It appears to me that you have "ripped" the music file, but that it
was not converted to mp3. The player is attempting to play an mp3
(which is not an mp3) which is why you get the static.
According to ZDnet downloads there have only been 2,253 downloads of
EZ Audio CD Ripper 1.1
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3120-20-0.html?qt=ez+cd+ripper&tg=dl-2001
The program Description says: "Tracks can be extracted and saved as
WAV files or coverted to MP3, WMA files."
Source: http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2140-10150905.html?tag=lst-0-1
I think the problem may be that the program is a bit too complicated
for our purposes. I tried downloading the version on ZDNET to see if I
could reproduce the problem, but was getting horrible download speeds.
I also found that it has built in limitations: "Only odd tracks
ripped" until you buy the full program. Source:
http://download.com.com/3000-2140-10150905.html?tag=lst-0-1
May I suggest that you uninstall EZ Audio CD Ripper 1.1 and download
this program:
Easy CD-DA Extractor 5.0.6
http://download.com.com/3000-2140-10172876.html?tag=lst-4-1
This program has a 97% approval rating out of 337 votes at
downloads.com and has no limitations. If you like the program the cost
is $19.95 to get a full license. It will work with Windows
98/Me/NT/2000/XP.
I downloaded it myself to walk you through the process:
After the program has installed, click on Start, Programs, Easy CD-DA
Extractor 5.0 and then click on Easy CD-DA Extractor. (the other two
programs are to convert files from one form to another, and there is
also a program to burn mp3s back to CD format).
After launching the program, you will have to wait till the timer runs
out and then click on “Evaluate the Software”. Make sure the Music CD
is inside and then where it says “Device” at the top, click on the
Drive that has the music on it. Next you will want to check the files
you want to convert and click on Copy.
Now you can select which folder you want the mp3s to be saved in where
it says “Output Folder”. Make sure you save it to a folder that you
will remember after. At the bottom where it says “Output Format”
change the second box to the encoding rate you want to use (you might
want to use 128kbits/s. Click on Start Copying and wait for the CD
your mp3s to be created! Depending on how fast your CD-ROM drive is it
might take a few minutes.
Please tell me what operating system you are using and I will help you
configure how to choose the player you want to play mp3 files. If you
are using Windows XP, all you have to do is right click any mp3 file
and click “Open With…” and then “Choose a Program…” After selecting a
program you can click on “Always use the selected program to open this
kind of file.” You can use this method to assign a program to various
types of data files, not just mp3s! If you are using a different
operating system, the instructions for doing this might be different.
Just let me know what version of Windows you are running and I will
look up the instructions for you.
Please let me know if you need any clarifications regarding this
answer.
tisme-ga
Search Strategy:
Used zdnet.com and downloads.com to check ratings and number of
downloads for popular mp3 burning software. |
Request for Answer Clarification by
bbb-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 00:33 PST
Thanks! Now, there's one point to clarify first:
The program I downloaded was as follows (I've cut/pasted this directly
from ZDnet, to avoid any confusion. When you go to Downloads and
search CD ripper, this is the first you get--not EZ Audio CD Ripper,
but this one--I think I misled you with "EZ"--and as I indicated, this
has almost a million downloads):
Easy CD Ripper 1.53 pop
Save direct digital copies from audio CDs as MP3s, WMAs, VQFs, or
WAVs.
OS: Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP
File Size: 3.53MB
License: Free to try, $23 to buy 01/11/2003
Downloads: 951,206
I would never try a program with only 2,253 downloads! Even the one I
tried, with 951,000 was lousy and had miserable documentation, about 3
pages and insufficient.
I then tried CD Acoustica -- and got the same result: A file full of
static; altho this MP3 was only 6,000 KB instead of 35,000 KB.
I will try the program you recommend, and get back to you. I hope I
will understand how to enter "128kbits/s" at the proper time. (Is
there anything I need to know about such variables? One key point: The
only reason I'm going through all this is to put my own music up on my
website. (As a songwriter I won't rip anybody's CD.) Therefore: if I
need to create the MP3 files with any special characteristics so that
they'll play on the website, please let me know. In other words, when
you say "the encoding rate you want to use (you might
want to use 128kbits/s)" -- I hope that's correct (is that kilobits
per second?). I can't "want" to use anything, since the terminology
means nothing to me. It's a question of what SHOULD I use, and in this
case, what should I set to produce an MP3 that will play on the
Internet? I need someone to tell me. I'm sure the program won't
clarify--they never do.
Thank you very much for taking the trouble to download that program.
I'll try it now.
Finally: I"m running system 2000 now. I did have XP, which I replaced
because I was told it was unstable. (I was totally confused all the
time by the music players on the XP system, which did not seem to
behave consistently, though I know that's not what's supposed to
happen, so I gave up on actively expecting to play music; sometimes it
worked, that's all I know. The same thing happened with Windows 98.)
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
bbb-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 01:44 PST
Well, it appears I can't edit my comments once I do the rating...and
accidentally click on something, which I did...
I was trying to say "I appreciate your intelligent approach in
downloading that program and trying it yourself." PLease do let me
know about associating files with players, too. Thanks again!
|
Clarification of Answer by
tisme-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 07:01 PST
Hello bbb,
I am glad that my answer worked for you! The 128kbits/s is indeed
kilobits per second, it is just a standard encoding rate that is both
high quality but still does not take up too much space. If you
increase this encoding rate you will get a higher quality file, but it
will take up more space. If you decrease it the quality of the file
will go down, but it will be a smaller file. I noticed that the
program has an option for "Near CD Quality." I was not sure what the
encoding rate for this was, but it is probably close to 18kb/s.
All the best!
tisme-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
bbb-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 07:54 PST
Thanks for that final point on the bit rate. So I take it 128
kbits/sec is a good compromise -- just big enough for reasonable
quality. After that, file starts to get very big. And I take it that
this compromise should work well on the Internet.
Corollary questions: Is there any reason to "jump" to a higher
bits/sec rate, or can you kind of move up a litle bit and see what
happens? Is there any site you recommend that suppies this info?
Thanks.
bbb-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
tisme-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 08:06 PST
Hello bbb,
I think going higher than 128 is not really necessary especially if
you are posting the files on the internet. The files will grow and
more bandwidth will be needed to download them. I do not know your
specific needs however and you might want to go up or down. I have
done some additional research for you:
"Bit rates are easy to understand - the higher the bit rate, the
higher the quality will be of your mp3. The downside is, as you
increase the bit rate, the file size gets to be much larger. The
lowest I would ever recommend encoding at is 128 Kbit. Many people
call this "near CD quality." What I normally use is either 160 Kbit or
192 Kbit. You will definatly hear the difference when playing these
compared to a 128 or lower bit rate. True, the compression is much
less, but for the quality, it is worth it. It is very difficult to
tell the difference between an mp3 encoded at 192 Kbit and the
original CD - even when playing them on a high-end stereo system."
SOURCE: http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:dG-esqDmxC8C:www.netknowledgebase.com/tutorials/mp3_encode.html+mp3+encoding+rates&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
"Lower encoding rates yield smaller files, higher encoding rates
result in bigger files. For example, a typical 3-minute song encoded
at 128 kb/s will be around 3 MB. If you were to encode the same song
at 64 kb/s it would be 1.5 MB. At 192 kb/s it would be about 4.5 MB.
Audio quality generally increases at higher bit rates, but people
downloading songs with a dial-up modem will hesitate to download files
over 5 MB. Conversely, you wouldn't encode a great song at 64 kb/s,
because the end result would pale in comparison to the original. Most
MP3 sites prefer your music be encoded at 128 kb/s."
SOURCE: http://www.shure.com/support/technotes/app-mp3.html
"What are Kbps encoding rates equivalent too?
Bit rate Equivalent Sound Quality Mode
64kbps Similar to FM radio Stereo
128kbps Near CD Stereo
128kbps+ CD Stereo" (means higher than 128kbps)
SOURCE: http://www.silvermead.co.uk/mp3plus/guide.html
Perhaps the best thing to do is to try a few different rates and pick
the one that is at the lowest rates but sounds good enough for your
purposes.
tisme-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
bbb-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 08:54 PST
Many thanks!
Very helpful, very valuable. You went to a lot of trouble.
(Someone should put that info in tabular form....)
Are you a consultant? I believe you answered an earlier Google query
of mine, and said you were not. But I don't recall, and haven't
checked on taht...
|
Clarification of Answer by
tisme-ga
on
19 Feb 2003 09:17 PST
Hello bbb,
I don't believe I have said anything about myself. The other question
I answered for you was the "opening/converting old ".WPS" files in
system 2000..."
What I am is a Google Answers Researcher from Canada and I am having a
great time doing this. I am currently finishing my B.A. degree and I
want to become a public school teacher... (hopefully I will get
accepted into the schools I have applied to for September).
It is my sincere pleasure to help you and I want to thank you for the
tips you have given me as well. If you want to change the comments box
you can email mailto:answers-editors@google.com but I wouldn't worry
about it. All the best!
tisme-ga
|
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