Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

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Ambassador Zot
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Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

Post by Ambassador Zot »

Hi,

I am new at using this software; bought it a few days ago.

I am recording in mono, native .amad format, 16 bit/44.1 kHz. There is only one track in the timeline when I record and edit. I have a MacBook, Core 2 Duo, running AmadeusPro v1.5 under OS X 10.6.2.

My Sound settings are set at Nominal Sample Rate: 44100 Hz, IO Buffer Size: 512 samples, Input: left, Channel1, Audio Stream: Stream 0x103, Logical Stream Format: 2 channels/32 bit, Physical Stream Format: 2 channels/24 bit.

I recorded the first two chapters of an audio book into separate files, using AmadeusPro’s native .amad format. Making corrections and cleaning-up the resulting audio is easy. Beautiful.

I inserted one marker at the midpoint of the first chapter, and two markers in the second chapter, hoping to allow the ability to jump at ten minute intervals during the playback of the chapters.

I prepared the two .amad files for a test recording to a CD by converting them to .mp3 format. This condensed them drastically. According to the “Get info” results; from 119.6MB to 21.7 for chapter 1, and from 157.9 down to 28.7 for chapter 2.

I joined the two mp3 files; Sound > Join Files . . .
and burned a CD successfully.

A marker was placed between each separate file by the ‘Join Files’ action.

When I open the resulting CD, I have five tracks in the .aiff format and they are listed like this:
1 Audio Track.aiff (127 MB)
2 Audio Track.aiff (113 MB)
3 Audio Track.aiff (107 MB)
4 Audio Track.aiff (105 MB)
5 Audio Track.aiff (104 MB)

The files went in as mp3’s, and came out as .aiff; What’s up with that??

The first two tracks are my first chapter, and as mp3’s they should only combine to be 21.7 MB, instead of 240 MB.

Tracks 3 through 5 are 28.7 MB as an mp3, and not the 316 MB they are as .aiff files.

Worse, in iTunes, the five tracks are listed as “Track 01” through “Track 05”, but only the first track will play. When I attempt to select Tracks 02 through Track 05, nothing happens.

Can you please tell me where I am going wrong?

Also, how can I name each track? And can I name the CD? I didn’t notice any opportunity to do that and the OS just generically tags it as ‘Audio CD’.


Thank you for your attention.

rfwilmut
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:19 pm

Post by rfwilmut »

Amadeus burns audio CDs; what you want is a data CD. You will have to burn that using the Finder.

Export your MP3 files to a folder on your Mac and ensure that they are exactly as you want them. Insert a blank CD - it will appear on the Desktop; drag the MP3 files to it. You can rename the icon just like any ordinary file. Control-click the icon and choose 'Burn CD'.

Note that the resultant CD will not play in an audio CD player, though some DVD players are able to handle data CDs. You can't reduce the file size of the contents of an audio CD.

(FYI: Amadeus converts any audio file to the specific format for an audio CD which will play in an ordinary CD player. When you load an audio CD on your Mac the Finder shows the audio files as being AIFF for convenience, but it's an illusion - on the CD themselves they are in the special audio CD format. These apparent AIFF files can be opened and saved in AIFF format.)
Last edited by rfwilmut on Thu Mar 11, 2010 1:36 pm, edited 3 times in total.

rfwilmut
Posts: 255
Joined: Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:19 pm

Post by rfwilmut »

..

Ambassador Zot
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:29 am
Location: Miami, FL, USA
Contact:

Post by Ambassador Zot »

Well . . . actually, I think I DO want to burn an audio CD. Why a data CD? Isn't the mp3 file format an audio codec?

My intent is to record an audio book that can be played in any CD player that can play a typical audio CD. I don't want to restrict myself so much regarding which CD player will be able to play the content.

Can I do that from within Amadeus Pro? If converting to mp3 is not the best way to do this, I wonder which format would be the best way to go? At least, from within Amadeus.

I'm not too crazy about the Finder's features for burning. If I have to resort to something else to get the results I need, I will do that if I must.

Thank you for your help.

CDJonah_alt
Posts: 379
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 3:57 pm

Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

Post by CDJonah_alt »

If you want an audio CD, the files _will be_ the uncompressed files.
There is no other choice. That is what audio CD players
expect/want/require.

Chuck

Ambassador Zot wrote:
Well . . . actually, I think I DO want to burn an audio CD. Why a data CD? Isn't the mp3 file format an audio codec?

My intent is to record an audio book that can be played in any CD player that can play a typical audio CD. I don't want to restrict myself so much regarding which CD player will be able to play the content.

Can I do that from within Amadeus Pro. If converting to mp3 is not the best way to do this, I wonder which format would be the best way to go? At least, from within Amadeus.

I'm not too crazy about the Finder's features for burning. If I have to resort to something else to get the results I need, I will do that if I must.

Thank you for your help.




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rfwilmut
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Post by rfwilmut »

Just prepare the audio the way you did before, put in the markers, and burn. Don't do the mp3 conversion, all this is doing is degrading the quality. Amadeus opens them back into uncompressed format and burns from there, so you aren't gaining anything and you are losing some information. MP3 files are compressed (reducing the quality in the process) so as to make them small enough to handle on the internet or portable mp3 players.

Ambassador Zot
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Location: Miami, FL, USA
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Post by Ambassador Zot »

So, .aiff is a good choice for the codec I want to use for burning my audio files so they can be read by a "generic" CD player?

I think I am going to have to knock down the sampling rate. That will shrink the file size, won't it?

And if I want to distribute the audio as mp3's, they have to be played on a computer, right?

Have I got this straight now?

philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

Post by philxm »

So, .aiff is a good choice for the codec I want to use for burning my audio
files so they can be read by a "generic" CD player?

I think I am going to have to knock down the sampling rate. That will shrink
the file size, won't it?
When burning an audio CD (as opposed to data CD), filesize is
inconsequential. What does matter is total playing time, which for most CDs
cannot exceed 80 minutes.

So, you'd do best to NOT downsample, which would only degrade your audio
without providing any benefit. Then, if your material exceeds the 80:00 max,
either edit what you've got so it fits, or use more CDs.

I hope this helps,
--Phil M.


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CDJonah_alt
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Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

Post by CDJonah_alt »

Not really -- CDs are 44 khz, stereo, "aiff" -- 74/80 minutes playing
time. End of story.

If you distribute them on mp3s, they will be readable on some/most
modern CD players; my car does do mp3s, my home cd player does not.
People can also easily transfer them to an mp3-type player, (ipod or any
similar device).

Chuck

(the quotes on aiff are because what is on a CD, an aiff file and a wav
file are all intimately related, but not the same.)

Ambassador Zot wrote:
So, .aiff is a good choice for the codec I want to use for burning my audio files so they can be read by a "generic" CD player?

I think I am going to have to knock down the sampling rate. That will shrink the file size, won't it?

And if I want to distribute the audio as mp3's, they have to be played on a computer, right?

Have I got this straight now?




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Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division
9700 S. Cass Avenue
Argonne, IL 60439
630-252-3471 CDJonah@anl.gov

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supergimp
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Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 9:20 pm

Files burn to CD in .aiff format, not as .mp3

Post by supergimp »

Audio CD's by definition are 44kHz, 16-bit. They can only fit around 70 minutes of audio. Period. Anything else won't play in a normal good-old-fashioned CD player.


Steve



On Mar 11, 2010, at 9:29 AM, Ambassador Zot wrote:
So, .aiff is a good choice for the codec I want to use for burning my audio files so they can be read by a "generic" CD player?

I think I am going to have to knock down the sampling rate. That will shrink the file size, won't it?

And if I want to distribute the audio as mp3's, they have to be played on a computer, right?

Have I got this straight now?




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Ambassador Zot
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Location: Miami, FL, USA
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Post by Ambassador Zot »

OK; got it. Thanks for the tutorial.

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