Converting WAV to AAC for use in iTunes/iPod

[Headbanger]

Hi,

Newbie on the forum although I have used CD Ripper (for Windows) a lot to create WAV files stored on a USB HDD. I also run iTunes so that I can load and manage my iPod (which I use in the car a lot). iTunes was also on Windows but I ported it to a Macbook pro. Now that dBpoweramp is available on OS X, I've licensed that too so 90% of my ripping will now be done on the Mac. (I might sometimes need to use the Plextor DVD re-writers on my Windows PC ...)

The thing is that I've always ripped my CDs twice !!**??!! once by iTunes and once by dBp. Not only is that tedious (very) but I've discovered that iTunes/Mac isn't great at ripping CDs correctly anyway. It might be quicker and I would certainly be more confident about the quality of the audio if I could use the wave files to create the AAC files for iTunes. Can this be done by Music Convertor or Batch Convertor?

I've never managed to get my head around what needed to be done. Obviously the file needs converting but dBp file names have the track number at the beginning, iTunes doesn't: the directory structure needs to be right: the meta data is possibly (probably) different: the album art needs to be carried over as well - and there's probably more stuff l haven't thought of.

I suspect that if I could rely on iTunes to rip properly, I'd carry on as before but can anyone advise me how best to go about converting my WAV files to iTunes/iPod?

Thanks,

Peter.

[garym]

Re: Converting WAV to AAC for use in iTunes/iPod

Yes, run dbpa Batch Converter, point it at the directory of WAV files, click "covert to" and choose the codec you want (mp3, aac, etc. you may need to install the codec from the dbpa site first). You can set things like replaygain DSP, how you want the resulting files organized, upper level directory, etc. So set it up correctly, then it is just a couple of mouse clicks to create your lossy versions automatically. And better yet, you can rerun this anytime and the system will only create new AAC from newly added WAV files rather than doing them ALL over again.

I do this with my FLAC files. I create a mirror mp3 version. All tags, subdirectory organization, etc. move over automatically, the only difference is the parent directories (x:\FLAC vs x:\mp3).

[BrodyBoy]

Re: Converting WAV to AAC for use in iTunes/iPod

I've never managed to get my head around what needed to be done. Obviously the file needs converting but dBp file names have the track number at the beginning, iTunes doesn't: the directory structure needs to be right: the meta data is possibly (probably) different: the album art needs to be carried over as well - and there's probably more stuff l haven't thought of.

Welcome Peter. As garym said, you can easily set up Batch Converter to do the whole library, or with similar settings, use Music Converter to process selected files or albums.

As regards your concerns about metadata and file structure, dBp and iTunes can handle all those details for you:

• File Structure: If you currently allow iTunes to organize its library (this is an option in the settings), it can also organize your newly-ripped files. When setting up dBp's Batch Converter or Music Converter, set the output to your "Automatically add to iTunes" folder. Then next time you open iTunes, it will organize them for you and add them to the iTunes library. There's no need to worry about the structure of the filenames....if you're letting iTunes organize the library, it'll change the names to apply its own conventions. (Note that filenames are really not important, anyway. All players, including iTunes, read and navigate your music files by using the metadata inside the files, not by reading the filenames.)
• Album Art: You can set dBp to retain the album art when you convert (it's a setting in the Options). Or you can have iTunes add album art automatically.
• Metadata: dBp is very good at properly "converting" tags. Obviously, the actual data stays the same, regardless of audio codec. If the convert-to codec uses a different tagging scheme that has some different field names, dBp will map the data to the appropriate fields.

Bottom line: There's absolutely no need to rip twice! Once you create good lossless files with CD Ripper, you can use the other dBp tools to quickly convert to virtually any other type of file you need. If you have any problems or specific questions about setup, bring them here and we'll help you out. What you're doing is a very common task, and I think you'll be very pleasantly surprised at how much easier this approach makes managing your dual library setup.

[Headbanger]

Re: Converting WAV to AAC for use in iTunes/iPod

Welcome Peter. As garym said, you can easily set up Batch Converter to do the whole library, or with similar settings, use Music Converter to process selected files or albums.

Bottom line: There's absolutely no need to rip twice!

Thank you both for your helpful replies. I now need to try it! I'll let you know how I get on.

Peter