Newbie 2nd question

[PaulDF]

Hi again,
I have a high quality music system that includes separate 2-channel, hometheater and distributed music via a Sonos system. The wife and kids have Ipods and the car can do mp3s (don't think it can do Lame VBr). I have a LAN with 2 TB of NAS storage online so space isn't much of a problem yet.

I want to rip all my cds (300+) and be able to play them in each of the aforementioned environments which each have their own space/codec requirements. I have created separate folders for FLAC, WMA, AIFF and MP3. Should I copy each cd 4 times in CDRipper or just copy all cds into flac and then do some sort of huge batch convert into the other codecs? I'm assuming I can do that in DBP - right???

[Teknojnky]

Re: Newbie 2nd question

you could use the multi-encode dsp and encode flac and mp3 at the same time.

alternatively, you could convert afterwards, just right click the folder and choose batch converter.

the ipods should use mp3 just fine, and anything that reads mp3 should read lame vbr (it may not be 'gapless' playback).

for portable/car use, you could start with lame mp3 vbr with the -v4 setting which should get pretty high quality with efficient space, or you could move up to v3 or v2 with higher quality and more space. Its entirely up to you and your preference of size vs quality.

I'm not sure why you would need wma or aiff unless you were using WMP or itunes, and both of those can use mp3 anyway.

[garym]

Re: Newbie 2nd question

Yes. Rip only ONCE to FLAC (in my opinion the most flexible, supported lossless format). Make sure you have your tags, album art, etc. exactly the way you want it in FLAC files. This becomes your base archive. From the FLAC files you can create mp3 files, aac, wma, wav, etc. Essentially anything. You use the converter in dbpa (vs the ripper) to do all this. And you can point, click and convert lots of files without intervention (even with thousands of songs, you just let it run overnight). Your new files (mp3 for example) have all the tags, art, etc. and dbpa can use a custom directory command to put all these in their own separate, but well organized, directory structure.

I keep a FLAC library for home play (through squeezebox system) and convert to mp3 for use on ipods.

[PaulDF]

Re: Newbie 2nd question

Thanks I appreciate the info - I'm sure I'm just breaking the surface of what I need to know and will ask lots more qs in the future - so thanks for your help and patience!!!!

[LtData]

Re: Newbie 2nd question

First, rip to FLAC and then use Batch Converter to get to the other formats for speed using the Multi-Encoder.
Second, you would probably be better off using FLAC for storage, Apple Lossless for the iPods, and normal mp3s for the car.