You need software to tame your DVD recording beast. For PC owners running Windows, the choice is clear: Easy Media Creator 7 (Creator 7, for short) from Roxio. This showpiece has been the solid, reliable Swiss army knife of CD and DVD burning for many years. It has a wide range of features, it can burn a host of different formats and disc types, and it's simple enough for a novice to use.
Formats and disc types out the wazoo
If you're likely to need just about any specific type of disc on planet Earth, this program can do it. Of course, Creator 7 can burn simple data discs and audio CDs using Track-at-Once or Disc-at-Once without even lifting an eyebrow, but it can also pump out
* CD-ROM XA (multisession) discs
* DVD-Video discs
* Video CDs
* Mixed-mode discs
* CD Extra discs
* Photo slideshow discs
This lineup also includes two types of discs that deserve special attention: the bootable CD-ROM and the MP3 music disc. You can boot most PCs by using a bootable CD-ROM, so you can even run your PC without a hard drive - after a fashion, anyway. A bootable disc can also carry other programs and data besides a basic operating system. A Microsoft Windows XP CD-ROM is a good example of a bootable CD: It uses DOS as a basic operating system to display simple prompts, but after your computer is up and running, you can install Windows from it.
An MP3 music disc, on the other hand, is a specialized data CD-ROM. Although it carries music in MP3 (MPEG Audio Layer 3) format, its songs aren't recorded in the Red Book digital audio format, so you can't play the disc in an older audio CD player. MP3 discs are meant to be played exclusively on either your computer, using a program like Winamp, or on specially designed MP3 CD players. (Many of the current crop of audio CD players now support MP3 music discs; check your player's manual to see if your model can use them.)
Burn a CD
Interested in burning hot music on a compact disc? Whether those songs are in MP3 format, stored on older cassettes and vinyl albums, or a collection of tracks from existing audio CDs, Creator 7 can do it in style. Its Creator Classic (the primary recording application included with Easy Media Creator 7) continues to be a favorite; it's the easiest to understand and the fastest to use.
On the audio side, the program can
* Automatically convert songs in MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) formats and prepare them for recording
* Extract tracks from existing audio CDs and save them as MP3 files on your hard drive
* Store CD text for display on many CD players with digital readouts
* Add transition effects, like fade in, fade out, and cross-fading
* Preview WAV and MP3 songs before you record them
Extra stuff they give you
If the Creator 7 feature list ended in the preceding section, most folks would be satisfied. But, wait - you also get the following great stand-alone (separate) programs to boot:
* Disc Copier: Disc Copier makes it easy to produce a duplicate of an existing data CD, data DVD, or audio CD (without requiring you to start Creator 7 and produce a disc image, which is a much longer process that accomplishes the same thing). Folks who date back to the glory days of floppies should remember programs that allowed you to copy a disk read from one drive to another. If you have both a read-only CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive and a recorder in the same PC, you can use the read-only drive as the source - no swapping required. If you have only a recorder, however, you can still use Disc Copier - you just have to eject the original disc and load a blank.
* Roxio Retrieve: With the combination of Creator Classic and Roxio Retrieve, you no longer have any excuse for not backing up your drive. You can back up a drive to multiple CD-RWs, DVD+RWs, or DVD-RWs as fast as your drive can shovel ones and zeros.
* Label Creator: If you like a labeled disc, then you'll like Label Creator. Label Creator is the program you want to use when a disc needs to look its best - if you're giving it to someone else or you're particularly proud of that DVD-Video disc you made at your cousin's wedding. The program can also produce front and back jewel box inserts and DVD box inserts, with classy clip art, photographs, and different fonts. You can even choose one of the themes that's already set up in the program, which can produce a matching set with a label and a complete set of inserts. Neat!
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/dvd-recording-in-windows-roxio-easy-media-creator-7/153121;_ylt=AqP2qb8ng8kxKGvMltY9TVoSLpA5
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Copying MP3 Files onto CDs
If your computer has a CD-RW drive or DVD recorder, you can free up your hard drive by storing your MP3 files onto CDs.
The songs on a CD purchased at a record store are known simply as audio CDs. These songs are stored in a format different from MP3. They play in both your computer and your home stereo's CD player, but their bloated file format means only ten or so songs fit onto the CD. A CD with MP3 files plays on your computer, but it may not play on your home stereo's CD player, but on the plus side, MP3's compressed file format lets you store hundreds of songs on the CD.
Before you can create any type of CD, you need a CD-RW drive, DVD-RW or DVD+RW drive, and a pile of blank CDs. (A growing number of audio CD players now support CD-RW discs, which means you can erase the disc and burn a new set of songs - check your audio player's specs to see if it supports CD-RW media.)
To create either type of CD in Musicmatch, for example, follow these steps:
1. Create a playlist of the songs you want to store on the CD.
Simply fill your Playlist window with the songs you want to copy to CD.
If you're creating a CD for your home stereo, start with about ten MP3s. You probably won't be able to fit many more songs, although you'll be given that chance later.
2. Click the Burn button beneath the playlist.
The Create CD from Playlist window pops up, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Seven MP3 songs consume about 49 percent of this audio CD.
3. Choose the type of CD you want to create from the window.
To choose the type of CD you want, click one of the following buttons (shown in Figure 1):
• Audio: Click this button to create a CD for playing in your home and car CD player. This is the default selection.
• MP3: Click this button to create an MP3 disc, which stores a huge number of MP3s to play back on your computer, boombox, or on a portable MP3 player that can handle those CDs.
• Data: Click this button if you want to simply burn the MP3 files as data files on a standard CD-ROM.
Clicking one of the three buttons shows how much space you have left on the CD. In Figure 1, for instance, the seven MP3s listed in the Create CD from Playlist window have consumed 49 percent of the audio CD, leaving room for several more songs.
When you click the MP3 button, however, those same seven songs consume only 11 percent of the CD, leaving much more room. (That shows you how much MP3 compresses songs.)
4. Add or remove songs until the CD is filled.
Keep dragging or removing songs from the Playlist window until you're satisfied with the amount of songs stuffed onto the CD.
5. Place a blank CD or CD-RW disc into your CD or DVD recorder and click the Burn button.
Musicmatch converts the MP3 songs into audio format, if necessary, and copies them to the CD.
If you purchase the upgrade version of Musicmatch, you can print CD covers and jewel box inserts to go with your newly created CDs. It can print any artwork you'd like on the cover, or it can tile the covers from the works you've placed on the CD.
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/copying-mp3-files-onto-cds/153076;_ylt=AsvsT0FUCx02s4s5kmg5.nESLpA5
The songs on a CD purchased at a record store are known simply as audio CDs. These songs are stored in a format different from MP3. They play in both your computer and your home stereo's CD player, but their bloated file format means only ten or so songs fit onto the CD. A CD with MP3 files plays on your computer, but it may not play on your home stereo's CD player, but on the plus side, MP3's compressed file format lets you store hundreds of songs on the CD.
Before you can create any type of CD, you need a CD-RW drive, DVD-RW or DVD+RW drive, and a pile of blank CDs. (A growing number of audio CD players now support CD-RW discs, which means you can erase the disc and burn a new set of songs - check your audio player's specs to see if it supports CD-RW media.)
To create either type of CD in Musicmatch, for example, follow these steps:
1. Create a playlist of the songs you want to store on the CD.
Simply fill your Playlist window with the songs you want to copy to CD.
If you're creating a CD for your home stereo, start with about ten MP3s. You probably won't be able to fit many more songs, although you'll be given that chance later.
2. Click the Burn button beneath the playlist.
The Create CD from Playlist window pops up, as shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Seven MP3 songs consume about 49 percent of this audio CD.
3. Choose the type of CD you want to create from the window.
To choose the type of CD you want, click one of the following buttons (shown in Figure 1):
• Audio: Click this button to create a CD for playing in your home and car CD player. This is the default selection.
• MP3: Click this button to create an MP3 disc, which stores a huge number of MP3s to play back on your computer, boombox, or on a portable MP3 player that can handle those CDs.
• Data: Click this button if you want to simply burn the MP3 files as data files on a standard CD-ROM.
Clicking one of the three buttons shows how much space you have left on the CD. In Figure 1, for instance, the seven MP3s listed in the Create CD from Playlist window have consumed 49 percent of the audio CD, leaving room for several more songs.
When you click the MP3 button, however, those same seven songs consume only 11 percent of the CD, leaving much more room. (That shows you how much MP3 compresses songs.)
4. Add or remove songs until the CD is filled.
Keep dragging or removing songs from the Playlist window until you're satisfied with the amount of songs stuffed onto the CD.
5. Place a blank CD or CD-RW disc into your CD or DVD recorder and click the Burn button.
Musicmatch converts the MP3 songs into audio format, if necessary, and copies them to the CD.
If you purchase the upgrade version of Musicmatch, you can print CD covers and jewel box inserts to go with your newly created CDs. It can print any artwork you'd like on the cover, or it can tile the covers from the works you've placed on the CD.
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/copying-mp3-files-onto-cds/153076;_ylt=AsvsT0FUCx02s4s5kmg5.nESLpA5
Windows XP Media Player Headaches: My CD player will not play CD music.
Cause Most of the time, CD-ROM drives play CD music without any difficulties. However, there are a few settings that can prevent CD-ROMs from playing CD music. Before troubleshooting these problems, however, you need to make sure the CD-ROM drive is working. Try a different CD or an application CD to see if you can open and read the CD-ROM drive's contents. If the drive seems to be working as it should, except for CD music playback, then follow the steps in the Pain Killer.
The Pain Killer To get your CD-ROM drive to play CD music, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | My Computer.
2. In the My Computer window, right-click your CD-ROM drive, and then click Properties.
3. Click the AutoPlay tab. Under Actions, choose the Select an Action to Perform button. Choose the Play Using Windows Media Player action, as shown in the illustration, and then click OK.
4. Next, make sure the device is configured to play CD music. To do this, click Start | Control Panel. In Control Panel's Classic view, click System.
5. Click the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager button.
6. Expand the DVD/CD-ROM Drives category, then right-click the CD-ROM and click Properties.
7. Click the Properties tab. Move the slider to the right to set the CD Player Volume to High. If the Enable Digital CD Audio for This CD-ROM Device is selected, leave it selected. If not, select the check box and click OK. Close Device Manager.
8. Now open Windows Media Player. Click Tools | Options.
9. Click the Devices tab. Make sure that your Audio CD drive appears in this window. If it does not, try clicking the Refresh button.
10. If the CD-ROM drive still will not play CDs, go back to the Device Manager CD-ROM Properties window (see steps 4, 5, and 6) and click the Properties tab. Clear the Enable Digital CD Audio for This CD-ROM Device check box and click OK.
11. If the CD-ROM drive still will not play music, make sure you have tried several CDs. When you are sure you have tried all of these steps, it's time to get some help from technical support. Consult your computer documentation for support contact information.
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http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/windows-xp-media-player-headaches-my-cd-player-will-not-play-cd-music-/3185;_ylt=AgWvVVB.9OUUeaEcfK9CyxISLpA5
The Pain Killer To get your CD-ROM drive to play CD music, follow these steps:
1. Click Start | My Computer.
2. In the My Computer window, right-click your CD-ROM drive, and then click Properties.
3. Click the AutoPlay tab. Under Actions, choose the Select an Action to Perform button. Choose the Play Using Windows Media Player action, as shown in the illustration, and then click OK.
4. Next, make sure the device is configured to play CD music. To do this, click Start | Control Panel. In Control Panel's Classic view, click System.
5. Click the Hardware tab, and then click the Device Manager button.
6. Expand the DVD/CD-ROM Drives category, then right-click the CD-ROM and click Properties.
7. Click the Properties tab. Move the slider to the right to set the CD Player Volume to High. If the Enable Digital CD Audio for This CD-ROM Device is selected, leave it selected. If not, select the check box and click OK. Close Device Manager.
8. Now open Windows Media Player. Click Tools | Options.
9. Click the Devices tab. Make sure that your Audio CD drive appears in this window. If it does not, try clicking the Refresh button.
10. If the CD-ROM drive still will not play CDs, go back to the Device Manager CD-ROM Properties window (see steps 4, 5, and 6) and click the Properties tab. Clear the Enable Digital CD Audio for This CD-ROM Device check box and click OK.
11. If the CD-ROM drive still will not play music, make sure you have tried several CDs. When you are sure you have tried all of these steps, it's time to get some help from technical support. Consult your computer documentation for support contact information.
* Share this Article
o Send in Email
o Send to IM
o Close Window
http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/windows-xp-media-player-headaches-my-cd-player-will-not-play-cd-music-/3185;_ylt=AgWvVVB.9OUUeaEcfK9CyxISLpA5
Deciphering the mysterious 'M-Error'
It didn't take too many memberships to CD clubs to realize that my CD collection would get pretty unwielding pretty fast. Early on, I knew that every time I wanted to listen to a CD, it wasn't going to work to leave the room I'm in and hunt for the disc, only to be trapped into listening to only that album. I had friends buy 300-disc changers to solve this problem, but I wasn't all that happy with that solution either. Even if it gets all the discs queued up, it doesn't help me find the music I want, and it certainly doesn't easily facilitate taking my music with me to another room, let along out of the house.
Given that I had pretty thoroughly wired my house for a local area network, I was confident early on that whatever solution I implemented would include ripping my CD collection to MP3s. Most people have gotten this far. But then the question is begged, "Now what?"
My First MP3 Player (not by Fisher Price)
My first attempt to answer this question was with an MP3 player network device (the "Audiotron" by Turtle Beach). This was basically a hardware device that introspected the ID tags (the metadata tags behind an MP3 that record the artist, album, track, genre, etc of the song) and creates a basic menuing / browsing mechanism in the device. So, I could hook the Audiotron up in my entertainment system in the family room, use its embedded web server to point it at a share somewhere on my network where a bunch of MP3s lived, wait for a few minutes while it built a catalog by scanning the share, flop on the couch and go to town with a handy IR remote included with the unit. And with relatively little trouble or expense, my stereo contains a network-enabled MP3 player component.
I was happy with this for a while, but it didn't solve my take-it-with-me requirements. I could play music in my office (through my PC's speakers, playing the MP3s through iTunes or equivalent) or I could play music in the family room (through my Audiotron), but in the bedroom or the random other room -- nothing. Not only that, but the Audiotron only played music. What about movies, photos, DVR functionality, etc. C'mon, man, I need integration!
Let's take a look at some other options?
TiVo HomeMedia
TiVo is pretty much the leader in the digital video recorder space. Now, they've opened up the home media market as well with their new HomeMedia addition to the Series-2 TiVo. This software does the same thing my Audiotron did, but integrated with the oh-so-beautiful DVR functionality of TiVo. Works the same as the Audiotron in that you plug your TiVo to your home network, it scans the music on shares you make available, and it plays you your favorite music. And yes, they do photos too.
Microsoft MediaCenter PC
Another option is from Microsoft. A couple years back, they introduced a new version of the Windows XP operating system that was only to be sold with specific PC hardware configurations to bring you yet another unit in your entertainment center. This PC / special O/S combination plays music (MP3s) just like you can on any old PC using Windows Media Player (WMP), but has a great new shell with which to do it. The "shell" is the screen you see when you interact with the TV. Where a normal Windows XP shell (you know, "Windows Explorer") is intended to be operated from 2 feet away with a keyboard and mouse, the MediaCenter shell is intended to be operated from 20 feet away with a remote control. And it looks (not surprisingly) like the TiVo shell. Go figure.
This box is everything Windows Media Player is and then some. Movies, music, photos, even a DVR functionality similar to TiVo. But I digress...
The Distribution Problem
So, in my mind, all three of these options are better than a stack of CDs and an N-disc CD changer. TiVo and Media PC definitely beat the stand-alone boxes (like the Audiotron) for one-stop-shopping, but none of them has adequately addressed my desire to play music wherever I go in the house. TiVo claims to have this problem solved, but I haven't really messed with it. Anyone want to post your experiences on this front?
But, with the release of Microsoft Media Center 2005, Microsoft has a pretty slick solution to the distribution problem. Basically, you buy a 2005 Media Center PC and a set of "extender devices", one for each TV in the house. They communicate with each other over the home network and pretty much magically allow you to watch what you want where you want. And they're even building XBOX versions of both Media Center and the extenders, making this solution even more available. And the fact that you can buy extenders for about $65 a pop doesn't hurt either. The fancier wireless guys'll cost you more like $250.
The Portability Problem
Okay, so I'm digging the MediaCenter, especially if I can integrate my XBOX. But what happens when I want my tunes to follow me outside the house? Now it's time to go portable.
The iPod is the clear leader here. It integrates with iTunes in the coolest of ways (a subject for another article), but it'll happily play MP3s that were ripped and are typically played by WMP. So, my solution is to use the MediaCenter at home and synch up a few hundred MP3s to my iPod, so I can treat it as a walkman. And there are even great options for plugging the little guy into your car stereo. Steven Jones has written a TechLore article on this topic here.
Summary
So, summing up. Yes, I think CDs are pretty much history. Buy them, rip them to MP3s, slap them on a server, and distribute them ubiquitously with something like TiVo or Media Center. The iPod will even get them to your car or the coffee shop with you. Done. No shiny little disc required.
http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10529/
Given that I had pretty thoroughly wired my house for a local area network, I was confident early on that whatever solution I implemented would include ripping my CD collection to MP3s. Most people have gotten this far. But then the question is begged, "Now what?"
My First MP3 Player (not by Fisher Price)
My first attempt to answer this question was with an MP3 player network device (the "Audiotron" by Turtle Beach). This was basically a hardware device that introspected the ID tags (the metadata tags behind an MP3 that record the artist, album, track, genre, etc of the song) and creates a basic menuing / browsing mechanism in the device. So, I could hook the Audiotron up in my entertainment system in the family room, use its embedded web server to point it at a share somewhere on my network where a bunch of MP3s lived, wait for a few minutes while it built a catalog by scanning the share, flop on the couch and go to town with a handy IR remote included with the unit. And with relatively little trouble or expense, my stereo contains a network-enabled MP3 player component.
I was happy with this for a while, but it didn't solve my take-it-with-me requirements. I could play music in my office (through my PC's speakers, playing the MP3s through iTunes or equivalent) or I could play music in the family room (through my Audiotron), but in the bedroom or the random other room -- nothing. Not only that, but the Audiotron only played music. What about movies, photos, DVR functionality, etc. C'mon, man, I need integration!
Let's take a look at some other options?
TiVo HomeMedia
TiVo is pretty much the leader in the digital video recorder space. Now, they've opened up the home media market as well with their new HomeMedia addition to the Series-2 TiVo. This software does the same thing my Audiotron did, but integrated with the oh-so-beautiful DVR functionality of TiVo. Works the same as the Audiotron in that you plug your TiVo to your home network, it scans the music on shares you make available, and it plays you your favorite music. And yes, they do photos too.
Microsoft MediaCenter PC
Another option is from Microsoft. A couple years back, they introduced a new version of the Windows XP operating system that was only to be sold with specific PC hardware configurations to bring you yet another unit in your entertainment center. This PC / special O/S combination plays music (MP3s) just like you can on any old PC using Windows Media Player (WMP), but has a great new shell with which to do it. The "shell" is the screen you see when you interact with the TV. Where a normal Windows XP shell (you know, "Windows Explorer") is intended to be operated from 2 feet away with a keyboard and mouse, the MediaCenter shell is intended to be operated from 20 feet away with a remote control. And it looks (not surprisingly) like the TiVo shell. Go figure.
This box is everything Windows Media Player is and then some. Movies, music, photos, even a DVR functionality similar to TiVo. But I digress...
The Distribution Problem
So, in my mind, all three of these options are better than a stack of CDs and an N-disc CD changer. TiVo and Media PC definitely beat the stand-alone boxes (like the Audiotron) for one-stop-shopping, but none of them has adequately addressed my desire to play music wherever I go in the house. TiVo claims to have this problem solved, but I haven't really messed with it. Anyone want to post your experiences on this front?
But, with the release of Microsoft Media Center 2005, Microsoft has a pretty slick solution to the distribution problem. Basically, you buy a 2005 Media Center PC and a set of "extender devices", one for each TV in the house. They communicate with each other over the home network and pretty much magically allow you to watch what you want where you want. And they're even building XBOX versions of both Media Center and the extenders, making this solution even more available. And the fact that you can buy extenders for about $65 a pop doesn't hurt either. The fancier wireless guys'll cost you more like $250.
The Portability Problem
Okay, so I'm digging the MediaCenter, especially if I can integrate my XBOX. But what happens when I want my tunes to follow me outside the house? Now it's time to go portable.
The iPod is the clear leader here. It integrates with iTunes in the coolest of ways (a subject for another article), but it'll happily play MP3s that were ripped and are typically played by WMP. So, my solution is to use the MediaCenter at home and synch up a few hundred MP3s to my iPod, so I can treat it as a walkman. And there are even great options for plugging the little guy into your car stereo. Steven Jones has written a TechLore article on this topic here.
Summary
So, summing up. Yes, I think CDs are pretty much history. Buy them, rip them to MP3s, slap them on a server, and distribute them ubiquitously with something like TiVo or Media Center. The iPod will even get them to your car or the coffee shop with you. Done. No shiny little disc required.
http://www.ecoustics.com/tl/10529/
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