Converting files from CD's

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tvz
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:46 am

Converting files from CD's

Post by tvz »

This is probably a stupid question--

I can plug in a recorder or other device into my computer; play a recording; and Gold Wave receives the sound and I can make a sound file that I can edit, etc..

When I put an audio CD into the computer and play it w/ Windows Media Player, hoping to make it into a file useable by Gold Wave, I can't get it to come through to Gold Wave. Is there a setting I need to change?

THANKS
Tom
DougDbug
Posts: 2172
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2005 3:33 pm
Location: Silicon Valley

Post by DougDbug »

When you have a digital source, It's better to make a digital copy than an analog* recording. (This is usually called "ripping" the CD.)

In GoldWave: Tools -> CD Reader.

I think you can use Windows Media Player to make a digital copy, but I haven't tried it.

I usually use Exact Audio Copy or Audiogabber. (Both are FREE!!!) EAC has some error reporting and error correction, and Audiograbber makes it fairly easy to make an analog copy, which sometimes works better with a damaged CD.

Note that WAV files and audio CD both use PCM encoding (in slightly different formats). When you "rip" th CD to a WAV file, you get a perfect digital copy and you can copy between CD and WAV all day long without any quality loss. It's also faster than recording, since your CD reader can read faster than 1X.

(Once you go analog, or to one of the "lossy" compression formats like MP3, OGG, or WMA, there is some quality loss with each generation.)


* To be more precise, it would be a digital-to-analog-to-digital recording. There is a way to record the (analog) sound that you hear from your PC speaker with GoldWave. Click here for the Recording FAQ.
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