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.

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iPod & iTunes: Burn Discs

Maybe you really like the playlist you made for your road trip last year, and now you want to send it to your sister for her cross-country drive? Or you love the songs you bought on iTunes but want to play them in your car CD player? You're in luck! iTunes comes packed with the capability to burn CDs—provided, of course, that your computer is equipped with a CD burner.

iTunes uses the playlist as its main interface for CD burning. You'll notice that whenever you click a list, the big icon in the top right of iTunes changes to the Burn Disc option—a good example of efficient design. iTunes doesn't need another interface for making lists of tracks to burn.

The main choice you need to make, aside from what to put on your CD, is whether it will be an MP3 CD, data CD, or audio CD. Audio CDs play in all standard CD players, and some CD players can handle MP3s these days, but so far few can play AAC files. If you have a list of AAC files and choose MP3 as the disc type, iTunes will convert those songs. The big advantage of MP3 and data CDs is that they will hold a lot more songs than a standard audio CD because they're compressed.

1. Before you burn your disc, set your preferences. Click Edit | Preferences and then click the Burning tab in the dialog box. This will list your CD burner if it was correctly detected by iTunes. Choose the preferred speed for burning—Maximum Possible is usually best. Choose your Disc Format.
2. If you choose Audio CD, iTunes lets you pick how much time you want between songs (two seconds is the default and you'll probably want to stick pretty close to this).
3. Choose a playlist that you want to burn. If you're burning an audio CD, make sure the total time is less than 70 minutes, or you'll have to split your song over two or more discs.
4. Check Use Sound Check if you'd like to keep the sound level of all songs relatively equal. This will prevent any nerve-wracking jumps in volume. Close Preferences.
5. Click the Burn Disc icon in the top right. It will quickly morph into an eerie, radioactive warning. (Why? Who knows?)
6. iTunes will ask you to insert a blank disc. Do it.

7. If the disc is acceptably blank, iTunes will ask you to click Burn Disc once again to begin burning. When you do, the radioactive sign will begin to pulsate. It looks dangerous, but it's not.

http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/ipod-itunes-burn-discs/166381;_ylt=AsfZIilbSoyGFLAW3X3EUEQSLpA5

What Is HD Radio?

Reader Chris writes: What is HD Radio?

HD radio boosters like to say that HD Radio is to AM/FM as HDTV is to regular television. The reality is somewhat murkier, but we'll get to that.

The company iBiquity is the primary one behind HD Radio. The idea is to digitize formerly analog FM and AM broadcasts, which would theoretically make them less susceptible to interference and other problems. iBiquity claims that HD Radio makes AM sound as good as FM and FM sound as good as CD audio.

HD Radio also allows broadcasters to piggyback multiple channels (up to three) on the same band, so you could tune into FM 99.7 and get either rock, jazz, or all-Elmo-all-the-time, depending on which sideband you selected. And unlike satellite radio (a clear inspiration for HD Radio), HD is free, but it's also local. You won't get an HD signal any farther away than you will a regular AM or FM broadcast.

Surprisingly, HD Radio has many broadcasters using it nationally. About 1,000 stations, as a matter of fact. You probably never noticed this because they're all still broadcasting analog radio too. The HD broadcast can ride side by side with the original.

So, HD Radio sounds great on paper. Why have most people never even heard of it? HD Radio was approved way back in 2002... so why aren't we all listening to it? For starters, it's a hardware issue. Most people listen to radio in their cars, and few HD Radio-capable receivers are on the market. These are finally starting to trickle onto the market (at affordable prices), but this leads to another problem: No one really seems to care that much about audio quality on the radio. Do consumers really need to hear their morning zoo programming with better clarity? In a world of ubiquitous CD players and even iPod connectors in cars, high-def audio alternatives are easily found without having to upgrade equipment. Many users (and I'm not one of them) also complain that HD Radio doesn't really sound any better than regular FM anyway, so why bother? HD broadcasters don't receive subscription fees (as with satellite programming), so they don't push it either.

However, HD Radio promises future upgrades, too; promised 5.1 surround sound might be the killer feature that finally gets people onboard.

I'm not sure I've ever actually seen any HD Radio product on the market or even heard an HD Radio broadcast, but I know they're out there. (Tabletop HD Radios are finally out as well.) Have any of you readers jumped on the HD bandwagon? Let's hear your experiences in the comments section.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blog/null/5109;_ylt=AtVBsjKj4B9xr0BUnKCDjscSLpA5

Listening to MP3 Files in Your Car

You can play MP3 files from your home stereo, from your computer, and from a portable player using headphones. But MP3 is still a relative newcomer in the world of car audio.

If your car's audio system doesn't recognize MP3 music discs, consider these less expensive workarounds:

* Use a cassette player adapter. If your car has a cassette player, check out a CD-to-Cassette Player adapter. It looks like a cassette tape with a stereo cable hanging from one end. Plug the cable into your portable MP3 player's headphone jack, insert the cassette, and start listening to your MP3s through your car stereo. It sounds amazingly good - well, at least compared to the road noise.

* Use a wireless FM adapter. Plug the cable from an FM transmitter into your portable MP3 player. Then tune your car's FM radio to the right frequency and listen to your MP3s. Unfortunately, sound quality varies because of local interference, and you're dependent on the batteries that power your wireless adapter.

* Buy a car stereo with a CD Input jack. Some car stereos lack a CD player. Instead, they have a CD Input jack. Plug a 1/8-inch stereo cable between this jack and your portable MP3 player to hear MP3s through your car's stereo system.

* Burn MP3 songs onto a CD in audio format. Does your car have a CD player? Then convert your MP3 songs back into standard CD audio format and copy them to a CD. You can't fit more than a dozen onto the CD, but at least you can hear them.

* Connect a portable MP3 player to amplified speakers. Take some amplified speakers - like the ones that come with your PC - and plug a portable MP3 player into them. Carry it all to your car and start listening. To change songs, just swap new cards in and out of the portable player.

Just like car stereos, dedicated MP3 players for cars can be ripped off. To avoid that, substitute your portable MP3 player. You can easily grab your portable MP3 player when you leave the car, keeping it safe.

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READY TO PLUNGE INTO THE WORLD OF DVD?

We give a few hints and tips

Imagine taking your laserdisc into your favourite neighbourhood dry cleaner's, then discovering upon pickup that the 12" disc has been shrunk to the size of a CD, while its capacity has been increased substantially.

Welcome to the latest generation of video: DVD.

DVD discs not only up the laserdisc's 60 minutes per side to 133 minutes, but by adding another layer beneath the original one - and using both sides of the disc - you can have an amazing 8.7 hours in total on a CD-sized platter. And you get the best video and audio quality ever offered to a home theater enthusiast.

Naturally, however, you need a whole new player, which means a new search of the store shelves.

What do you need to know before making a buying decision? The few basics outlined here should help you make an informed choice.

Most current players have built in Dolby Digital decoders, for receivers that have the six channel inputs or hi-fi systems that offer separate amplifiers and preamps. Other units incorporate high end features such as component or multiple S-Video outputs, while some can play Video CDs or "home made" audio CD's. Some even offer a built in microphone mixer for the karaoke enthusiast.

So what really stands out from one machine to the other? Are there any differences in their picture and sound quality? How do they do for playing music CDs? And what does the future hold for the DVD format?

FEATURES AND BENEFITS

Simply put, DVD's picture quality is simply breathtaking and never has such consistency of picture quality ever been achieved in A/V components before: whether you purchase a relatively inexpensive player or a top of the line unit, you'll enjoy picture quality never before experienced in your home.

Certainly, there are feature differences to consider, but if frills aren't on your agenda we recommend purchasing a basic model from a well-known brand name.

Look at least for an S-connector output (even if your current television doesn't have it), because your next TV probably will have one. Most players today have the S-connector, which improves the image quality you get on your TV. There are a variety of I/O options as well, for hooking the player into your A/V receiver or amplifier. Our advice is to have a look at the back panel of your potential DVD player to make sure it will be compatible with your current or future A/V system.

"Component video" outputs are found on many of today's DVD players. These split your video signal into its components: the luminance (all video signals use black and white "luminance" as the basis for a picture), and the colour signals. This is a "high end" hookup that gives the best possible picture quality, without any smearing or noise - but remember that it isn't much good if your TV set doesn't have the corresponding inputs.

Even without component video, DVD gives you the best picture you'll experience in your livingroom today, but it's something you may want to keep in mind if you're planning to upgrade your TV.

COMBI OR NOT?

If you have a collection of Laserdiscs and your LD machine is on its last legs you may want to consider a combination machine. Pioneer is the only manufacturer doing this to date, and there probably won't be a lot more offered because DVD has, unfortunately, virtually killed the LD format.

As far as combination machines are concerned, we generally feel you can't really go wrong since it gives you access to the best of both worlds.

Another "combi player" is the DVD changer, which like a CD changer plays up to five discs! This can get a great way to feed your CD or DVD addiction - though it also makes for a long evening of movie watching!

DVD MUSIC MACHINE

Is the DVD player's sound as good as that from a CD player?

If you're looking for high end sound quality and you're willing to spend thousands to hear subtle sound differences between one machine and another, then we suggest purchasing a separate CD player. This way you will be assured of the best sound quality from the different formats. Generally speaking, if one can isolate disc the drive transport and the electronic circuitry from each another, there's less chance of impairing the sound quality.

Most people will be perfectly happy with the "all-in-one" DVD machine, though if you still want that little "bit" extra, look for the higher end DVD players in a manufacturer's lineup: the CD section will usually be upgraded.

Or…

DVD Audio

Many audio experts feel that a new, higher "sampling rate" (using the 96kHz format) will produce better audio quality than the regular CD format. This has led to the introduction of "DVD Audio," which offers "high resolution" multichannel sound.

This is a high end audio format that may never catch on with "mainstream" consumers - and not all DVD players are capable of handling the format. An increasing number of discs is being released, however, so you may want to take it into consideration if high end audio is a priority for you.

Remember, though, DVD's already give great sound even if they aren't "96K compatible."

INBOARD DOLBY DIGITAL OR OUTBOARD?

As with boating enthusiasts, the inboard or outboard debate has always been big in the world of audio and video. There are pro and cons to both, including those of your pocketbook.

Generally, it's more cost effective to purchase a "Dolby Digital and/or DTS" or "Digital ready" receiver. Remember, though, that a Dolby digital "ready" receiver means you still have to add either a separate outboard digital processor or buy a DVD machine with all the goods inboard.

The "high end way" to set up a Dolby digital system is to go with separate components, like preamplifier, surround processor, and five amplifiers, as opposed to the more mainstream method of getting everything built into one box (the trusty old receiver).

Whatever method you choose, make sure the DVD machine has all the capabilities needed to work with your audio set-up. Just remember that there are always trade offs when you choose to have everything built into the DVD player as opposed to what a separate processor may offer.

Don't be afraid to make a compromise (today's equipment is so good you'll probably be happy anyway) but be aware of what you're buying.

CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

You know this scenario: five people witness an accident and the police receive five different accounts of it. Luckily, in the DVD world, picture quality from one machine to another is so close that - relatively speaking - everyone's opinion is about the same: "Awesome!"

The DVD format has adhered to very close standards as compared to the wide variety of amplifiers and receivers in the marketplace. That isn't to say that there are no differences between a $700 and a $3000 unit, however, especially to the trained eye. The comparisons generally lie in the detection of "digital artifacts" which can cause a picture to shimmer or produce some jagged outlines in a scene.

Some manufacturers have increased their video processing abilities from 9 bit to 10 bit, which is supposed to minimize this problem.

Some machines may make the picture look a little softer than others, or you may find the contrast better on some. As mentioned earlier, you can find subtle differences among manufacturers, but you may not see $2300 worth of difference between the $700 and $3000 unit.

We can't stress enough to try before you buy - and trust your eyes and ears!

DVD EUPHORIA

DVD is a wonderful addition to any home theatre system and will enhance your enjoyment. If you're uncertain, rent a DVD player and a couple of discs to see for yourself.

We bet you'll never want to look at VHS again!

http://www.technofile.com/guides/dvdguide.html

How are movies stored on DVD discs?

Even though the storage capacity of a DVD is huge, the uncompressed video data of a full-length movie would never fit on a DVD. In order to fit a movie on a DVD, you need video compression. A group called the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) establishes the standards for compressing moving pictures.

When movies are put onto DVDs, they are encoded in MPEG-2 format and then stored on the disc. This compression format is a widely accepted international standard. Your DVD player contains an MPEG-2 decoder, which can uncompress this data as quickly as you can watch it.

A movie is usually filmed at a rate of 24 frames per second. This means that every second, there are 24 complete images displayed on the movie screen. American and Japanese television uses a format called National Television Standards Committee (NTSC). NTSC displays a total of 30 frames per second; but it does this in a sequence of 60 fields, each of which contains alternating lines of the picture. Other countries use Phase Alternating Line (PAL) format, which displays at 50 fields per second, but at a higher resolution (see How Video Formatting Works for details on these formats). Because of the differences in frame rate and resolution, an MPEG movie needs to be formatted for either the NTSC or the PAL system.

The MPEG encoder that creates the compressed movie file analyzes each frame and decides how to encode it. The compression uses some of the same technology as still image compression to eliminate redundant or irrelevant data. It also uses information from other frames to reduce the overall size of the file. Each frame can be encoded in one of three ways:

• As an intraframe, which contains the complete image data for that frame. This method of encoding provides the least compression.
• As a predicted frame, which contains just enough information to tell the DVD player how to display the frame based on the most recently displayed intraframe or predicted frame. This means that the frame contains only the data that relates to how the picture has changed from the previous frame.
• As a bidirectional frame. In order to display this type of frame, the player must have the information from the surrounding intraframe or predicted frames. Using data from the closest surrounding frames, it uses interpolation, which is sort of like averaging, to calculate the position and color of each pixel.

Depending on the type of scene being converted, the encoder will decide which types of frames to use. If a newscast were being converted, a lot more predicted frames could be used because most of the scene is unaltered from one frame to the next. On the other hand, if a very fast action scene were being converted, in which things changed very quickly from one frame to the next, more intraframes would have to be encoded. The newscast would compress to a much smaller size than the action sequence. This is why the storage capacity of digital video recorders (which store video on a hard drive using the MPEG format) can vary depending what type of show you are recording.

If all of this sounds complicated, then you are starting to get a feeling for how much work your DVD player does to decode an MPEG-2 movie. A lot of processing power is required -- even some computers with DVD players can't keep up with the processing required to play a DVD movie.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/question596.htm

DVD replacing audio, video, computer discs all at once!

The compact disc, barely into its second decade of existence, could be on the road to extinction if the DVD lives up to its potential.

DVD s are already putting the final nails into the coffin of the venerable laser video disc and are starting to threaten the CD-ROM as well, so the audio CD may not be far behind.

Why? Supreme quality and extreme data storage.

Imagine watching "Amadeus" on your TV, with far better picture and sound than you ve ever gotten from your home theatre equipment before, then listening to the soundtrack album afterward  without changing either the player you re using or the disc you re playing. Imagine watching the latest adventures of the space family Robinson, then capping a leisurely surf of "Lost in Space" trivia with an interactive game accessed via your remote control.

You can do both  today. And you ll be able to do more tomorrow. Imagine buying your favourite recording artist s entire library on a single DVD disc!

Dynamite Value Disc?

DVD s are merely the next generation of CD s, using new technology to push CD storage into the stratosphere. For example, an audio CD holds about 74 minutes of digital sound, but a DVD (which is the same size as a CD) can allow something like 480 minutes. And while laserdiscs hold up to 60 minutes per side, you can stuff "Gone with the Wind" onto a single 5.25 inch DVD disc.

Whew!

The technology came from a couple of sources, including the ever-fertile corporate minds of Sony and Philips  the people who developed today's CD. Naturally, there was a different, competing version as well, from a consortium that included Toshiba and Time Warner  and for a while it looked as if the poor consumer would be stuck with yet another VHS/Beta (or PC/Mac) war.

Fortunately, the makers saw the light and a single system was introduced  though a competing technology called DIVX has recently reared its ugly head and could throw a monkeywrench into DVD s growth. More about that later &.

DVD has crammed into it just about any home theatre toy you could want, including Dolby Digital and/or DTS surround sound audio (six separate audio tracks: front left and right, centre, rear left and right, and subwoofer)  and there's so much room on a disc you can have movie soundtracks (and subtitles) in several different languages, with space to spare for commentaries, still pictures, "trailers", deleted scenes, etc.

The picture quality is the finest one can imagine this side of HDTV and audio quality is equally superb, whether you re watching movies or playing computer games. DVD players also make audio CD s sound simply magical, as if playing the old style discs doesn t even cause them to work up a sweat.

The Magic Behind the Medium &

DVD works similarly to CD s, in that a laser beam is reflected off a series of pits etched into the surface of a reflective disc, but DVD ups the ante considerably.

New generations of lasers use narrower wavelengths (less than a hundredth the width of a human hair, according to one source), so they can focus more precisely. This allows for smaller "pits" that can be spaced more closely together, all of which makes for vastly increased data storage capacity.

Not only that, but they can now take the CD's single layer of pits and put a second layer underneath it  and data can be crammed onto both sides of the DVD as well, making the format s storage potential positively skyrocket.

As if that weren t enough, the wizards behind this magic can also squeeze more video information into fewer pits, thanks to the same digital compression technology that's found in those little 24" satellite dish systems. Put extremely simply, this "MPEG 2" digital compression eliminates redundant information between movie/video "frames", saving space. So if a scene plays out in front of a relatively static background, for instance a hotel room, the fixed information (the room) is only stored once, while parts that change (characters  faces, positions, flying bullets, zooming spaceships), are stored as needed.

The Player s the Thing &

DVD players include all the features we ve come to know and love on CD and laserdisc players, including freeze frame, slo-mo, random access to tracks etc. Only Pioneer Electronics offers a DVD/laserdisc/CD combination player that plays all discs except CD-ROM s, but even the garden variety DVD player is perfectly happy with DVD movies and audio CD s, though as yet none of them play DVD or CD-ROM discs (the former of which are in extremely short supply anyway).

You ll soon be able to record your own DVD s, too. Recordable DVD's (DVD-RAM) are either available or coming soon from most major computer equipment manufacturers. Supposedly recordable up to 100,000 times, the discs aren t compatible with today s video DVD players, but with any luck this will change over the next few years.

Meanwhile, it s easy to imagine a day in the not-too-distant future, when DVD recorders (with built-in TV tuners and timers) have replaced your VCR  because once you ve seen the digital disc in action you ll never want to go back to the muddy, "dropout-laden" picture and "half-earsed" sound of videocassettes.

Rushing out in a buying frenzy &

But for now, DVD means movies, with some games and computer titles. Does this mean your CD player, CD-ROM drive, and laserdisc player are all obsolete?

Well, yes, but don't fret - as long as they keep working and you enjoy your current library they're never really outmoded. Besides, since DVD players are already following the trail blazed by their CD ancestors, units are getting better and cheaper all the time, so it won t hurt to wait a while (though there s no reason NOT to take the plunge right now, either!).

Early CD players really had only one advantage over today's: they were better built. Today's entry level players, plastic as they are, give terrific sound and more features than you're likely to use, and things should happen the same way with DVD s  though it s hard to imagine what other features the engineers can dream up for DVD players that will top what s already available!

Remember, too, that while movie titles are being released fast and furiously, it ll take years for there to be as much DVD software available as there is VHS or even laserdisc. After all, audio CD's are only now catching up with the libraries of the vinyl LP s (remember them?) they re replacing, and they ve been around for fifteen years.

Should you go ahead and buy that CD player you're been eyeing, knowing that there s a DVD player with your name on it just around the corner?

Well &

Low end CD players are still cheaper than low end DVD players, so if you re looking for an inexpensive audio-only solution, a CD player is still a good investment - for now.

DVD movie prices are generally a little higher than "priced to sell" videocassettes, though substantially lower than laserdiscs sold in Canada. Prices range from about $22 to $40 for top movie titles, though there s been a disturbing trend toward higher prices lately. Considering the quality you get, however, and the extra features crammed onto most movie discs, the software isn t really overpriced  yet.

But DVD is terrific. It deserves to be the next technological wave, and you really should get ready to ride it.

http://www.technofile.com/articles/dvd.html

Check out this TriPort CD player

If Michael Schumacher is 'the Man' for F1 fans or Big B is 'the Messiah' of millions, Bose music systems are 'the One' for music fanatics. And I am sure that any music lover will vouch for the quality of acoustics Bose delivers.

The Bose TriPort CD player, which I would say is bundled free with Bose headphones (binaural ear-cup type), is worth its cost. The headphones come with the 'just right' clarity of treble and a depth of bass and the end result - a very balanced pristine sound.

Most of us start listening to music when we're young, zero down on a genre(s) that speaks to you on a level that no other music does and inspires you move to the beat of your own music. Listening to music is a religious duty for many, including me. And here the most important part is the sound quality that only a good pair of headphone can give you.

With any other cheap set of earphones, I have always had to crank the volume up all the way and they would still distort the output. And so it was the sound quality of the Bose that sold me. They worked great on MP3 and personal CD players as well as home stereos, but I loved using them with my computer (where I store my treasure of 20GB of solid music).

On songs that carry more bass, for instance hip hop, I thought that there must be a subwoofer somewhere in the room. In classical and jazz pieces, I felt like I was in a concert hall with musicians. I've managed to see a few DVDs with these headphones on and was not disappointed.

Bose has built quite a reputation for its audio magic since they started in 1964. It's now taken for granted that when you purchase a product from Bose, you're not just purchasing a set of headphones or a radio, you're purchasing their years of research and design that come across as an advanced blend of components and technology. I have seen people who believe that Bose systems add character to vocal delivery.

Another nice aspect I found was the ergonomic design of the headsets, which keeps them remarkably comfortable and lightweight - they only weigh five ounces! The soft cushions gently enfold ears for hours of comfortable listening and the slim headband is fully adjustable.

The cushioned ear cups seal out sound, exploiting the spatial representation of sound. Which means that during intense listening sessions, home studio use, private late night jam sessions, and those times when you just want to focus on the music, they are your best friend.

Moving from headphones to the CD player, there's actually not much to talk about. It's a normal MP3 player. It has top loading, shock proof memory, and an LCD display. The best part is that it has an option to 'Add to my mix' which lets you select songs and add it in a separate directory.

This way you don't have to listen to a list of songs before zeroing in on your favourite one when you play the CD. The sales package comes with a carrying case and a headset cord extension (helps while connecting to PC)

Overall, it boasts of a great visual appeal with slick-looking design and high-tech finishes and at Rs 11,999 I think it's an aural treat.

http://in.rediff.com/money/2006/jan/07cd.htm

DualDisc, Take 2

A few months ago, I wrote about the audio industry’s new software format, the DualDisc. Most of what I had to say at that time was based on projection and speculation. I’ve since had some hands-on experience with DualDiscs, and this experience has led me to one new realization, and the ability to review some specific titles.

If you missed that first column and the DualDisc’s sporadic promotion, here’s the deal: This "new" format is really an amalgam of two well-established ones, the CD and the DVD. One side of a DualDisc is CD, the other DVD. This makes the disc compatible with almost all players and allows the inclusion of video and audio material on the same disc.

The end of standalone DVD-Audio?

DualDisc signals either the end of or a new beginning for the DVD-Audio disc. Whereas the competing high-resolution format can be played in a regular CD player, a DVD-A could be played only in DVD players. In addition, because most automobile players are still CD-only, DVD-As were incompatible with on-the-road listening. Considering the number of hours many of us spend in our vehicles, which have become virtual homes away from home, this is an important consideration. I was able to enjoy, for example, Patricia Barber’s hybrid Mobile Fidelity SACDs in high-resolution sound on my universal disc player at home, then take them with me to listen to in my car, where they offered solid CD reproduction. But such discs as the phenomenal DVD-A of the Big Phat Band could be enjoyed only at home.

But with one DVD-A side, DualDiscs can compete with hybrid SACDs. In fact, I no longer see the point in making discs that are solely DVD-A. Apparently Silverline, one of the largest producers of DualDiscs, agrees. The company had released the highly desirable Vanguard recordings of producer Seymour Solomon on DVD-A, including the complete Mahler symphonies with Maurice Abravanel and the Utah Symphony. They had gotten to Symphony 4, then announced that Symphony 5 would be released on DualDisc only, with one side 5.1-channel DVD-A, the other side CD. There will be no standalone DVD-A release. When I asked a Silverline exec if this was to be the future release pattern, he said, "Let’s see." Which to me means that Silverline will go with the flow. My guess is that, despite a recent spate of releases from the Universal Music Group, the DVD-Audio disc is dead -- a DualDisc can give a consumer virtually everything the DVD-A could, and can be played as a regular CD.

DualDiscs in the home and on the road

The DualDiscs I sampled worked splendidly. The best was a Silverline release of Abravanel’s luminous reading of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. The DVD-A side produced the best sound I’ve ever heard from this already good-sounding recording. It also gave me a few video features, including a still-frame archive, where I was pleasantly shocked to find a copy of a review I’d written for the now-defunct Laser Disc Gazette of this recording’s first CD release some ten years ago. The CD side played just fine in my car’s Alpine magazine changer. The only problem was that the CD side did not contain the complete ballet, due to time constraints imposed by the DualDisc format. Still, the CD provided a lot more music than the usual suite -- about two-thirds of the complete ballet.

Another disc, on the Lava label, offered Simple Plan’s Still Not Getting Any . . .

The DVD-A side played fine at home, with excellent sound, though the music -- each song seems a variation of the first -- wore somewhat thin. But when I put it in the car player, I found the tunes just right for a Thanksgiving drive along the Potomac. In this case, then, DualDisc to the rescue. The DVD-A side, by the way, contains some video, a still-frame archive, and a making-of featurette. The video on a DVD-A doesn’t have anywhere near the picture quality found on some of the best DVD-Vs, but it’s serviceable.

I then tried a Poncho Sanchez concert, Poncho at Montreux, on Silverline. The Latin jazz artist and his dynamic band sounded spiffy in 5.1 channels at home, and there was a video of one of the songs, as well as some artist photos. In the car, the disc gave me hi-fi sound that got me through a traffic jam smiling. And this disc exhibited yet another possibility for DualDisc: ROM content. I was able to pop the disc into my computer and get some extra features, including a download for personal use, had I desired it.

Contrary to some reports of damage to players resulting from playing DualDiscs, all the ones I had played without a hitch on any player into which I fed them: three home players, two universals, one CD player, and the car player. And as soon as the Big Phat Band title is released on DualDisc, I can enjoy it in my car as well as at home.

Down the road, I think we’ll see a genuinely new format in which a rotating software disc has nothing to do with things. Perhaps one of the new blue-laser systems will catch on, with high-resolution audio riding the coattails of the high-definition video they will provide.

But for the here and now, DualDisc is an innovative spin on present technology. Wisely shopped, the format can provide some interesting possibilities. Most important, it works. If you remember, as I do, the early days of stereo LP or CD, that’s saying a lot.

http://www.ultraaudio.com/opinion/20050201.htm

Sony halts production of CDs with copy-protection scheme

WASHINGTON — Stung by continuing criticism, the world's second-largest music label, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, promised Friday to temporarily suspend making music CDs with anti-piracy technology that can leave computers vulnerable to hackers.

Sony defended its right to prevent customers from illegally copying music but said it will halt manufacturing CDs with the "XCP" technology as a precautionary measure. "We also intend to re-examine all aspects of our content protection initiative to be sure that it continues to meet our goals of security and ease of consumer use," the company said in a statement.

The anti-piracy technology, which works only on Windows computers, prevents customers from making more than a few copies of the CD and prevents them from loading the CD's songs onto Apple Computer's popular iPod portable music players. Some other music players, which recognize Microsoft's proprietary music format, would work.

Sony's announcement came one day after leading security companies disclosed that hackers were distributing malicious programs over the Internet that exploited the anti-piracy technology's ability to avoid detection. Hackers discovered they can effectively render their programs invisible by using names for computer files similar to ones cloaked by the Sony technology.

Sony's program is included on about 20 popular music titles, including releases by Van Zant and The Bad Plus.

"This is a step they should have taken immediately," said Mark Russinovich, chief software architect at Internals Software who discovered the hidden copy-protection technology Oct. 31 and posted his findings on his Web log. He said Sony did not admit any wrongdoing, nor did it promise not to use similar techniques in the future.

Security researchers have described Sony's technology as "spyware," saying it is difficult to remove, transmits without warning details about what music is playing, and that Sony's notice to consumers about the technology was inadequate. Sony executives have rejected the description of their technology as spyware.

Some leading anti-virus companies updated their protective software this week to detect Sony's anti-piracy program, disable it and prevent it from reinstalling.

After Russinovich criticized Sony, it made available a software patch that removed the technology's ability to avoid detection. It also made more broadly available its instructions on how to remove the software permanently. Customers who remove the software are unable to listen to the music CD on their computer.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2005-11-11-sony-cds_x.htm

A Wish List re: Multichannel SACD & DVD-A

1. That both competing high-rez format camps would realize it is difficult enough for one format to make it commercially (especially in the present perilous economy) let alone two directly competing ones. Sony/Philips should think about some incentives they could offer the TimeWarner camp to drop DVD-A and support the only one of the two formats that offers true high-rez multichannel - SACD. (Don't make the Beta vs. VHS error all over again! Look at the huge success of DVD video when everyone got their act together!)

2. That manufacturers would quickly offer $300-range multichannel SACD players that also play DVD-Video, so that those who would be first-time DVD buyers could painlessly include SACD playback. (Yes, the new $400 Sony is a multichannel SACD but not a DVD-Video deck.)

3. That all multichannel players would henceforth offer a six-channel FireWire digital output or six coaxial outputs for use with new outboard multichannel DACS or complete processors/ receivers for ultimate high end sonic quality. (The software makers' fears of piracy are in danger of scuttling both formats in the high end world.)

4. That the separate LFE channel - fine for movies but inappropriate for music - be dropped in favor of six full-range channels. (See David Chesky's proposal in our July 2000 issue - in the Archives; though he eliminates the center front channel - with which we disagree.)

5. That complete bass management (in both directions) for all multichannel formats - high and low-rez - be included in all multichannel receivers and processors, including entry-level.

6. Since it is obvious that 5.1 surround sound for films is not suitable for SSfM (surround sound for music), and the system of one speaker per channel is limited, replace it with more flexible surround approaches in which the speakers tend to draw less attention to themselves. (B-format Ambisonics, for example, requires only 4 channels and can serve any number of speakers. Thus space is freed up for other mixes, longer playing times, a binaural headphone option or video. DTS and DD are OK, but wouldn't it be a kick to have ultimate multichannel SACD sound with our music DVD videos?)

7. That DVD-A players be designed for use by music-lovers who lack a video display in the same room or do not even own one! (Even the Sony 9000SE requires a monitor display in order to turn off progressive scan to improve SACD-only playback.) A simple front-panel display could handle this.

8. That Sony Music wake up and re-press all their SACD-Only discs as hybrid SACD/CD discs like everyone else.

9. That increased consumer acceptance of SACD outside of the high end - due to its multichannel abilities and lower price of players - will eventually bring down the price of SACD software to that of current standard CDs.

http://www.audaud.com/audaud/JUL01/wish.html