Batch Ripper and Macs (macOS)

[somanycds]

I'm planning to purchase a Nimbie NB21-DVD to rip my CD collection (and of course, buy dBpoweramp).

1) I noticed that all of the drivers for dBpoweramp Batch Ripper (https://www.dbpoweramp.com/batch-ripper.htm) are for Windows, but I have a Mac.

Are the dBpoweramp drivers not necessary for a Mac and a Nimbie?

Also - the Nimbie manual says the device is supported on Macs, but it also mentions the need for a plugin of theirs called "QQGetTray" (this triggers the autoloader to swap discs when an "eject" command is sent from software) but that appears to be obsolete (says it's required for an 11-year-old version of macOS), and is not even offered anymore on their website. Does dBpoweramp communicate with the Nimbie and a modern macOS version without any drivers?

If no drivers are needed, do I just set dBpoweramp's settings as described on the Batch Ripper page (but I don't need any software drivers)?


2) I have well over 400 CDs. In the feature list for Batch Ripper it says "Highest quality metadata providers: AMG & GD3 (non-commercial access is restricted to 400 lookups in AMG, GD3 not included)." Do I even need this "Batch Ripper" functionality enabled to use the Nimbie autoloader, if I just am doing one disc at a time (using just one Nimbie autoloader)? I don't want to pay a ton of money to get my tracks properly named, per-disc seems like a commercial license...? I don't care about getting artwork, I just want my tracks tagged and named properly (I plan to rip to AIFF).

Thank you!

[Spoon]

We have no batch ripping on macOS, sorry.

[somanycds]

I don't need any of the special "batch ripping" features.

All I need is for dBpoweramp to send a command to eject a disc when it's done, like it would for any other CD drive. The autoloader will interpret that to eject the disc, and insert another.

I just want to make sure that this will work. I know that the Nimbie works with Apple Music (aka iTunes) this way. If dBpoweramp will work with the Nimbie in its standard mode, the same way it works with any other drive, then I'm good!

Sounds like you're saying that the "batch ripping" function doesn't work, but that's ok, as long as dBpoweramp can treat the Nimbie like any other drive ("import and eject") then I'm good.

Please confirm... thank you!

[Spoon]

It will not work because our metadata licenses do not allow auto ripping with CD Ripper, it will not auto start to rip.

[somanycds]

I prefer not to, but I can get a Window machine. If I do that, do I *have* to use the Batch Ripper plugin with the Nimbie NB21? Asking because I don't care about any of the "advanced" features of Batch Ripper, I just want the ability to load up a stack of discs and walk away BUT I don't want to pay license fees after 400 discs. Or maybe I read your notes wrong, the 400 free lookups is limited to AMG?

The Nimbie plugin "QQGetTray" for Windows looks like it just triggers the autloader to pay attention to the eject command from software.

Per the documentation: "QQGetTray can automate Windows Media Player or iTunes to rip/convert multiple music or audio CDs to mp3 files, eliminating the trouble of feeding CDs one by one." https://disc.acronova.com/howto/article/16/review.html

So with that installed, would I still need to use the Batch Ripper plugin (which seems to trigger the 400 disc license limit, which manual loading does not have)? Seems like dBpoweramp could just send the eject command like it would to any other CD player, and the Nimbie could interpret that properly... I mean, that's what the documentation for QQGetTray says it does.

Thank you again for your guidance. I haven't purchased anything yet (hardware or software) so I'm open to any decent solution for me to rip my library of about 4000 CDs.

[somanycds]

OK so it seems that it's a licensing limitation; if dBpoweramp sees an autoloader, even though it could work with it, it's set to only with with Batch Ripper installed. (I was confused as to why it wouldn't work without the Batch Ripper plugin, when the Nimbie can handle a standard eject/insert command, but now I know it's just a license limitation.)

If I do need to use Batch Ripper, I guess I could use a completely free services for metadata like Musicbrainz. That's probably the solution for me that solves my concern about cost.

If I don't care about artwork, do you have a recommendation on one free metadata service over another?

It seems I need to buy:

Autoloader (Nimbie NB21-DVD)
dBpoweramp
PerfectTUNES (just for deduping, I won't need it for AccurateRip since that's part of dBpoweramp)
Windows computer

Workflow:
Capture as AIFF so I have the best copy to always be able to go back to (I have a ton of storage space).
Convert to AAC 320 with VBR for streaming via my Plex server.

If this is all correct, I'll start buying everything today!

Thank you.

[Spoon]

Looks right to me