rec.autos.simulators

I'm looking for a new CD Ripper.

For years (and years), I've been a registered, paid MusicMatch user.  I like
it mainly because it has very powerful ripping and conversion features, and
handles ID Tagging better than anything I've used.

But, MusicMatch has become a bloated, over-featured mess in my opinion.  It
is no longer fast, has bugs that causes it to crash at unpredictable times,
and is turning into a commercial pot-porri.

Time to move on.

I'm looking for a Ripper that not only quickly (and accurately) rips CD's to
WAV files, but has the following mandatory features:

1.  When ripping from CD to WAV, it must use digital error correction to
create absolutely perfect WAV files.  Some of my CD's are getting a bit
ragged.

2.  When ripping from CD to WAV, it must use the CDDB Database and name the
files in a format I specify, such as 'Artist - Album - Track # - Song Title.

3.  When ripping from CD to WAV, it must allow me the option of specifying
the directory structure of the receiving folder.

4.  It must have the ability to Batch Convert thousands of ripped WAV files
(as described above) from WAV to various other formats, such as MP3.

5.  When ripping from WAV to MP3 (or other formats), it must have the
ability to take the file name format (i.e. Artist - Album - Track # - Track
Title) and set the ID tags of the created MP3 to match.  Note - MusicMatch
excels at this sort of thing which is why I've stuck with it so long.

You get the picture.  Strong support of tag handling, and the ability to use
file name formats to generate those tags, is paramount.  The replacement
program must at least mirror MusicMatch's strong abilities to work with WAV
files (which contain no ID tags) naming structures to create the necessary
tags for other formats.

Thanks!

-Larry

The ability to work 'hands off' for batch ripping of CD's would also be
nice, as well as the ability to work with multiple attached drives.

For example, I have three CD/DVD/CDR drives in my machine.  I'd like to set
options, mash the rip button, and then just sit there feeding CD's into the
drives, with the program going from drive to drive and ejecting them as they
are done.  I would then remove the completed CD and replace it with a fresh
one, which the ripper would then get to as it finishes other drives.  I
don't want to be prompted unless a) all the drives are empty or b) there is
a need to resove a CDDB problem.

Thanks :)

-Larry

I'd suggest you to use Nero. It may sound odd, but it has the best mp3 encoding
engine I've ever tried, and it allows to do all the stuff you need. With one
exception:

Actually, turning a wav into an mp3 in nero is a bit tricky with older versions
(I think it involves recording a "virtual" audio cd with your wavs, and then
ripping it to mp3....). If the latest versions allow a direct, and maybe
batch-oriented conversion, then it is the program for you.

P.

Larry,

I think EAC (Exact Audio Copy) will do most, if not all, of what you need.  
Unfortunately, their main site seems to be down at the moment, but you can
plug the name into Google and find some alternate download locations.

--
Ped Xing

check out http://www.cdex.n3.net/ for more info

The nice thing about EAC is that it makes perfect copies. No need to
check for pops/clicks in the extraction.  This does make EAC extract
slower than others, but you always get a perfect copy.

Norman

Yeah, EAC is the king of CD-ripping.  Might be a bit confusing for newbies
although I guess it does have a pretty good setup wizard.  It's a tiny
program but has a lot of options.  I really like the CDDB options and the
file naming and tagging options.  Great for ogg vorbis encoding too.

In English, please...

Eldred
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You'll notice that some recent titles have music tracks ending in
".ogg", these are ogg vorbis files. I think both xmms (Linux) and
winamp (windows) already support this format via plugins.

Greetings,
Uwe

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-Larry

Thanks :)

-Larry