Ripping and batch converting question
I am about to undertake the huge task of ripping about 700 CD's. Because this will take an obscene amount of time, I don't ever want to have to do it again. My main new portable player is an iPod mini, so don't want huge file sizes, but I am also a musician and know how to hear the difference between various bitrates, etc.
My guess is that I will use a varied combination of bitrates, depending on purpose. Lossless compression for pieces I'm studying or getting ready to perform, all the way down to 128 kbps for pieces I'm just listening to on the subway.
How much sense would it make for me to rip everything in Apple's new lossless format (perhaps even buying an extra hard drive to store all this stuff), then finding some way to batch convert to, say, 160 kbps AAC files? That way, when I wanted to put a bunch of stuff on my iPod in a lossier (or less lossy) format, I could just re-convert the files all at once, rather than re-ripping.
I have both an iMac G4 and a ThinkPad T-40, so I could use either computer for this project. Any suggestions on the best way to accomplish this or on possible problems with my plan?
elob
[1200 byte] By [
elob] at [2007-11-9 20:24:27]
# 2 Re: Ripping and batch converting question
Thanks for your response. As I mentioned, though, my needs will vary over time. Sometimes even the best lossy compression won't be good enough; other times an ordinary 128 kbps AAC will be good enough. That's why I want to encode losslessly and batch convert hundreds or thousands of files at a time, depending on what I need at that point.
elob
elob at 2007-11-15 17:14:02 >
# 3 Re: Ripping and batch converting question
elob,
If you are willing to take the time to do this yourself and are concerned about being able to use the music in different manners, I would think hard prior to ripping in an AAC format. AAC has very little compatibitiy across products at this time and is not guarenteed to have broad product support. I would certainly recommend encoding into MP3 format, save yourself the headache.
Regardless of the format of your original rip, you will lose some quality when you transcode (ie. go from one encoded format to the other). While some state the lossless format protects from this, this is not true. Lossless is not "lossless", it is a compressed format. The other problem you get with lossless is the same as the AAC problem, it may lack compatibility, as well you will have more problems dealing with your ID3 tags.
If you feel you need to transcode, your best bet is to probably go ahead an encode at 320Kbps MP3. While not perfect, it will give you a strong base encode with universal compatibility. The transcoded 128kbps will still sound fine especially for portably or car usage.
Something to keep in mind with that many CD's is that you will likely spend as much time fixing tag information as you will the actual ripping. If you have a few bucks you might want to look into a CD ripping service. There is one I had posted about a while back that a friend of mine used called Get Digital (www.get-digital.net).
ranger at 2007-11-15 17:15:12 >
