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Ripping CDs

D

Deleted member 133

Guest
Right now my entire CD collection has been ripped to MP3 (192 kbps) using iTunes.

For a number of reasons I'm planning to re-rip my entire collection to a lossless format.

My question(s) is (are) simple: which lossless format to use?

First off it's not about the sound quality. I expect that whatever I choose will sound just fine (since I'm happy with MP3).

I want these lossless rips to be used two ways: on a Windows XP PC DLNA certified media server; and as high-quality back-ups that could be used to "restore" a CD to my collection, should the original disc ever be lost or damaged.

So which format do I use?

Right now my choice is WMA LL. I'm planning to use FreeRIP. I've run some test rips and it works great.

Storage space is not an issue. My calculations (and the trial rips) show I'll need 4.6 times more space than is currently being used by my MP3s. That will only fill 1/3 of a 1TB drive. And extra space is cheap. (I'm planning not only to have everything ripped to the TB drive; I'll have a second TB drive that I will periodically back up the first one to, which I will store in a completely different location - in case of a catastrophic loss of the entire collection - or part thereof. Call me paranoid but it's taken me a long time to collect all of the CDs that I have in my collection.)

I'll still be ripping each new CD to MP3 as well - for use in portable devices etc.

Confirmation that WMA LL will meet my needs - or not - would be appreciated before I start ripping. As well as any other related thoughts.

Thanks.

Jeff
 
Guess it depends largely on the apps you'll be using to play them later. I've got mine ripped to FLAC because that's the squeezebox's native format and stuff behaves best that way. But if you're using WMP you might be better off with WMAL. But with many apps able to transcode either one, ultimately it probably doesn't matter, so long as it's lossless.
 
I agree with Pauly. I keep my collection in Flac/MP3 for the HT/Jeep. I would go with the most convenient. WMAL if you have a PC, ALAC if you have Mac.
 
JeffMackwood said:
Right now my choice is WMA LL. I'm planning to use FreeRIP. I've run some test rips and it works great.

I don't see any reason not to use WMA-L.

Why use FreeRip instead of the utility built into Windows Media Player?
 
Good question.

Don't know.

I got hold of freeRIP because it could rip into a bunch of different formats - which allowed me to do some comparisons between them. Never thought of using WMP.

While trying out freeRIP I found it to be painless, so I thought I'd stick to it.

No other reason than that.

Any advantage to using WMP?

By the by, I run AnyDVD in the background while rippingCDs. It takes care of any of those bothersome copy protection schemes.

Jeff

ps. Thanks for the feedback.
 
I use WMA-LL and love it. Squeezebox can handle that fine, so it works perfectly for me.

The only concern I have is that while it is very unlikely, I may someday own an Apple product. If that happens I will be screwed in terms of my music library.
 
JeffMackwood said:
While trying out freeRIP I found it to be painless, so I thought I'd stick to it.

No other reason than that.

Any advantage to using WMP?

By the by, I run AnyDVD in the background while rippingCDs. It takes care of any of those bothersome copy protection schemes.


Nah... just wondering if there was an advantage to FreeRip (other than selecting multiple formats) over WMP. Im sure that either will be just fine.

Until very recently I ripped everything twice. Once to WMA-LL using WMP and again to Apple Lossless using iTunes. I know it takes a ton of space but I wanted Apple for my portable devices and Windows for streaming inside the house.
 
Thanks again to everyone for posting on this thread. All input gratefully appreciated!

Jeff
 
My Collection is ripped to WMA LL using WMP.

Very simple, Insert Disc, Start Rip.......Disc pops out when complete!
 
Jeff, I use WMAL on the windows media player. Also WMP will auto-sync with most portables (except Apple's).
 
Jeff, there are a few of us here that use dbpoweramp to rip in whatever format that you choose. It's like $30 or something, but it does a really nice job with tagging, and if you want to batch convert a bunch a files, like going from wml to mp3 for a player, it is a godsend.
 
JeffMackwood said:
.......Any advantage to using WMP?

By the by, I run AnyDVD in the background while rippingCDs. It takes care of any of those bothersome copy protection schemes......


Besides it already being on your computer? Nope. It's good enough for WMAL if that's what you're going to stick with, but if you're going to use Flac or other lossless formats that aren't "WMP friendly", then stick with freeRIP. I use dB Poweramp myself (about $25).

I didn't know that about AnyDVD. I thought it only worked on DVDs.
 
Huey said:
Jeff, there are a few of us here that use dbpoweramp to rip in whatever format that you choose. It's like $30 or something, but it does a really nice job with tagging, and if you want to batch convert a bunch a files, like going from wml to mp3 for a player, it is a godsend.
.


:text-+1: (didn't see your post at first Huey).
 
Yesfan70 said:
I didn't know that about AnyDVD. I thought it only worked on DVDs.
One of those unsung features that you might miss. Works like a charm - when copying or ripping. Just launch it (or set it to launch on startup) and let it run in the background. No other action needed.
 
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