question for iTunes users

[cthomer5000]

do you have any problems when converting long CD's to MP3? Things seem to really slow to a crawl when an album is very long and has a lot of tracks.

I mean I'll go from tearning through an album at like 20X speed down to 1-2X speed. And only when it gets to the very high track numbers ~15+

Is this a known issue (i'm about to a do a web search), or some problem unique to my computer?

[Draft Dodger]

sounds suspiciously like it's more a function of your drive...but there are definitely better programs out there to rip CDs (Exact Audio Copy for one)

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

sounds suspiciously like it's more a function of your drive...but there are definitely better programs out there to rip CDs (Exact Audio Copy for one)

better how?

audio quality, speed, compression, interface?

I'd been using freerip until today (used it for ~35 gigs of music), and I'm actually pretty impressed with iTunes on first use.

[Draft Dodger]

I guess I should say I assume there's better stuff. I actually don't rip my own stuff anymore - it's easier for me to just DL it...

iTunes is nice, but, in general, I find programs designed to do a lot of things do them all pretty well, but programs designed to do one thing can generally do it much better.

[Hurst2112]

It sounds like a drive issue to me. I have used itunes exclusively since it came out for PC. I listen to a lot of prog (reeaaaalll long songs) and have not had any out of the ordinary slow downs.

I have found that my new mac (g5 with a gig of ram) does rip songs faster than my P4 but there are so many variables that I am not sure why it is.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Hurst2112

It sounds like a drive issue to me. I have used itunes exclusively since it came out for PC. I listen to a lot of prog (reeaaaalll long songs) and have not had any out of the ordinary slow downs.

I have found that my new mac (g5 with a gig of ram) does rip songs faster than my P4 but there are so many variables that I am not sure why it is.

If this thing gives me trouble while ripping Cygnus X-1, we're gonna have a problem.

[cthomer5000]

I will however crack open a bottle of champagne if the drive explodes while ripping Between the Wheels

[Hurst2112]

haha.

(For all you non-geeks out there...that is a Rush song)

[SackAttack]

I don't convert my songs to mp3, usually. I convert 'em to AAC instead. That seems to go faster, and since I just listen to 'em on my iPod, it doesn't matter from that perspective.

[Hurst2112]

Originally Posted by cthomer5000

I will however crack open a bottle of champagne if the drive explodes while ripping Between the Wheels

"You know how that rabbit feels...."

[Easy Mac]

I used Windows Media Player 10 the other day when I was making an MP3 CD from some of my CD's, and it took around 10 miutes for 6 CD's.

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I don't convert my songs to mp3, usually. I convert 'em to AAC instead. That seems to go faster, and since I just listen to 'em on my iPod, it doesn't matter from that perspective.

I bought my mom and iPod for her birthday and she has had problems ripping to AAC because the tracks skip. I fiddled around with her PC and couldn't fix the problem, but MP3s rip fine. Then I just got an iPod and have exactly the same problem -- AAC files tend to skip, but every MP3 is perfect.

ct, I have had similar problems with iTunes, but the only tracks I've had problems with have been long tracks (8 min +) at the end of a CD with a data track. I have two CDs from the same artist that end with long tracks and have a data track and both crashed on the last track. Audiograbber/Lame addressed the issue fine.

I am curious about ripping speeds. I'd have to look up my specs, but I have a reasonably fast CD drive on both my PC and laptop. I probably average about 4x ripping on the PC, 6x on the laptop. For getting 20x, what do you have to have? Is it also a function of file size? I rip almost everything to a minimum of stereo 128 or higher .

[cthomer5000]

It's ripping from a 48X CD/DVD. It gets that fast for stretches, but usually is ripping in the 8-14X range (iTunes lists the speed as it's ripping).

I'm ONLY having my problems on very high track numbers (over 15) on longer albums.

I'm ripping everything to 128 as well.

[Pyser]

i find any rippers get slow when songs get quiet. particularly, say, a 5 min stretch of silence before a hidden track. that kills rip speeds every time.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by kcchief19

I bought my mom and iPod for her birthday and she has had problems ripping to AAC because the tracks skip. I fiddled around with her PC and couldn't fix the problem, but MP3s rip fine. Then I just got an iPod and have exactly the same problem -- AAC files tend to skip, but every MP3 is perfect.

I've only had that problem when encoding from mp3 to AAC, rather than directly from the CDs. Keep in mind, any songs you download off of iTunes are in AAC. Have you had problems with those skipping?

[kcchief19]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

I've only had that problem when encoding from mp3 to AAC, rather than directly from the CDs. Keep in mind, any songs you download off of iTunes are in AAC. Have you had problems with those skipping?

None at all. That's what throws me for a loop. My mother's PC is the bare minimum required, so it could definitely be a resources issue. On my PC, I rip my files to an external hard drive connected via USB. But it still makes no sense that MP3s work perfectly and only my AACs skip.