Use DBPA for classical music w/ iPod, Squeezebox?

[Haydn]

Hello,

I am considering a copy of dbpoweramp to use on Windows 7, but I have questions. Please forgive me -- I am not very familiar with computer-based audio, so some of the questions may be overly simple.

1. I have about 2000 CDs + 30 music DVDs (higher resolution). I would like to rip them to both lossless and lossy versions, for use with Squeezebox and iPod respectively. Can this be done automatically when ripping?

2. Will the Squeezebox Server software scan and play the music files ripped with dbpa?

3. Does dbpa do some kind of library management for the ripped files? I have been using iTunes, which does. Though it's non-obvious what iTunes does with them, at least I don't have another thing to deal with. Or does one use Windows Explorer for this?

4. Can the dbpa-ripped music library be synced with my iPod Classic? How?

5. I have ripped several hundred discs already with iTunes. Because they are classical music, this involved hours of revision to the tags, which from Gracenote are terrible and inconsistent. Would I better off to rip them over again with dbpa or can the existing rips be integrated easily into the dbpa library?

6. Classical music is not well served by most programs. To group movements of symphony, for example, I generally create a playlist in iTunes for each multimovement work when ripping. That sometimes means several playlists per CD, and at other times, it means several CDs per playlist. How is this best handled in dbpa?

7. Can I tell dbpa to tag composers by LAST name, not first name? I really don't want Mozart cataloged under "W"!

[Spoon]

Re: Use DBPA for classical music w/ iPod, Squeezebox?

1. dBpoweramp will not rip the DVDs
2. Yes
3. No just ripping
4. iTunes should pickup the new music and sync
5. You can re-rip in dBpoweramp and potentially get better metadata (dBpoweramp can tag your classical files with 18 classical fields)
6. Best handled after ripping
7. There is AlbumArtistSort, ArtistSort and ComposerSort for these, but check the player can read those tags.