MP3 Software advice please

[johnny boy]

I'm planning on building a PC based jukebox for home use and need to transfer all my CDs onto hard drive in MP3 format.

I know there's plenty of software around which converts CD to MP3 but what I'm after is software which does the lot.

I just want to put the CD in, extract it all to disk in proper directories and have all the track info and cover image downloaded at the touch of a button.

Is this a tall order or does such software exist?

Also, are there any suggestions for a suitable front end? I had an idea to run it on a touch screen LCD panel mounted on the wall, so something that looks good and runs full screen would be ideal.

Thanks in advance

Regards

John

[jodypress]

hi john,
by far the easiest way is (and i hate to admit it) windows media player. you can set the bit rate (192 kbs is fine for normal ears) and you pop cd in and voila it copies to a directory of your choie. very easy and free.

jody

[Mr2Mike]

jodypress said: hi john,
by far the easiest way is (and i hate to admit it) windows media player. you can set the bit rate (192 kbs is fine for normal ears) and you pop cd in and voila it copies to a directory of your choie. very easy and free.

jody

WMP dosen't encode to MP3 AFAIK, it uses the Microsoft WMA format which is not supported by all players. Would probably be fine for a jukebox if you don't want to play the files on anything else.

[stc_bennett]

you can edit the system registry to encode in mp3 format, the feature does exist in the software but disabled to keep the music publishers happy.

Have a look on google for media player mp3 crack.

I have done it to mine and got over 30000 mp3 on the server.

Have a look at some of my other forums i have just wire my house witha touchscreen in each room to watch DVD's play mp3 etc and even record a TV program at the touch of the screen

Cheers

Steve

[Bodo]

Remember, the MS Media Player has difficulties with privacy.

I suggest you do not use *.mp3 but *.ogg format because files are much smaller having the same quality as mp3.
Do a web search for ogg vs. mp3 benchmarking.

I'm using linux with kde for my music server. It's a PC fitted to my 19" rack without having a monitor or keyboard.
To control the music server, I'm using remote login from my work PC.
To play the music without the work PC, a joystick is plugged to the music server, which allows to play/pause/volume/change track/etc.; however the player XMMS www.xmms.org has plugins to receive these orders via a multimedia keyboard or the IR port, and shows the track listing and information to a connected alphanumeric LCD.

To grab the music from CD, I just have to put the media into the drive, and give the order to convert from my work PC.
It automatically grabs the tracks, calls data from the cddb www.freedb.org , converts the tracks into ogg, and writes them to disk with the right name in a new directory.

I could imagine, that it would be possible to let the whole process get managed by a small scrpt; so you only put the cd in, and linux is doing the rest, then ejects the CD; but I'm no , so I don't know how to write that.

All the software needed is free and published under the General Public License, so it's downloadable from the web.
I used a Linux distribution SuSE Linux 8.1 pro www.suse.co.uk , which autoinstalled the whole system in 20minutes, and is well documented, so you can setup and configure it to your requirements.

b.

[Agent006]

I'm using Creative Play centre. it came with my MP3 player, but you can download it for free. It copies the tracks, with numbers and in a folder, and puts the names to them. Doesn't do the Cover bit though.

[fatsteve]

John,

Best to use something like musicmatch (www.musicmatch.com) to rip the CD's, no real point in ripping above 192Kbps since the quality gains are minimal (due to the lossy compression technique), also IIRC musicmatch uses the Frauhoffer (sp) algorithm which is the best. Download musicmatch for free, stick it onto a PC with a meaty HD.

Then, buy yourself one of these -> www.slimp3.com, they're available in the UK from www.multitask-computing.co.uk/slimp3/ , plus they've just slashed the price (and no I don't work for them!!). Just plug in a network cable and phono's out to your amp.

Then you're off. I seriously thought about getting one but I'm a bit of a hi-fi buff and MP3 for home use just doesn't cut the mustard. Absolutely perfect for "on the go" or "in your car".

Wifi kit is getting cheaper also, so you could get wireless access point plugged into your PC, and d-link do a lan-wifi converter (about £90), great! no cables.

Steve

[dern]

no real point in ripping above 192Kbps since the quality gains are minimal (due to the lossy compression technique)

The slimp3 is excellent, I've had one for nearly a year now. I wouldn't agree with the 192Kbps sentiment, I rip everything at 320Kbps as I tried it at 128,192... but 320 still sounds better imo. CDEX is a good free ripper, you can get it from source forge.

Regards,

Mark

[wolosp]

I want to convert my CDs to mp3 and to burn them onto a CD in mp3 format.
I have been looking at the cdex website and as part of the installation procedure, it states: "For Windows NT/2000/XP only: Copy Nero's ASPI manager, wnaspi32.dll, to your CDex folder [do NOT do this if Adaptec's ASPI layer is successfully installed]"
What is Adaptec's ASPI layer and how do I know if I have it installed?

[FourWheelDrift]

wolosp said:

I want to convert my CDs to mp3 and to burn them onto a CD in mp3 format. I have been looking at the cdex website and as part of the installation procedure, it states: "For Windows NT/2000/XP only: Copy Nero's ASPI manager, wnaspi32.dll, to your CDex folder [do NOT do this if Adaptec's ASPI layer is successfully installed]" What is Adaptec's ASPI layer and how do I know if I have it installed?

If you have installed Adaptec EasyCD or Adaptec DirectCD you will have the Adaptec ASPI layer installed.

Nero & Adaptec don't get on very well together. So uninstall one completely if you are going to install the other.

[rjo]

Adaptec is Easy CD Creater.
Have you had that on your system?

[wolosp]

rjo said:

Adaptec is Easy CD Creater. Have you had that on your system?

My CD creator software is called 'Roxio Easy CD Creator' and came with the Dell internal CD writer.

[docevi1]

a great site to check out is www.mp3projects.com, they have tutorials on everything from building a PC for installation into a car to home jukeboxes.

Stefan

[Robertuk]

I wish I had time to do this !

Check out : www.mini-itx.com/

seem to have some neat ideas/kit .

Instead of a touch screen , why not try and use a universal remote control (like the Phillips Pronto).

That would be my personal choice of interface.

Regards,

Ramesh

[FourWheelDrift]

wolosp said:

rjo said: Adaptec is Easy CD Creater. Have you had that on your system? My CD creator software is called 'Roxio Easy CD Creator' and came with the Dell internal CD writer.

Roxio is the new name for Adaptec, they bought the software.

Unistall it completely if you are going to install Nero

[Mark.S]

I've CD-DA XTractor in the past. Easy to use, good sound quality and track info (name/artist etc) automatically put into filename and mp3 id tag.