Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

[Jim Manko]

Just got an MP3 player & dBp. Setting up dBp to rip & running into a lot of questions. Hopefully some kind, patient soul can lead me through some of this!

1) I recently ran CacheEx to see if my TSSTcorp CDDVDW TS-L632N drive caches and, if so, to detect the cache value. Set the number argument to 10. Got conflicting results - 8 or 9 of 10 times detected no caching but 1 or 2 times out of 10 did get a cache value. False positives or something else going on? dBpoweramp detected no caching. Not sure what to make of the conflicting results. Any ideas?

2) How can I find out if my drive supports reading into the lead-in/lead-out? If it does, what is the importance of checking this option?

3) What is the difference between Hidden Track Silence Removal & Silence Track Deletion?

4) What is the difference between ReplayGain & ReplayGain (apply)?

[LtData]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

1) The cache detection is very time-sensitive. Having any other programs open can skew the results.
2) Check the option and watch the extraction log. If it can't read into lead-in/lead-out, it will say to uncheck the option.
3) Hidden Track Silence Removal: Removes the silence in hidden tracks when there is a log space.
Silence Track Deletion: Deletes tracks that are all silence before the "Hidden tracks"
4) ReplayGain calculates ReplayGain and writes the values to tags. ReplayGain (apply) applies the ReplayGain to the file by actually altering the data.

[Jim Manko]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

Thanks! Very helpful. Making a lot of progress but do have more questions about setting up dynamic folder/file naming:

1) I know that compilation CDs might not have an album artist value. Do CDs by one artist ever not have an Album Artist value?

2) On collaboration CDs (e.g. Frank Sinatra's Duets) I was expecting the Artist value to include the guest artist (e.g. Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin) but only the Album Artist is listed as the Artist (e.g. Frank Sinatra). This in spite of the fact that the file info lists Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin as the Artist. Am I missing something in my set-up or do some rips just end up this way?

3) I have saved a lot of dynamic naming formulas that I ultimately do not want. Any way to delete dynamic naming formulas or do I need to just wait for them to drop off the window?

Look forward to hearing back. Really appreciate your help.

[Spoon]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

1) CD Ripper will populate the album artist for non-compilation tracks.
2) The meta data provider might have provided this, or the format you are ripping to does not support multiple album artists.
3) You can just ignore ones you do not want.

[Jim Manko]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

Thanks for the reply, Spoon. Inevitably, answers lead to more questions:

1) What does CD Ripper populate album artist with for non-compilation tracks? Album artist from meta data? Is there always an album artist from meta data for non-compilation tracks? If not, does CD Ripper use track artist?

2) I am referring to multiple track artists rather than multiple album artists. For example, on the CD FRANK SINATRA duets, track 2 is performed by Frank Sinatra & Aretha Franklin. The file info lists the track artists as Frank Sinatra; Aretha Franklin. But the dynamic file naming formula returns Frank Sinatra as the track artist rather than Frank Sinatra; Aretha Franklin. I would like it to return the complete track artist information & I'm wondering why it won't.

3) I'm quessing from your answer that dynamic naming formulas cannot be deleted & that I need to wait for old ones to fall off the window as I create new ones. Right?

Look forward to clarification.

[Spoon]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

1. There is normally an aritist consistent across all tracks,
2.Dynamic naming will only use the first item, always.
3. Correct

[Jim Manko]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

Hi, Spoon. Setup is going pretty well w/ your help. Some questions about secure ripping options:

1) Why does the CD Ripper - Setup Guide recommend not using interpolation of unrecoverable frames?

2) What would be the purpose of varying drive speed & why is varying drive speed also not recommended?

Appreciate your help.

[Spoon]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

1) most CD drives can do it automatically and potentially better
2) It works better on some drives, works worse on others

[LtData]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

The purpose of varying drive speed is to further attempt to get a better read, since changing the speed might help the laser read the data.

[Jim Manko]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

As usual, many thanks!

I've ripped & converted a few live cds & notice that there are brief interruptions in the sound between tracks where there is no interruption on the cd itself. Seems to be at the point where one track transitions to the next. Been ripping in WAV to archive & converting to FLAC for mp3 player. Same thing happens in both formats. Only happening on live cds. Hear it on mp3 player & Windows Media Player. Don't hear it on cd played through Windows Media Player. So seems to be artifact of the ripping/converting process.

What causes this? Can anything be done to avoid it?

[Porcus]

Re: Setting up dBp to rip & have many questions

Been ripping in WAV to archive & converting to FLAC for mp3 player.

No reason to use WAV and not FLAC for archive. FLAC is lossless, contains precisely the same music signal in a smaller file -- and supports better tagging.

[...] Only happening on live cds. [...]

This looks like the good(?) old "gapless playback" issue (which is a "playback" issue, not a ripping issue), except that it is a surprise (to me) that it shows up on Windows Media Player. Try to install Foobar2000 ( http://www.foobar2000.org/ ) and playback through that one.

(If you think Foobar2000 looks too boring to use: have a look at http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/...=30988&st=2750 . But in the basic version, it is stripped-down and does precisely what it is supposed to do: put up a database of your music and play it.)