Music - Ripping An Burning Process

[bluenose1940]

Now that I have changed my car and have some USB slots that I can use, I want to create some playlists on to memory sticks.

Having had a look at Windows Media Player, the following options are available :-

Audio Quality - 128kbps - 192kbps - 256kbps - 320kbps

Format - Windows media audio - Windows media audio pro - Windows media audio variable bit rate - Windows media audio lossless - WAV (lossless)

What are the best Ripping settings please?

Also, are there any particular 'Burn' settings that I should be aware of.

Many thanks.

P.S. I have dealt with this query previously, many many moons ago and I have gone through all of my 'Content' and 'Messages' but cannot find anything and so I think that it has been deleted or has merely disappeared and, on top of that my memory isn't what it was and so cannot remember what was said.

In any case the previous article dealt with me copying to CD's and DVD's as opposed to the more up-to-date USB route.

[normski2]

Little bag 'o' worms opened up there Geoff

I use a USB stick to play some stuff and also my Iphone and ipod usb connected as players.

I rip all my stuff (CD's) to Itunes and opt to do all that at 320Kbps. This makes the file size slightly larger say 90Mb for an album. If you opt for 128Kbps there is not a huge amount of difference aurally ...and the file size is smaller at about 50Mb.

All my files I save as Mp3 files. even on Itunes i keep all as Mp3 not as Apple's AAC files.

Then i just copy and paste any selections I want onto the USB and plug it in the car. My only issue was finding a stick that was not too long as the usb port faces upwards and there is a danger of thumping it with the armrest cover....and I really do not want to do that!!!!

You don't need to worry about 'Burn' settings as you are not 'burning' anything onto said USB stick. You are just copying and pasting them there.

That's my two penneth.......see what others say.

[bluenose1940]

Thanks Normski. I realise now that I won't be 'burning' silly me.

[matt-c]

MP3 is the universally accepted "standard". WMA is a Windows proprietary codec, as AAC is an apple proprietary codec. Many players do recognise them, but for simplicity, MP3 is the best bet.

Ripping quality - MP3 is limited to 320kbps as it's highest bit rate. Other formats can go higher, and regular CD in "lossless" format is 1411kbps (lossless in terms of no degradation from the original CD source, as CD itself is compressed from true lossless analogue)

As Norm says, in most cases there's not a massive aural difference between 128k and 320k, although the better the listening gear (both electronically, and you ears!) the more the difference can become apparent. Just as the difference between an actual CD and a 320k rip can be apparent (a perfect example - or two - Rage Against The Machine's self titled record, and Michael Jackson's "HIStory" album, are among some of the finest technically recorded albums. The difference listening to the CD vs MP3 320 rip of them is night and day). Pretty much everything I rip is 320k, and play through my iPod into my van's stock head unit. This is fine that way as my iPod actually has a very good DAC in it, however the stock head unit isn't the best in the world. Outcome is no audible difference between CD source and 320 rip. When I'm using my Iphone, I generally tend to sync at 128kbps - reason, the DAC in the Iphone isn't as good as the one in my iPod, so the subtle differences aren't heard, and it saves space - no point dedicating space to nuances that aren't heard.

You're best bet is to take your favourite album, once you know very very well, and rip it as 128 and 320. Put it on the same USB stick, plug it into the car, and take yourself out for a leisurely Sunday drive, and listen to both versions - your ears will tell you which you prefer. Then you know what bit rate is best for you - if you can tell the 320 is better, then go 320. If you can't hear a difference, go 128 and save a bit of space.

[bluenose1940]

matt-c, you've done it again, thank you so much for this and for your answer to the 'windscreen scratch' in the other forum.

I will have a go at your idea of ripping at both 128 and 320 to see if I will be able to hear any difference. It might well be unlikely for me as, being a grey haired old codger I am supposed to wear a hearing aid in both ears but, being a bloody minded old b....r I don't think that I really need to!!!

Thanks again for the extremely useful reply. Just one more quickie.......DAC?

[normski2]

Digital (to) Analog Converter.

In simple terms, it's what converts all those digital data bits to something you can hear when it emerges from the amplifier.

[bluenose1940]

Thanks Normski, i'm still learning something everyday. All I have to do after the learning process is hope that I don't forget it again!!!

[normski2]

Tomorrows challenge Geoff

Discover the world of FLAC.

You can save music files as FLAC (Full Lossless Audio Codec) and most bluray players will play those straight at you as music. The bluray players have clever DAC systems.

So the question is ....does the is300h system play back FLAC files from your USB stick? I'd like to think it does but I'd take a guess it won't as Lexus are a tad slow at bringing in new tech. It was not until the facelift 09 is250 that there was a USB port on board on that model!!

Only joshing with you Geoff...chill and enjoy your Mp3's.

[bluenose1940]

Normski, the manual saysMP3/WMA/AAC - It can play discs compatible with ISO 9660 levels 1 and 2 and with the Romeo and Joliet system.

I'm afraid reading the manual goes right over my head, what with ID3 tags and wma and m4a extensions.

The system can play AAC files encoded by iTunes too!

I think that the only way I will learn much of this is by experimentation, if I can be bothered!

[matt-c]

No problem Geoff, happy to help :)

So, as I said before - MP3 is the industry "standard" - it's pretty much universally recognised and understood. WMA is Windows Media Audio, and is a proprietary codec developed by Windows, and AAC is actually Advanced Audio Coding (but commonly misreferred to as apple Audio Codec) that was developed by apple (actually not 100% true - AAC existed outside of apple, but apple were the ones to push it and make it mainstream, and it's nowadays only used by apple in the mainstream), and is the "engine" that iTunes uses when it encodes (or rips) your CD's (which is what the "system can play AAC files encoded by iTunes) means. M4A is an extension used by apple for it's music files. An extension, as I'm sure you're aware, is basically a "container" - it's the codec inside that container that is what's read by the player. So your system can "read" .m4a files, but if the codec inside is not one that the system can decode, it can't play it. Likewise, you might have a file which is written in the AAC codec, but it has a file extension the system can't work with, for example .ogg (another media type).

ID3 tags are the industry standard for encoded written data within the file - think of it like RDS on your radio. It basically tells you 3 things - Artist, Album, and Track names. It's expanded since then (started out in WAV files I believe) and can now load a host of additional data such as year of recording, track number, composer, disc x of x number, genre... But in basics, this is what will allow your mp3 files to be displayed on the stereo's screen with the artist name, album name and track name, rather than just "Track 001" and "Track 002"

Now for the fun part - ripping your CD's. There are a number of free audio rippers out there, and Windows and apple both build their own ones in as standard to their operating systems - Windows uses Windows Media Player and apple use iTunes. For ease of use, I'd use either of these, as they will not only rip your CD's, but also tag/let you take them. 9 times out of ten, both WMP and iTunes will identify the disc, look up it's data and tag the tracks as you "import" (rip) them, and file them nicely within the players interface. You can specify in the program's settings what codec and bit rate you want to rip to (either WMA or MP3 in Windows Media Player, or AAC or MP3 in iTunes (iTunes will also rip to AAC-L (apple's lossless format) AIFF and WAV. Don't bother with AIFF and WAV, bit antiquated now and you won't need them. I also wouldn't bother with AAC-L either, as you're not going to be putting these files through reference grade systems). So you rip them, and then look up the actual created files (in Windows this is usually in the Media folder in My Documents, with apple it's in the iTunes Media Folder) and then simply highlight the ones you want to copy, copy them, and then go to the USB stick and paste them (or highlight, drag, and drop if you have two windows open)

[bluenose1940]

Another comprehensive reply matt-c, for which many thanks. I have decided that I will carry out all of my procedures using Windows Media Player, it all seems pretty straightforward to use and so I will stick with that. I've had a few problems in the past when using iTunes, hence my decision.

I am pretty impressed with the in-car audio, the ML system is very good (I had it in my 250 too), I do like all of the information that is displayed on-screen, track title, artist etc etc, it even shows a picture of the album cover. Far superior to what I had in my 06 250.

Thanks again for all the help.

[matt-c]

Album artwork! I knew I'd forgot something!!