[trains are bad]

EAC doesn't want to work on my computer, and I have a whole stack of CD s that need ripped. Can I just use Itunes or WMP to rip them? I mean would the Hifi gods strike me down or what.

From what I understand EAC is just a ripping program, just a 'really good one' but if someone could quantify that I would appreciate it.

 

[BillC]

The difference in EAC and other rippers is recognizing and dealing with errors. Audio streams coming from your CD drive are handled differently than a typical data transfer. Priority is given to keeping the stream filled. So if there is an error in reading the data from the CD some value is dropped into the stream and the drive keeps going. With EAC, that error is recognized and the drive tries again to read the CD. With CDs that are in good condition there may not be many (any?) errors so it might not be a big deal.

I have a lot of CDs that I'm ripping, and I don't want to do it twice. So I rip to lossless and try to get a bit perfect rip. EAC is pretty slow with my drive, so I tend to use dbPowerAMP with the AccurateRip add-on. This compares my rip with other peoples rips in an online database. If the rips are identical (based on a checksum) you can assume that they're good. If the CD isn't in the database or the checksums don't match (could be a different pressing of the CD), I'll rip it again and compare locally. If the two local rips don't match, then I'll rip with EAC.

Whether this is obsessive, good practice or not rigorous enough is up to you to decide.

 

[patricklang]

I tried AccurateRip for a while and was convinced it was bunk, I really think a large portion of the database entries are wrong. Few of my CD's matched, even after going through the process of calculating offset by matching several cd's in their database.

I've been pleased with j.River Media Center's secure rip feature. It has error correction with support from the drive, and has ripped everything I've thrown at it so far that EAC did, but faster. I had strange issues with EAC sometimes swapping channels in the middle of a song, and have not come across with with secure rip yet. It will give you a list of suspect areas in a song where errors were detected, so you can go back and listen to those portions easily.

It's not a free package, but its worth it to me because the hassle is greatly reduced over EAC, and the tagging and organization are excellent. The authors are responsive on their forums and have fixed the minor UI bugs I've reported.

 

[johto]

Using EAC is actually very easy and hassle free after you get past the initial setup(EAC+Lame+settings)

 

[Asmo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by trains are bad EAC doesn't want to work on my computer, and I have a whole stack of CD s that need ripped. Can I just use Itunes or WMP to rip them? I mean would the Hifi gods strike me down or what. From what I understand EAC is just a ripping program, just a 'really good one' but if someone could quantify that I would appreciate it.

What is the problem with it getting to work?

Does it not work with your CDROM? Maybe if EAC isn't working, its a sign of a problem with your CD reading device.

 

[trains are bad]

When I downloaded it and installed it it popped up an error message and that was that. I never ever got to see the inteface. I'm running XP pro in an acer laptop with dvd dual layer burner combo drive.

One thing is for sure, I'm getting tired of switching CDs!