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Topic: Best way to store music - DVD's ? (Read 3706 times) previous topic - next topic
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Best way to store music - DVD's ?

Hi, everybody, here goes my problem.
I have these audio files that i got from a pc satellite card, mostly from radio stations. These files are in .m2a format, which, i believe, are a mp2. format.
I can edit them directly in ADOBE AUDITION 1.5 without having to convert them first to wave format. ADOBE AUDITION 1.5 has an option in Multitrack View, which is "Audio from Video" that lets you edit mp2 files.
I don't know what are the output formt in ADOBE AUDITION 1.5, i presume it is by default WAVE format (Can somebody confirm it, please ?).
So, my first question is: as the source of my files is .mp2 format, there's no point to convert it to WAVE, as i won't get more sound quality. Am i right ? If so, it is better to keep the files in their original format (if possible, which i don't know) or in .mp3 format (for storage matters). The question here is to store the files with the minimum storage and maximum quality (quality is prior to storage to me). If all this is true,  how can i set output format in ADOBE AUDITION 1.5 ?
Second question, i intend to burn the files to DVD's with a DVD Authoring program. Do DVD Authoring programs burn mp2 or mp3 files ? Or simply wave ?
Please, do bear in mind that the goal is to achieve the best quality with the minimum storage.
Just tell me what would you do if you were me.


Thanks everyone,

J.Silva

Best way to store music - DVD's ?

Reply #1 –
I think that the best way to store your files depends on the use you want to make of the discs.

My case: macintosh computer, many cds are stored as 128kbps AAC in iTunes library.
I have the project to buy a MacMini for the living room, connecting the music library from the office.
So backup is just that: backup. As all the music in the computer is actually a copy of something I have elsewhere in CD, I don't bother with backups at all, but if i did, I'd burn DVDs with any DVD-R burning program, like Toast or the osx itself. I think there is some software called Nero to burn things on a PC...

Other case: any computer, and a home cinema that reads mp3s. With luck, this system will play also mp3 stored on a DVD (you have to try it) In that case, you may want to use the dvds to listen to in the living room. You can simply record DVD-Rs full of mp3s, organized the way you like them, maybe with some "par2" for data security. In that case, if you want to preserve maximum quality, try ABXing the original file and a file transcoded with LAME, at --preset standard (~190 kbps), --preset extreme (~220 kbps) or --preset insane (320 kbps, maximum quality). Most people cannot (including me) cannot tell a standard quality mp3 from the original.

Other case: you don't want to listen o the DVDs in a second time, they are just archives. In this case, as long as you provide some decoding software along with the music you store, you can store in any format you want. For instance, original .m2a with a copy of that program you use to decode, or a copy of foobar2000 if it supports those files. Or, that may be a better option, transcode everything to high quality musepack encoded, well-tagged with infos and tags, with cover arts and cuesheets. Some day players will hopefully support this configuration as standard. And foobar2000 already does, if you rip a cd in a full .mpc with a .cue, then foobar2000 will play the cue as if it was the whole disk, with the different tracks separated. Problem: INCOMPATIBLE with mac, at least for easy listening. Of course you can compile mppdec, but then where's the point in storing? With a 10% more space you can store mp3s and listen to them directly. Anyway, if you will live with windows forever, mpc seems the format for which the quality curve reaches "high" the earliest.

But the whole point of transcoding is:
if you can listen directly to the originals, then keep them.
else, you can transcode to insane quality <insert any format here> or lossless, so you don't lose much quality, and you can listen directly to it later.
else, you can decide once for all the quality threshold you can ABX music, then try different formats for the minimum bitrate. I bet on Musepack winning, but try LAME (mp3) and OGG, and AAC (Nero and iTunes can encode.

Then you fill DVDs with your music, and the PAR2 files too.


Beware: iPods and iTunes don't play AAC+ by Nero, but this is not high quality, it is acceptable quality for high compression, maybe I will not tell a 64 kbps AAC+ from the original mut much people will.

Best way to store music - DVD's ?

Reply #2 –
Q1: You won't get more sound quality by converting to WAVE or any other format -- the original is as good as it gets. 

Q2: How are you going to play back the DVD?  If you are using a standalone DVD player, probably mp3 is the best bet (many standalones play mp3).  If you are using your computer, leave the original format.  In either case, you would burn a DATA DVD.
 

Best way to store music - DVD's ?

Reply #3 –
Quote
Q2: How are you going to play back the DVD?  If you are using a standalone DVD player, probably mp3 is the best bet (many standalones play mp3).  If you are using your computer, leave the original format.  In either case, you would burn a DATA DVD.
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You need to ensure that the standalone DVD player can play mp3s on a data DVDR (+ or -). Most will only play mp3s on CDRs.

You would need something like Audio DVD creator in order to convert MP3s to AC3s, if your player doesnt see mp3s on a data DVD disc.