CD Writer Wishlist

[cflo]

I would like to find a replacement for Nero, and would very much like to buy from dbPowerAmp's creators. My wish list is:

See unmapped Network Drives.
Allow to burn from lossless sources. FLAC is my preference. (I realize the people responsible for FLAC are responsible for the Nero plug-in.)
Allow a click on "File Type" in the file browser to reorganize files by type.

Thank you for reading and for dbPowerAmp, one of my favorite programs.

[Unregistered]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

If any of these things are possible, I would appreciate knowing how. Thank you again.

[xoas]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

I am not sure what you mean by unmapped network drive, si I cannot address that issue.
dCW (dBpowerAMP CD Writer) basically is an add-on to dBpowerAMP Music Converter (dMC) and uses dMC to handle reading and converting files. dCW adds to dMC the ability to burn files to disc and the ability to encode files to cda format from wav during the burning process. So if you are wanting to convert audio files to standard cd format dCW will do it for any format that dMC is able to decode. dCW can also create audio cd's in any format that dMC is able to encode. So you could create a disc of audio tracks all in FLAC format, for example. That is a little more complex but I could give you instructions should you want to pursue this option.
I am not sure what you mean when you ask about the browser being able to reorganize files by file type. You can selectively browse folders to look for a specific type of file (for all FLAC files, for example) by using the menu on the right side of the dCW screen. But I am not sure what type of reorganization you are asking about. If you could tell us a bit more about what you want to do, I could maybe give you a better idea of whether dCW is capable of doing what you ask.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Unregistered]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

Thank you for your reply, Bill. Yes, the conversion request was a product of my foolishness, as it's already included. However, I do not have the ability to only view FLAC files, but rather must move them to the burning queue by song when burning an album. Perhaps it is best if I try to explain with screen shots (apologies for the file size):



Whereas with Nero, I can click "Type" as I can with Windows Explorer, allowing me to select and move the entire album.



I keep my music files on a networked file server (Samba). I write to these network shares from my laptop with dMC/CD Input via "My Network Places," but cannot read from network drives with CD Writer unless the drives are mapped. I prefer to not do this since I use my laptop on another network and it's a slight pain. This is a minor wish, but a wish nonetheless. If I'm missing something, your help (and/or other's) is appreciated. Thanks.

[xoas]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

Your screen shot caused me to take another look at my dCW (I am using the current beta version). I see that my drop down menu by File Type does not show some file types I have installed (in my system it does not list wav, monkeys, aac or musepack, it does list wma, mp3, mp4 and ogg). I don't have FLAC installed but my assumption at this point, based on your screen shot, is that FLAC is not listed. So my apologies. What you can do at this point is to select your FLAC files at the same time by holding down the Control button. This is not as convenient as it would be if FLAC were included in the File Type drop down menu. Perhaps this is an area where Spoon might be able to a quick fix.
As I am very ignorant about networks I think someone could better advise you. It seems to me that if you have the capability to convert a file from your laptop to a folder on the drive you wish to write to using dMC then it seems to me that you should be able to burn the same file. If, however, you are not able to print a document from your laptop through a printer on the same network as this target burner drive then it seems to me that you probably cannot burn to the the burner drive. But again perhaps someone more conversant with networks can provide some advice here.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[ChristinaS]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

cflo,

With respect to the unmapped network drives for input files, are you perhaps referring to not being able to access your network folders because you are using the My Computer shortcut from your dsktop (as explained in the documentation) in order to select files and run dMC CD Writer? Well, all that is is WIndows Explorer, limited to My Computer.

You could simply use My Network Places and access your folders on other computers in that manner. This is Windows Explorer just the same and you can still select all your files and convert them or do whatever you want with them.

[xoas]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

Allow a click on "File Type" in the file browser to reorganize files by type

With respect to this quality, you can achieve this result if you use dMC File Selector to browse your folders for files to convert to cd. To do this:
Open dMC File Selecter (Start>All Programs>dBpowerAMP Music Converter>dMC File Selecter). Browse the folder structure to find the folder which has the files you wish to convert. Click on the button that says "Converting". This shows all the file types that dMC is set up to decode. The default setting is for all files to be checked. Uncheck those file types you do not wish to convert.
(A tip here is that you do not have to uncheck all the file types other than those you want to convert. Instead, you only need to uncheck unwanted file types that are actually in the folder you are converting from. So if you have FLAC and mp3 copies of the tracks you are converting in the same folder, and if you want to use the FLAC files to convert to your cd, all you have to do is to deselect mpeg-1, layer 3 (mp3)).
Then click on the converting button again and you will see only your FLAC files (or those files of the format(s) you have selected).
Then click on the button that says "Convert To". This will bring up the dMC window. On the top line it will say "Converting N files to". On the pull down menu on this line select "Audio CD" and then (assuming you do not wish to apply any effects) click on the Convert button.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[cflo]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

Christina, your soultion makes CD Writer effective for me. Most of my issues were involved with the dbPowerAmp CD Writer program itself (as a front-end, without using Explorer, as pictured in the screenshot above).

Bill, I don't have dMC File Selecter in my dBpowerAMP All Programs folder. Perhaps this is because I only have Audio CD Input, dBpowerAMP, Power Pack, and CD Writer trial installed.

Thank you both. With your help, CD Writer meets my needs. If either of you are developers (or Mr. Spoon, if you're reading this), using CD Writer as the interface for two of my wishes above, instead of Explorer and/or dMC File Selector, would be a welcome addition with a future release. CD Writer's fast start time and uncluttered yet informative interface are much better than Nero, my previous burning program. In that sense, it's perfect.

[xoas]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

cflo-
Spoon is pretty much the sole developer here (a few of the codecs have been developed by others). So he should get the credit.
dMC file selector is a free add-on module for dMC. You can download from here:

http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm

I do believe that the dB CD Writer will at some point have that extra interface you were talking about as it already has that capability built-in for several file types.
Best wishes,
Bill Mikkelsen

[Spoon]

Re: CD Writer Wishlist

Will add it ASAP.