Roxio Easy CD Creator software (1 Viewer)

[Scott Wong]

I've never posted to the computers area at all so I'm assuming a thread of this nature would go here...

Ummm, so anyway, here's my question: I want an Apple iPod. I'm pretty sure I know what it does. I know what I want. But with my crappy dial-up connection, I've never really been into MP3's. And aside from that, from what I've heard, it's a lossy format before you even get started. So with that said, I am interested in taking all of my favorite tracks from the 407 CD's I currently own and putting them on a new Apple iPod.

I currently have an early version of Roxio's Easy CD Creator software (ver 3.5) but I know version 5.0 is currently available. With the version I have, it allows me the ability to convert a normal track from a normal CD toa .WAV file and then store it on my hard drive. I have then downloaded the LAME software to convert the .WAV file to an MP3. And voila! I have an MP3. At the Hydrogen Audio forum, LAME seems to be the best quality software that allows the file to be converted to an MP3... as far as it being less 'lossy' and better quality sounding. An iPod full of tracks that sound like crap is of little use to me.

So here's the question: Does anyone if the current version of Easy CD Creator allows a track from a normal CD to be converted *directly* to an MP3 file?? Is that possible? If so, how does it work? Does it simply take the track, convert it to an MP3 and then toss it on my hard drive? I feel as though I am currently going about the process in a very conviluted way but from what several people have told me online, if I want the best quality, then the way I am doing it is the best possibly way. But with a 10.0 GB iPod, at this rate, I'll be done sometime in the year 2012... when the current hits I am downloaded to my iPod will be golden oldies.

Any info?

Scott.

 

[Kevin P]

I'd use Exact Audio Copy, downloadable from the web--do a Google search, and rip your CDs with this. It'll do a better job of ripping than Roxio. I wouldn't bother installing Roxio (or Nero) unless you are going to use a CD burner.

Once you've ripped you can use Lame or another encoder to create MP3s.

 

[Scott Wong]

Kevin:

I totally appreciate the reply!!

A buddy of mine did give me the link to download EAC. But what would be the difference as far as ripping the track with EAC and doing the same thing with my Roxio software? It's already installed on my PC (ver. 3.5) I have heard that EAC is the best software for ripping the tracks to .WAV... I just don't understand what the difference would be? Either way, I then have to use LAME to convert the .WAV to MP3.

Essentially, I'm also wanting to just bypass the use of LAME altogether and see if it is at all possible to convert the track directly into an MP3 file... rather than first converting it to a .WAV.

Scott.

 

[Greg_Y]

FYI - from EAC's FAQ:

Q: What is EAC?

A: EAC is "Exact Audio Copy". It will help you to copy (extract) audio tracks, or even parts of them, to the harddisk. In newer versions it also includes some audio CD writing routines and a small audio editor.

Q: Why should I use EAC, instead of AudioGrabber, WinDAC, etc.

A: EAC features some special read modes, known as "Secure Modes". Using these secure modes, every sector read will be doublechecked and reread or corrected if necessary. On many drives the extraction is not error free, thus these routines will make sure the track is read correctly.

Q: Audio extraction is purely digital, how could unremarked errors occur?

A: The data transmission itself is purely digital and also the data stored on the CD. But the Red Book standard (standard for audio CDs) is very weak and only little error correction will be performed in the drive. So on bad CD-ROM drives it is possible that you receive erroneous results.

Plenty more documentation and FAQs here:
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de

 

[Ken Seeber]

Essentially, I'm also wanting to just bypass the use of LAME altogether and see if it is at all possible to convert the track directly into an MP3 file... rather than first converting it to a .WAV.

One way or another, somewhere along the line you have to use an MP3 encoder to convert the file, and LAME is considered by most people to be by far the best.

Using EAC to rip the track and convert it to MP3 with the LAME encoder is definitley the way to go.

 

[Brian Ruth]

Scott: I'm not sure if you already have one, but I think its important to point this out --

Before you get your iPod, make sure you have a firewire connection on your computer. Without it, your iPod won't work at all. If you don't have FireWire already, you should like it a lot - it transfers files at about 40 Megabytes (that's BYES) a second instead of USB's pace of about 1.25 Megabytes per second. Definitely nice if you're moving a 5GB collection onto your iPod.

While I haven't used any of the encoders mentioned on here (I'm sure they all work great), I have used MusicMatch, which is included with the Windows-compatible iPods. It does a pretty good job of encoding CDs to MP3, though its a bit slower if you're unregistered. You MAY want to just use the MusicMatch software for your encoding chores, ESPECIALLY if the version included with the iPod is the full version. Just my $0.02.

 

[Ted Lee]

my favorite app for ripping to mp3's is cdex.

http://www.cdex.n3.net/

i'm not sure, but i think it also uses the lame encoder.

in any case, it's brilliantly easy to use and works perfectly. once you start using it you won't want to use any other app.

 

[Scott Wong]

Before you get your iPod, make sure you have a firewire connection on your computer. Without it, your iPod won't work at all.

Wait a sec... I thought the iPod had the ability to use a standard USB port? :frowning: I am so hyped up to get one of these iPod's and now, it won't even work with my PC? My girlfriend and I were just talking about getting a new PC. I've had mine since 1998. It's older. Still a great computer but no where near able to bridge the technology that's come forth over these last few years. :frowning:

I will certainly use EAC to rip the track and then use LAME to convert it to MP3. But if that iPod won't work with my current PC set-up... I'll have to put the whole thing aside for now until I can upgrade, right?

Scott.

Note: I was at Target today. They actually have for sale the Roxio Easy CD Creator software version 5.0... the Platinum edition. I checked out the back of the box and it says it *does* have the ability to convert the track directly to MP3. I don't know how much truth there is to that or maybe they're just referring to the .WAV file?

 

[Matt DeVillier]

Scott,

if your computer doesn't have firewire, you can easily add it with a $25 card.

As far as going from CD->MP3 directly, when you rip a CD to your hard drive with something like EAC, no conversion is taking place. The data is read off the cd and written to your hard drive. You then convert the cd audio (aka WAV) file to a MP3 file. There are plenty of apps that advertise doing this in one step, but all they are doing is just hiding the intermediate output file (the WAV file) somewhere in your temp directory, because you can't do quality MP3 encoding as fast as you can rip it from a CD. IF you care about getting the absolute best quality from your MP3s, then use the two-step EAC / Lame option (with the razorlame front end). If you care about convenience, then some of the other apps mentioned here (like musicmatch) are better. Whatever you do, please do not spend a single penny on EZ-CD Creator, as it is some of the worst software ever written (and there are much better options out there for less)

 

[Patrick Sun]

Don't fight this. Just get on the 2-step program, you'll be happier.

I also do the EAC/Razorlame for my ripping/encoding.

I also use Tagscan to apply IDv32 tags to the MP3s as well. (There's a million ways to tag your MP3s).

I didn't even realize you could talk to an iPod without using a Mac to interface with it, but I guess Apple didn't want to lose out on iPod sales restricting its use with only Macs.

 

[Scott Wong]

I didn't even realize you could talk to an iPod without using a Mac to interface with it, but I guess Apple didn't want to lose out on iPod sales restricting its use with only Macs.

Now I'm really confused. I was at Best Buy and there were two versions of each size of iPod. One for Mac. The other for Windows. Maybe I'm missing something...

At any rate, I'm now faced with the dilemma that my current PC won't even work! *grrr* It's $25 to get an IEEE connection installed? I'll have to call Best Buy and see what they say. I've never done anything like that before so I wouldn't trust myself doing it alone! And on top of that, I have Windows98. Wouldn't I have to upgrade to XP or is that a different discussion altogether? *grrr*

Still, I now know what I'm against. I'll go ahead and stick with the two step process. Ripping the track to a .WAV file. Then using LAME to convert it to MP3. Do any of you guys actually have an iPod? I'm just wondering, I mean, assuming you had the model that stores 10.0GB of data... damn, it seems almost like it would take months in order to fill it using that 2-step process. *shrug* But quality is the name of the game.

Scott.

 

[Allen Hirsch]

Scott-
If you have Windows 98SE, you can download a tiny patch from Microsoft that should make your Firewire card fully operational for an iPod. You'll only have to upgrade operating systems if you have the earlier Windows 98.

Get a VIA chipset or TI chipset version of Firewire card (stay away from Audigy - many iPod users have download problems with the Audigy card).

MusicMatch will create MP3 files directly from your CDs, AND make it very easy to tag them properly and create playlists for downloading. It's also the interface that comes with a Windows iPod. (Upgrade to 7.5 if the CD version is an older MusicMatch - or start by getting MusicMatch up and going now, before you have an iPod and are anxious to install files that you haven't even created yet.)

I've spent a month or more hanging around the iPod forum to learn all this stuff - don't yet have an iPod, but I now have 1500 songs loaded in MusicMatch, and have figured out all the Windows interface issues, after having not a single Mp3 file on my computer only a month ago .

I actually discovered my 3+ year-old Sony PC has TWO firewire ports - something I didn't even know I had when I started looking into an iPod, so I started out researching the firewire add-on issues, too.