Informer"
wrote:


"Arny Krueger" wrote

How does it feel to be the modern equivalent of the villiage idiot?
Literally millions of people burn CDs on their computer without
encountering
this kind of problem. Some of these people are literally kids.

Not too good at the moment

Question, If using a CD burner gives an identical copy then why am I given a
choice of burn speeds? Is this just dependent on the max speed of the CDR?

You should aim to use the highest speed that the media supports,
without overloading the internal systems on the PC (on most recent
drives, this will be shown by the "burnproof" feature kicking in,
indicating that the PC isn't moving data from the hard disc to the
burner at sufficient speed to keep up with the burn process).

Determining what this is really a matter of experimentation. For
example, I generally burn discs at 16x, on a Dell 500MHz Pentium III
desktop w/ 128Mb memory, even though my burner has a max speed of 48x
and the media I generally use is rated to 40x.

HTH
Julian

--
Julian Fowler
julian (at) bellevue-barn (dot) org (dot) uk

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 15:14:02 -0000
"Informer" wrote:

You're not using a 'normalize' feature in your software, are you?

I have no idea. Where would I look?

Typically, the manual.

--
Spyros lair: http://www.mnementh.co.uk/ |||| Maintainer: arm26 linux

Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are tasty and good with ketchup.

Strikes me that the multiple answers to the problem "Informer" has posed
give their own response to why he might use a standalone system.
It's easy, without involving lots of jargon and complexity.
It's good to holiday on the French Riviera, but you needn't learn to fly 737
to get there.

"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...
"the dead comedian" wrote in message


Buying a stand alone recorder drastically simplified the transferring
of vinyl & tapes to CD.

Yes, it simplifies out of existence many important capabilities described
below.


After posting my message, I realized I left out an important sentence
fragment after the word CD: for me. Most vinyl I'm transferring is new, and
rarely suffers from pops. As for tape & vinyl hiss, I adjust my EQ levels
on my stereo. I'm not a big fan of altering the music source through
editing. My EQ settings for hiss are different from my uncle's. Who is
right? Both of us since we both have different preferences. To deal with
pops or other issues, I edit my new source, the audio CD-RW.

My laptop is on one side of my Manhattan one bedroom apartment, while my
stereo is on the other in the living room. I have to disconnect everything
from the laptop, disconnect either my CD or tape player from behind the
receiver (which is located in a tightly packed "entertainment center"), and
connect everything together. Talk about a lot of effort.

I use audio CD-RWs when I need to do some
editing on the computer. If I want to make a duplicate CD, I use the
high speed sync-recording. I've never had a problem with these
dubbed copies, but I still wouldn't use them to burn discs I'm
sending in a trade. It also saves time, since I don't have to rip
all the tracks to the HD first or accidentally burn the disc TAO.

The author is solving a non-existent problem. I copy audio CDs routinely
on
my PC. It's a total no-brainer. I click an icon, load the discs, click a
button and the copy happens automatically and properly. The software (EZ
CD
5 or 6 or Nero) does the rest.


Have you ever experienced problems burning on-the-fly? If not, good for you
.. I would have a huge pile of coasters if I didn't throw them out. More
problems occur burning on-the-fly than burning off the HD. That is why many
traders ask others not to burn on-the-fly. A multitude of errors can occur,
including wasted discs and cropped songs (this has happened to me). It is
easier FOR ME to duplicate a CD using my stand alone. Pop in the source &
destination discs, then press sync record. Just as simple as your method.
Also, I have never wasted a recordable CD yet using the stand alone's sync
feature. Keep in mind that human error can screw up discs burned by EZ CD
and Nero. The programs are good, but if set incorrectly or in haste.....

Non-existent problem? I think I've establish otherwise. People have to
find solutions for their specific problems. A general, catch-all solution
will not address all problems.

I believe in specialization. My television set is the best way to
watch TV, my stereo is the best way to listen to music, and my laptop
is the best way to surf the web/email/type a document/use a
spreadsheet. Jack of all trades, master of none.

So speaks the voice of mediocrity and inflexibility. You can't do as good
of
a job transcribing other media to CD on stand-alone equipment as you can
do
on a PC. For openers, name a CD recorder with the flexible tic and pop
reduction of a PC. Name one that lets you change the loudness of a song
after you've recorded it, but before you burn the CD. Name one that lets
you
edit lead-in noise as accurately and precisely.

Reread the first paragraph above for my views on hiss. If I was trading a
vinyl sourced disc, I would only eliminate the lead in & lead out noise
using my computer. Remember, I never said I never use my computer to edit
or burn CDs. As for being "the voice of mediocrity and inflexibility," I
believe you spoke in haste without actually asking why I prefer
specialization to a catch-all solution. I'll address that next.


The statement "My television set is the best way to watch TV" ignores the
popularity and power of the Home Theater PC.

The statement "My stereo is the best way to listen to music" ignores the
popularity of PCs as music players with vast music libraries.


I will take my 46 inch flatscreen HDTV over a crappy monitor or laptop
screen any day. TiVO is a lot easier to use than the contraption my friend
set up on his desktop. How many people have their furniture set up in front
of their computer? Nobody I know. My couch is not ergonomically sound, nor
is my desk chair sufficiently comfortable to watch a whole movie. I've seen
a home theater PC and am not impressed. Just because something is popular,
doesn't mean it is better. Beta was superior to VHS, as was laserdisc to
DVD. How many of us still have a beta VCR or a laserdisc player?

My stereo sounds better than any computer speakers I've tried. My music
collection isn't in MP3 format either. MP3 is a lossy format and usually
sounds inferior to the original CD. How big would a HD need to be to store
700+ CDs in WAV format? MP3's popularity derives from (1) it's small file
size, & (2) the P2P networks where you can get MP3s for free. MP3 is
popular despite it's sonic inferiority.

My original comments can also be applied in reverse. Take webtv for
example. Have you ever tried one before? I have and it was crap. I guess
it serves a purpose, but it falls short for what I require. A computer may
be an adequate TV and stereo, but it is not the best. Webtv may be adequate
to surf the web or send email, but.....

"Rich Andrews" wrote

To extract tracks from the original CD, use EAC. www.exactaudiocopy.de

Extract UNcompressed.

Then fire up Nero to burn if you like.


Downloaded a copy and got silence. Went to the Q and A section and found
this

Q:
When I extract, the extraction proceed very fast, but when I listen to
the resulting files, they are all silent. What did I do wrong?

A:
Sometimes EAC will autodetect a wrong read command. In this case it is
possible that only silence is returned. Try to manually select a read
command. In the Drive Options, go to Read Commands page and select the Read
Command MMC1 manually (or any other that works). Test it with burst mode. If
you tested all of them, but none of them worked, try to extract with another
program like WinDAC or CDEx. If both also fails, make sure that your drive
is capable of extracting digital audio at all.

I tried the all the Read command options and still got silence. Guess
I am the village idiot, why is nothing simple??

"RJH" wrote in message
...

"Informer" wrote in message
...

"the dead comedian" wrote I say go
for
the stand-alone. I've had a Sony RCD-W500C for a couple of
weeks now and love it. I wish I bought it sooner.



Can you record some tracks to a CDR then come back to the same CDR a few
weeks later and add more tracks on a stand alone Hi-Fi player like the
Sony?

Yes, or at least you can on the one I use (a NAD). The compilation is
complete when you finalise the disk. You can download the NAD burner's
manual from their web site - it explains all in there. I think you might
try
recording on the pc again though. I wouldn't use your method - extract the
tracks from the cd first using an app like EAC, then burn the wav files
using Nero.

Rob



The Sony also allows tracks to be added continuously to a disc until it is
finalized. I'm not sure, but I think this is a general feature found on all
CD recorders.

tdc

"Ian Molton" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 15:14:02 -0000
"Informer" wrote:

You're not using a 'normalize' feature in your software, are you?

I have no idea. Where would I look?

Typically, the manual.


Found it in the Nero Express manual. Yes I am, as it is on in default,
should I untick it?

"the dead comedian" wrote in message


"Arny Krueger" wrote in message
...

"the dead comedian" wrote in
message

Buying a stand alone recorder drastically simplified the
transferring of vinyl & tapes to CD.

Yes, it simplifies out of existence many important capabilities
described below.


After posting my message, I realized I left out an important sentence
fragment after the word CD: for me. Most vinyl I'm transferring is
new, and rarely suffers from pops.

Ok, so we can add deafness to your list of deficiencies.

As for tape & vinyl hiss, I
adjust my EQ levels on my stereo. I'm not a big fan of altering the
music source through editing.

I'm not talking about altering, I'm just talking about getting clean starts
and finishes.

My EQ settings for hiss are different
from my uncle's. Who is right?

It's not about being right, its about having the facts straight.

Both of us since we both have
different preferences. To deal with pops or other issues, I edit my
new source, the audio CD-RW.

Which pretty well deconstructs all of your former arguments.

My laptop is on one side of my Manhattan one bedroom apartment, while
my stereo is on the other in the living room. I have to disconnect
everything from the laptop, disconnect either my CD or tape player
from behind the receiver (which is located in a tightly packed
"entertainment center"), and connect everything together. Talk about
a lot of effort.

IOW this isn't about anything about the decor of your apartment.

I use audio CD-RWs when I need to do some
editing on the computer. If I want to make a duplicate CD, I use
the high speed sync-recording. I've never had a problem with these
dubbed copies, but I still wouldn't use them to burn discs I'm
sending in a trade. It also saves time, since I don't have to rip
all the tracks to the HD first or accidentally burn the disc TAO.

The author is solving a non-existent problem. I copy audio CDs
routinely on my PC. It's a total no-brainer. I click an icon, load the
discs,
click a button and the copy happens automatically and properly. The
software (EZ CD 5 or 6 or Nero) does the rest.

Have you ever experienced problems burning on-the-fly?

Not for several years. Something about CD burners with the "Burn Proof"
feature.

If not, good
for you . I would have a huge pile of coasters if I didn't throw
them out.

You might want to get a better CD burner for your PC.

More problems occur burning on-the-fly than burning off the HD.

Might be, but at current prices for CD blanks, a coaster or two doesn't
break the bank.

That is why many traders ask others not to burn on-the-fly.

I remember that 4 or 5 years ago, there were problems of the nature you
describe. However, that was 4 or 5 years ago.

A multitude of errors can occur, including wasted discs and cropped
songs (this has happened to me). It is easier FOR ME to duplicate a
CD using my stand alone. Pop in the source & destination discs, then
press sync record. Just as simple as your method.

Except it involves something I've never had the need to spend money on.

Also, I have never
wasted a recordable CD yet using the stand alone's sync feature.

You check this box in the CD copy software to use the hard drive as an
intermediate, and you get the same benefits.

Keep in mind that human error can screw up discs burned by EZ CD and
Nero. The programs are good, but if set incorrectly or in haste.....

Not for straight copying...

Non-existent problem? I think I've establish otherwise. People have
to find solutions for their specific problems. A general, catch-all
solution will not address all problems.

Your mind is obviously highly made up.

I believe in specialization. My television set is the best way to
watch TV, my stereo is the best way to listen to music, and my
laptop is the best way to surf the web/email/type a document/use a
spreadsheet. Jack of all trades, master of none.

So speaks the voice of mediocrity and inflexibility. You can't do as
good of a job transcribing other media to CD on stand-alone
equipment as you can do
on a PC. For openers, name a CD recorder with the flexible tic and
pop reduction of a PC. Name one that lets you change the loudness of
a song after you've recorded it, but before you burn the CD. Name
one that lets you edit lead-in noise as accurately and precisely.

Reread the first paragraph above for my views on hiss.

You've obviously got a lot more tolerance for it than I do.

If I was trading a vinyl sourced disc, I would only eliminate the lead in
&
lead out noise using my computer.

That would be one of my points.

Remember, I never said I never use
my computer to edit or burn CDs.

I'm still looking for a valid reason not to use a computer to edit, burn or
copy CDs other than messing with the decor of your apartment.

As for being "the voice of
mediocrity and inflexibility," I believe you spoke in haste without
actually asking why I prefer specialization to a catch-all solution.

I think you've already made your position quite clear.

I'll address that next.

The statement "My television set is the best way to watch TV"
ignores the popularity and power of the Home Theater PC.

The statement "My stereo is the best way to listen to music" ignores
the popularity of PCs as music players with vast music libraries.

I will take my 46 inch flatscreen HDTV over a crappy monitor or laptop
screen any day.

Ignorance of what a Home Theater PC actually is, noted.

TiVO is a lot easier to use than the contraption my
friend set up on his desktop. How many people have their furniture
set up in front of their computer? Nobody I know.

Ignorance of what a Home Theater PC actually is, noted.

My couch is not
ergonomically sound, nor is my desk chair sufficiently comfortable to
watch a whole movie. I've seen a home theater PC and am not
impressed.

You must have seen a crappy implementation. HTPCs can have any display that
has a RGB connector on it which covers lots of territory, right up to a
commercial digital projector in a regular movie theater.

I'll bet you don't know that one of the most widely-used high quality
digital projectors for commercial theaters boots Windows 2000. IOW, it's a
turnkey HTPC in a rack mount, with a heavy duty video projector.

Just because something is popular, doesn't mean it is
better. Beta was superior to VHS, as was laserdisc to DVD. How many
of us still have a beta VCR or a laserdisc player?

Irrelevant.

My stereo sounds better than any computer speakers I've tried.

My stereo runs as a peripheral of a PC.

My music collection isn't in MP3 format either.

I guess you never heard of .wav and FLAC files.

MP3 is a lossy format
and usually sounds inferior to the original CD. How big would a HD
need to be to store 700+ CDs in WAV format?

350 Gigabytes. Two 180 GB drives. About $400 worth of drives.

MP3's popularity derives
from (1) it's small file size, & (2) the P2P networks where you can
get MP3s for free. MP3 is popular despite it's sonic inferiority.

Even my Nomad Jukebox 3 is loaded with .wav files.

My original comments can also be applied in reverse. Take webtv for
example. Have you ever tried one before? I have and it was crap. I
guess it serves a purpose, but it falls short for what I require.

Irrelevant.

A computer may be an adequate TV and stereo, but it is not the best.

For these applications a PC can be, as I have shown, as good as the best.

Webtv may be adequate to surf the web or send email, but.....

Irrelevant.

On Fri, 30 Jan 2004 18:36:17 GMT
"the dead comedian" wrote:

Have you ever experienced problems burning on-the-fly?

Honestly no.

I can burn at 12x whilst playing Quake 3 without burnproof on.

--
Spyros lair: http://www.mnementh.co.uk/ |||| Maintainer: arm26 linux

Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are tasty and good with ketchup.