Get the software ♫

Insert the CD into the drive and "Import" with iTunes. This is usually enough, but there seems to be a good reason for music freaks who aren't satisfied with it. Therefore, this time, I will introduce a straightforward method of digitizing music that can satisfy such discerning groups.

Before getting into the main subject, there are some reasons why I have to do such a troublesome thing.

You can encode normally with iTunes. You can move from point A (CD) to point B (computer), point C (MP3 player), point D (backup drive) without any hassle, but the tagging is inconsistent or other than Apple terminals. It seems that there are places where you can not see the album art, it does not support the best lossless music format and MP3 encoding option, and it is not enough to say luxury. It's best to support this kind of thing regardless of whether the person cares or not.

Related: "Is the sound encoded in MP3 using iTunes bad?" (2005 article)

The point is that you need more care than you can do with iTunes or Windows Media player to rip properly. You can ask people to do this for a fee, but that's ridiculous and the first money is a waste. You can do it on your own, and it's not that difficult.

Let's take a look at the procedure.

The first step to break away from iTunes is to leave iTunes = install other software. If you choose, make it a high-quality encoder with more types of encoding than iTunes. Open source LAME is the best MP3 encoder, and there are many Mac and PC software based on this, but the following two are multifunctional.

Mac OS X: Max

From the manufacturer's explanation. :

When extracting music from a CD, it has the maximum flexibility to maintain the original sound of the CD. There is also a high-speed ripper without error collection for new discs. For scratched discs, the built-in Comparison Ripper (for audio cache drives) or cdparanoia's powerful error collection can also help.

In short, it reduces errors significantly, has excellent sound quality, and has a wide variety of encodings. You can rip well even if you don't have that many types, but there is no loss. MAX is also excellent as a file converter, and the captured data can be converted to various audio formats. If you have WMA files scattered all over the place that you don't listen to at all, this is also a must-see point.

Related: Defeat MAX, ripping software Max, a strong ally for Mac users: Max for ripping

Windows: Exact Audio Copy

From the manufacturer's explanation. :

• Free (for non-commercial use) /

• Adopts technology to read audio CDs almost perfectly.

• If there is an uncorrectable error, it will tell you at which time position the sound is distorted (possibly), so it can be easily controlled with a media player or the like.

In short, you can use the best error collection you can buy for free ... No, really, Exact Audio Copy has a great reputation among audio enthusiasts, and it's understandable enough to ask why.

The MP3 encoding feature cannot be turned on in the program options without first downloading the LAME encoder. You can download it here (Japanese) without any problems. Everyone wants to do tag setting (acquisition of music information), but this requires more effort (Japanese here and here). It's easy, though ...

Related: Exact Audio Copy Japanese localization and initial settings, Exact Audio Copy Japanese localization patch, FAQ, MUSIC PC, CD ripping with vista

If you're like, "Well, isn't it easier!", Please download "CDex". LAME's DLL and tagging DB support are already included. It's not as good as the Exact Audio Copy, but the results are good.

Related: How to use CDex, CDex information and basic usage, CD → mp3 conversion using CDex

Both platforms have a lot of things to decide for yourself. How do you organize your files? What name would you like? Unlike iTunes, these apps don't have to be saved like this, so everyone can decide what they like. Various save and organize options can be easily used by opening the Preferences menu.

It's up to you to decide.

MP3:

・ Just listen on your mobile device

・ Songs do not need to be archived in perfect condition

・ I hate audio fans

・ I don't know the difference between FLAC (lossless audio compression codec) and OGG (lossy compression).

You can keep the current MP3.

There are other formats that have a better size-to-sound ratio, and well, they're not open source, but they're still versatile, controllable, and encoder-selectable (if not zero). But it is not. If you set the encoder correctly, you can enjoy great sound even with MP3s.

The hard part is what to do with the optimal bit rate for MP3s. Beyond a certain point, the sound quality may be different due to psychological factors than the actual clarity of the sound, so it is difficult to choose with your own ears. Fortunately, at Giz, we ask readers to compare the optimum bit rate with their ears. At that time, it seems that the most people could not distinguish the difference in sound at the boundary of "256kbps".

So, isn't the encoder setting set to "256kbps" here?

This is not higher than 256kbps VBR (variable bitrate) (VBR adjusts the amount of file transfer information according to your needs, giving you the best ... or slowest encoding option. Choose to save space without sacrificing quality). Anyone, in any situation, is this setting all right? This is definitely better than ripping at iTunes's default 160kbps CBR (constant bitrate).

FLAC:

・ The purpose is to save the archive

・ I don't want to lose quality

・ I want to avoid any minor deterioration

You who are such a discerning group are lossless. Among them, FLAC is the lossless format with the best software and hardware support. Unfortunately, none of Apple's products support FLAC, but you can enjoy FLAC comfortably with just a few tricks on iTunes.

Related: How to play and manage WMA / OGG / FLAC format files on iTunes, capture "FLAC"! , Will iTunes support FLAC?

The great thing about FLAC songs is that they can be converted to other lossless formats. It can be converted to "Apple Lossless" compatible with Apple iPod while avoiding deterioration of sound quality, and can be compressed to MP3 without worrying about complicated transcoding. It might be quick to think of it as a "CD without stuff called a disc".

Album jacket-this is another area I'm not good at with iTunes. They will look for it, but as soon as you transfer all the songs to a player other than the iPod, they will disappear. why? That's because iTunes stores the album art in a separate database, not in the ID3 tag of the song file that it should be.

If you're listening to iTunes on Mac OS, you can use Doug's famous iTunes script to write album art directly to MP3 files. The installation procedure is as follows.

To install files and folders, drag the item from within the disk image window to your [username] / Library / iTunes / Scripts / folder. If you don't see a folder named "Scripts" there, create one and drag the file into it. AppleScripts placed in this folder will appear in the iTunes Script menu list. The .rtf / .rtfd documentation files do not need to be installed in this "Scripts" folder.

Isn't it a little difficult ... If you have any other good methods or guides, please let me know!

Lifehacker has a great guide here on how to collect and capture album art on Windows. In a word ...? Download MediaMonkey and let it do the rest. Just import the song there and it will pick up the latest tags from FreeDB and Amazon.

Related: Top 6 MP3 Tag Editor Reader Votes! , Supercharge your iTunes library with "GimmeSomeTune", TagScanner

Apps like iTunes and Windows Media Player may embed album art in a file, but it may not show up or may prompt you to search the app's database. but it's okay. This is a phenomenon that occurs because both programs use a proprietary storage system for saving album art, and even if the album art saved in the ID3 tag cannot be recognized by the app, it disappears from there, or embed. It's not that I couldn't do it at all. -There is no problem if you save it in a tag and transfer it. Considering other software, MP3 players, and long-term storage, this is currently the most compatible and reasonable method for saving album art.

Well, that's all ... that's it! With this, you can squeeze out the purest and most delicious music files from music CDs. It is safe and secure to put the CD in that area. Then ...

If you know other useful tips, tools, or links, please leave a comment. The voice of the reader is the life of the Gizmodo Saturday special feature "How To" guide. If you have any topics that you would like us to pick up, please send us a request (in English). Then everyone, happy ripping!

John Herrman (original / satomi)