Beginner questions

[bob_m]

Hello,

I just downloaded dbpoweramp and was able to rip two cd’s to flac quite easily. I do have a few questions about the process:

When I insert the CD the track information, CD title and artist display in dbpoweramp. Where does this information come from? Is it read from the CD, or is it pulled from online?

I did not get any album art when the CD was loaded, is there a way to directly pull this from the net?

I see many posts on other forums stating EAC is better at ripping than other software. If we are comparing our flac files to others through AccurateRip, how can any software be more accurate. I could see how EAC may be better at handling scratched CD errors but if each program produced an accurate rip would they not be identical. Assuming input parameters are the same.

What is the drive offset mean in simple terms that AccurateRip is talking about?

Great program very easy to use, thanks Bob

[LtData]

Re: Beginner questions

1. dMC pulls meta-data from multiple providers, if an active subscription to PerfectMeta is in place. It is pulled from AMG, MusicBrainz, GD3, and freedb.

2. Album Art is retrieved from AMG, and maybe another provider. If you want to retrieve it from somewhere else, you can either save the file to your drive and click the "+" button by the album art area to add it, or just copy the image and paste it in.

3. That's up for debate, but if AccurateRip says the CD is accurate, you're fine. The debate is when the CD is either not in AccurateRip or isn't accurate as to how accurate of a rip the program can extract.

4. The offset is the point at which your CD drive starts reading the audio data from the point at which the audio on the CD starts, in samples. Do note that there are 44,100 samples per second.

[Spoon]

Re: Beginner questions

See:

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/secure-ripper.htm

[Porcus]

Re: Beginner questions

When I insert the CD the track information, CD title and artist display in dbpoweramp. Where does this information come from? Is it read from the CD, or is it pulled from online?

I did not get any album art when the CD was loaded, is there a way to directly pull this from the net?

For your first question: This is one of the two reasons that I use dBpoweramp and not EAC -- with dBpoweramp you get paid metadata-sources for pennies, in addition to freedb which is used by both applications (in practice I turn that one off, because I can always add freedb metadata afterwards using e.g. Mp3Tag). BTW, the other reason why I use dBpoweramp is that I found it easier to work with in my particular set-up.

For your second: There are album art downloaders available, google is your friend (e.g., you might try http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/0...ing-album-art/ )

[bob_m]

Re: Beginner questions

Porcus:

>(in practice I turn that one off, because I can always add freedb metadata afterwards using e.g. Mp3Tag).<
Why not just leave it on or why would it hurt to leave it on?

>For your second: There are album art downloaders available, google is your friend (e.g., you might try http://www.freewaregenius.com/2008/0...ing-album-art/ )<
Ok, but shouldn't the art be downloaded from the paid metadata sources or is that restricted only to track information and such?

Thanks Bob

[bob_m]

Re: Beginner questions

3. That's up for debate, but if AccurateRip says the CD is accurate, you're fine. The debate is when the CD is either not in AccurateRip or isn't accurate as to how accurate of a rip the program can extract.

Ok, I found a CD in my collection that was not in AccurateRip, in this case should I set secure rip on under options? Can I leave this as default since if I understand this correctly, if the CD is in the AccurateRip Database it will use Burst mode and not go through the Secure Rip process?

What happens if you do get an error, will this just be a small skip in the song or can it be a loud damaging sound through my system?

For new music, should I purchase the CD and Rip or can you purchase a lossless format like flac from an online source?

I only have the trial for Dbpoweramp, it seems like the powerpack version will meet my needs fine. I assume the ripping engine is the same for both the powerpack and reference version?

When I add tags in dppoweramp, VORBIS comments or id3, or how can I tell?


Thanks Bob

[LtData]

Re: Beginner questions

Yes, you can leave dMC in AccurateRip by default. As the link says, dMC does a burst pass first and compares it to the AccurateRip result. If the rip is Accurate, it marks it as such and moves on to the next track. Additionally, this mode gives you a log file.

Errors normally sound like a skip, I beleive, not a loud sound.

Personally, I recommend ripping the discs. The online stores that offer lossless music normally have rather small collections.

Correct, the ripping engine is the same for all versions of dBpoweramp. The difference is the features that are enabled: PowerPack gets secure ripping, Reference gets ultra-secure ripping.

If you are talking about tags for Ogg Vorbis or FLAC files, the standard is Vorbis comments. Some files want ID3 tags, hence why the option is there.

[bob_m]

Re: Beginner questions

If you are talking about tags for Ogg Vorbis or FLAC files, the standard is Vorbis comments. Some files want ID3 tags, hence why the option is there.

Where is the option, I do not see it? Thanks Bob

[LtData]

Re: Beginner questions

In dBpoweramp Configuration. See "Nee to find your version?" below. It is on the Codecs tab under "Advanced Options."

[bob_m]

Re: Beginner questions

I found it, thanks for all the help. Bob