looking up freedb when offline from the net

[kaycee]

hi all.

this isn't a dMC problem, but i'm sure some of you good people must have wanted to do the same thing i'm looking to do...

i want to retrieve the title details when ripping with dMC, but without having to be online to lookup freedb. there are times when i can't get dialup access cos the phone is busy. (yes, only one line here, no broadband and two kids who talk to their friends all the time.) is it possible to have a local copy of freedb on my pc?

under options > freedb server > select, it appears possible to have an offline freedb database: in default location "C:\freedb-win"

i looked on freedb.org, to see if i could download their database. if i read it correctly i can only have my own freedb database if i run linux. i'm no techie and i only have this pc running win xp professional, so that's a bit beyond my ken..

i'd appreciate any help, guidance or advice you can give.

thanks in advance

[dbample]

Re: looking up freedb when offline from the net

i want to retrieve the title details when ripping with dMC, but without having to be online to lookup freedb.

I have not done this myself, but here is what I understand is to be done.

Go to http://freedb.org/modules.php?name=S...ticle&artid=12 and read the instructions, including about programs that know how to uncompress a rar file.

Then go to say ftp://ftp.freedb.org/pub/freedb/ and click on

ftp://ftp.freedb.org/pub/freedb/free...051104.tar.rar

to download the rar-ed file to your desktop.

Then you would need a program that knows how to uncompress a rar file. One possibility is WinRAR, or your system might have a utility that knows how to uncompress it.

Lastly, put the uncompressed database in the place that is recommended so that when you are ripping a CD the program can find it and check it out.

[kaycee]

Re: looking up freedb when offline from the net

thanks, dbample

will give it a try first chance i get. if i succeed, i'll try to document what i do. i might end up with an dummy's guide to the procedure so the next newbie knows what to do. will keep you posted.

regards


kaycee

[xoas]

Re: looking up freedb when offline from the net

Kaycee-
There is another strategy.
The FreedB data that you acess through dBpowerAMP Music Converter is saved on your system. What you can do is to take a large number of cd's you plan to rip (sooner or later), connect to the internet at a time that works for you and family, open Audio CD Input and simply load each cd into your drive to generate the FreedB data for each disc. Don't worry about ripping-you can do that later when it won't compete with others' use of the phone line. The data you generate gets saved and you are thus generating your own database which will be limited your yor own discs but it will take up considerably less space.

Best wishes,
Bill

[kaycee]

Re: looking up freedb when offline from the net

thanks, bill.

i've started doing that now and it makes a big difference. with 600+ cds in my collection still to rip, anything that aids throughput is a boon!

i have a gripe (my own fault - i'm too pedantic) with the quality of some entries in the freedb database: mis-spellings, inconsistencies, etc. so i end up manually editing titles: about once per every three cds ripped or thereabouts.

my edits are rarely serious enough to merit posting to freedb (where they only create more data clutter for all users), but it makes it more time-consuming to rip masses of cds as a batch process. that's one reason i'd like to have ready local access to my own local copy of freedb.

thanks again & best wishes


kaycee

[kaycee]

Re: looking up freedb when offline from the net

yipes! have just started downloading the freedb rar file as suggested by dbample... it's a biggie - 350 Mb - and will take about 19 hrs to transfer. time for broadband, i think!