Which Product is Right for Me?

[neal]

Hello all. I've used a few versions of dBpowerAMP over the years, previously registered, lost the info, but that's OK-I'm ready to put down $. Hats off to Spoon and all the support/moderation team who help make a fine product.

I don't find a short answer to this question, namely, I own a couple of older creator programs (Roxio 6, Nero 6) and have a few other tools in the shed to make files and disks. I recently converted files during my 30 day trial period, and dBpA worked great for me. I know I need the entire functionality of dBpowerAMP including the Auxilliary Input...but is that entirely bundled in the product of the CD Writer? How is Writer a superior product to my current tools? Conversely, is there something that Converter does, that Writer doesn't? Is the MP3 splitter done? How does the function of the player tie in to the first two?

The Wikipedia entry for dBpowerAMP makes things about as clear as mud...and in this site's forums I found Spoon's entry that the converter will be upgraded to 11.5 in the CD writer, but as a newbie it's not at all clear to me if the converter program is entirely bundled in the writer.

Sveta seems straight forward enough, but if I buy another product first, will that power pack then work in Sveta? And have all products been bundled into one purchase, as previously considered?

I first converted MP3 and ra streams into wav files for making disks that will play in my wife's car CD player. I'm starting with files over 160k rates, so quality is OK-these are spoken word files. That's easy enough, but an MP3 splitter would greatly help for files longer than 80 min. The Auxilliary Input functions are great for setting start and stop times on a conversion recording, but a little more product description and comparison would help me decide what I need. I'll add other codecs as I use them...this is a big pond with lots to learn. Can't wait!

Thanks for your responses in advance. It will be most helpful to consider which features are in which products, any overlap, and then perhaps put this thread in the FAQ forum. Maybe even post a condensed version of 'which product is right for me' in the product description area.

[xoas]

Re: Which Product is Right for Me?

I know I need the entire functionality of dBpowerAMP including the Auxilliary Input...but is that entirely bundled in the product of the CD Writer?

If you buy CD Writer "Fully Loaded", this will include dMC (dBpowerAMP Music Converter) and the registered Power Pack. The standard CD Writer does not include the power pack or dMC. (It is meant for people who already have dMC. I do not think it will work on its own unless you have dMC).

How is Writer a superior product to my current tools?

I think the biggest advantage of dCW (dBpowerAMP CD Writer), is its ability to handle a wide number of formats. Others might find other features more compelling.
A major drawback is that it cannot create gapless CDs.

Conversely, is there something that Converter does, that Writer doesn't?

The converter (dMC) is used for ripping, recording (through Auxilary Input which is now part of the main package), and converting audio to a variety of formats. dCW builds on dMC by including provisions for burning either standard audio CDs or disks in any of the supported audio formats (so you can create disks of mp3, wma, ogg vorbis, FLAC, Monkeys, etc tracks, either for a player that can read such a disk or for archival purposes). dCW does not acutally do the converting, it relies on dMC for this (as I understand it anyway). However, you do not need to activate dMC in any formal sense, it will do its work in the background.

Is the MP3 splitter done?

No.

How does the function of the player tie in to the first two?

dBpowerAMP Audio Player ties into dMC (the converter) by being able to access and play tracks in any of the formats that dMC can handle. It adds a powerful music library tool (My Music Collection) that helps store audio files on your computer (whether they were added/created by dMC or by some other program).

as a newbie it's not at all clear to me if the converter program is entirely bundled in the writer.

Last I knew, the Fully Loaded dCW had dMC r11.2. Assuming that has not changed, you can still download and install dMC r11.5 (the current version) free. You do not need Power Pack for dMC or dCW, although without the power pack you will not be able to rip or convert to mp3 format, and the Power Pack includes a variety of other useful features, including various DSP effects.

if I buy another product first, will that power pack then work in Sveta? And have all products been bundled into one purchase, as previously considered?

If you have already registered the Power Pack, then it will make the Power Pack features for Sveta available when you install Sveta. No, there is, as yet, no bundle that includes dMC, Power Pack, CD Writer and Sveta, nor is the dB Audio Player in any bundle with any of these.

The Auxilliary Input functions are great for setting start and stop times on a conversion recording, but a little more product description and comparison would help me decide what I need.

As I previously mentionned, Auxilary Input (and File Selector also) are now included in dMC (dBpowerAMP Music Converter). So check up on the Help files for Auxilary Input to review more about how to use it.

I've used a few versions of dBpowerAMP over the years, previously registered, lost the info

You can follow this link to re-register, if you care to any of the programs you had previously boought and registered:

http://forum.dbpoweramp.com/showthread.php?t=8246

Best wishes,
Bill

[LtData]

Re: Which Product is Right for Me?

The CD Writer will function on its own, but it will not be able to burn mp3 CDs without a registered dMC Installation I believe. Do remember that dCW will always add a 2-second gap between tracks when burning an audio CD. This is a limitation of the CD writing libraries Spoon is using and he have no control over it.

dAP is a free audio player. dMC is the file conversion utility. Sveta is for transferring files to portable devices. dCW is for burning audio CDs or file CDs of any time (with the note about mp3 CDs above).

If you previously purchased the PowerPack before version 11 was released, you are entitled to both a registered install of dMC and Sveta. Note that before version 11, the price was $20 and after r11 it was $14.

The mp3 splitter will be forthcoming with dMC r12, which is in early alpha now.

[neal]

Re: Which Product is Right for Me?

Thanks to both of you! Each answer gave me pieces of the puzzle. dCW has a very basic GUI, but it's best for a wide variety of file types.

I found a couple of freeware file splitters...now, if I can just think of something for that Wiki entry...