westgroveg's EAC+FLAC image guide, See wiki for official EAC guides Options

[Sam_P]

For those having trouble with filenames after encoding to FLAC:
open the CUE file, look for "filename.wav" WAV

change .wav to .flac and WAV to FLAC and you're good to go.

Note that when decoding the flac, you'll have to change this back (or create 2 cue files).

I have 2 copies of my albums. One encoded with FLAC to listen to while at my computer, and another encoded with aps lame to put on my mp3 player. It works for me

[westgroveg]

For those having trouble with filenames after encoding to FLAC:
open the CUE file, look for "filename.wav" WAV

change .wav to .flac and WAV to FLAC and you're good to go.

Note that when decoding the flac, you'll have to change this back (or create 2 cue files).

I have 2 copies of my albums. One encoded with FLAC to listen to while at my computer, and another encoded with aps lame to put on my mp3 player.  It works for me

That's a good idea, when you want to restore the image you will have to change the extention back to .wav though. The MP3 CUE Winamp plugin worked fine with out having to do any thing like that though.

I'll add that tip to the guide also.

[mmortal03]

You don't have to change WAV to FLAC, just .wav to .flac. Also, once you do this, you can burn the cue sheets as is with Burrrn.

[westgroveg]

You don't have to change WAV to FLAC, just .wav to .flac.  Also, once you do this, you can burn the cue sheets as is with Burrrn.

Then you would have to download & install burrrn. I would like to make this guide as simple as possible with the least amount of steps & programs needed. This guide is targeted at novice users who want to get fast FAQ's on creating lossless images & start ripping without having to read a hundred threads & try a hundred programs.

This post has been edited by westgroveg: Aug 10 2004, 01:29

[svkelley]

I am just wondering for someone with hundreds of CDs to archive and not a lot of spare time, why they just wouldn't go the faster way of EAC+MAREO ( FLAC & Ogg Files). I not only generate the FLAC files but I also have smaller Ogg files for my portable player.

Sean

You don't have to change WAV to FLAC, just .wav to .flac.  Also, once you do this, you can burn the cue sheets as is with Burrrn.

Then you would have to download & install burrrn. I would like to make this guide as simple as possible with the least amount of steps & programs needed. This guide is targeted at novice users who want to get fast FAQ's on creating lossless images & start ripping without having to read a hundred threads & try a hundred programs.

[westgroveg]

I am just wondering for someone with hundreds of CDs to archive and not a lot of spare time, why they just wouldn't go the faster way of EAC+MAREO ( FLAC & Ogg  Files).  I not only generate the FLAC files but I also have smaller Ogg files for my portable player.

Sean 

You don't have to change WAV to FLAC, just .wav to .flac.  Also, once you do this, you can burn the cue sheets as is with Burrrn.

Then you would have to download & install burrrn. I would like to make this guide as simple as possible with the least amount of steps & programs needed. This guide is targeted at novice users who want to get fast FAQ's on creating lossless images & start ripping without having to read a hundred threads & try a hundred programs.

That’s up to you, If you prefer multiple files, sure MAREO is a good way to go.

Only thing is this guide is more for backing up not playback. You back-up your lossless, then transcode it to the format of the month for playback.

[kheops]

hi

is there an easy way in the flac frontend to load a cue sheet ? the" Cuesheet" text area where we have to write the full path isn't user friendly
i'm using flac frontend 1.7.1

apologies if i'm missing something

+

[westgroveg]

hi

is there an easy way in the flac frontend to load a cue sheet ? the" Cuesheet" text area where we have to write the full path isn't user friendly
i'm using flac frontend 1.7.1

apologies if i'm missing something

+

Just leave the CUE sheet name to CDImage (or always use the same name) & you don't ever have to change the path.

[Jud]

I just tried using this method, everything seems ok (FLAC doesn't report any errors) but the tags don't seem to work in foobar.

Foobar recognises the embedded cue in the .flac but each track is titled the same (just the name of the file).

Any ideas? Thanks!

edit > Or do I have to do this manually? Would be nice to have the frontend do it for you

Have there been any steps toward storing track information in .flac's with an imbedded CUE block? I know they avoided the issue officially (http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#gener...o_cuesheet_tags), but I was just wondering if anyone else came up with anything helpful for this problem.

[westgroveg]

I just tried using this method, everything seems ok (FLAC doesn't report any errors) but the tags don't seem to work in foobar.

Foobar recognises the embedded cue in the .flac but each track is titled the same (just the name of the file).

Any ideas? Thanks!

edit > Or do I have to do this manually? Would be nice to have the frontend do it for you

Have there been any steps toward storing track information in .flac's with an imbedded CUE block? I know they avoided the issue officially (http://flac.sourceforge.net/faq.html#gener...o_cuesheet_tags), but I was just wondering if anyone else came up with anything helpful for this problem.

Latest version of foobar FLAC component can now save and use metadata info properly with one file albums. It will store cuesheet with metadata in vorbis comment block and converts CDDB style tags to this new format on load. And if your file doesn't have CDDB style tags just copy paste the contents of your whole .cue into 'cuesheet' tag and make foobar reload tags.

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....topic=22990&hl=

Can anyone confirm if this is actually working?

[Jud]

Can anyone confirm if this is actually working?

I get this error when I right click on properties of a track and try to edit the Title (loaded the .flac only, not the .cue - loading the cue edits the .cue but doesnt add metadata to the .flac)

CODE

INFO (CORE) : location: "file://F:\personal\dj dara - the antidote\image\CDImage.flac" (1)
INFO (CORE) : attempting to edit file info : file://F:\personal\dj dara - the antidote\image\CDImage.flac
WARNING (CORE) : file info update failure on : file://F:\personal\dj dara - the antidote\image\CDImage.flac

anyone?

edit:
Sorry, I neglected to install the updated foo_flac.dll (http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/foobar2000/foo_flac.zip) It works great now.

The component saves a plain-text CUE sheet as a Vorbis comment (cuesheet=), not a bad idea but gives us redundant data, because indexes are already stored in the flac cuesheet block. In my opinion it's better than having an external cuesheet. Thanks for the link.

This post has been edited by Jud: Sep 4 2004, 20:30

[ted_b]

westgroveg thanks for your very informative guide. I have a couple of questions though.

- Do you save the .wav and .cue with the default name or do you give them the albums name?

- I have the same problem as Abomination. Foobar recognises the embedded cue in the .flac but each track is titled the same... is there any fix for this?

I'm not sure I am following this thread because you guys are very knowledgeable of the process but seem to be running into in issue about metadata in cue files (tracks, title, lenght, etc.) that is easily solved with freedb, either as you are ripping them in EAC, or later reading them in foobar (with foobar_freedb.dll).

Here's what I do (I need wav files for encoding in iTunes for my iPod; I need flac files to both archive and play in foobar):
1) Rip in EAC:
Follow same setup as most, create image and cue sheet, uncompessed.
Insert Abbey Road cd in drive and, when loaded, let EAC populate track names, etc through freedb (hitting the freedb cd-looking icon). I name the cue file "BeatlesAbbeyRoad" and it appends .cue and .wav of course to the two files generated.
2) Encode the wav file to 24 AAC for iTunes/iPod
Fire up iTunes and load the beatles AbbeyRoad.cue file into daemon manager (virtual cd drive) so iTunes thinks it's a cd. Encode away with iTunes.
3) Archive the wav files to flac
I use flac frontend and choose all the new wav files I've ripped (in this example, BeatlesAbbeyRoad.wav) and ecode to a "flac archive" folder on my 160 gig dedicated hard drive (drive f).
I also move the cue files into two folders, the same one on drive f "flac archive" (I'll be using these in foobar when I edit the cue file) and to a folde ron c called "decode" (where they will sit and wait for any later decoded flac-to-wav files; very small folder, 1-2k sized files each).
I delete the wav files that sat in the folder that EAC stuffed them in. DOn;t need them anymore.
4) Use flac in foobar.
BeatlesAbbeyRoad.flac is ready for use, and BeatlesAbeeyRoad.cue is not. I edit the cue file (that usually includes track info, etc from EC's freedb population) to simply change the master file name from .wav to .flac, and hit save. Foobar now gets the .cue file and it shows up with all the track, title, genre info you will need. HOWEVER, even if it doesn't (cuz you f'd up the EAC/freedb process or you want more info), foobar's _freedb.dll lets you populate automagically. Highlight the 14 tracks that now say BeatlesAbbeyRoad.flac (they wouldn't in this example cuz they have track names, etc. but humor me) and right click and go to "get tags". Freedb presents you with a number of freedb database examples for Abbey Road and you pick the one you like best and hit enter. The 14 lines of redundant file names automagically become an album.

I have a screenshot but don't know how to do images.....

So I have a flac file, a back-up (on an external hd) two cue files and a 224AAC iTunes album, all done with no manual entries and 10 seconds of editing

Ted_B

This post has been edited by ted_b: Sep 4 2004, 15:59

[cbope]

ISO vs UDF:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/allcam/cdformat.html

UDF is also used by CD-R and CD-RW in a process called packet writing that makes CD writing more efficient in terms of the time and disk space required.

I checked some other info from that website. I'm not sure I would give the author much credit for accuracy when I find something like this:

"If you wish to have two or more operation system on the same computer, such as Windows 98 in one partition and Windows XP in another partition; you'd better choose FAT32, otherwise you can not access the Windows 98 partition when you are running Windows XP, or access the Windows XP partition when you are running Windows 98."

Pure nonsense. XP can read and write to partitions containing Windows 98 that are formatted Fat32. Of course the second point is correct, 98 can't read (or write) to NTFS.

[Twinky]

I think for someone who has hundreds of CD's to rip/encode this is not a good process to follow.

At the moment (after much research and deliberation) I have configured EAC and MAREO to rip/encode/tag to FLAC and MP3 simultaneously whilst specifying separate file paths.

Once everything is configured this is just a ONE STEP process.

I then burn the FLACs to DVD(-R) as a data disc using Nero Express. Yeah, you can muck around with PAR2 but its not necessary with a HDD and DVD back up. There is a thing as too cautious.

Because of my settings (FLAC @ Q8/MP3 @ LAME APS) and system each album is about 12-15 minutes to rip/encode which may be too long for some. It did take a few weeks to do 230 CDs. I also did MP3Gain in 'album mode' to all MP3 files once I was finished ripping/encoding.

This way I have portable files and a lossless backup with the ability to encode to future codecs/formats. I would hate to rip the whole collection again.

If anyone could improve upon this process I would like to hear it.

[westgroveg]

There are many ways to skin a cat. Although this guide many not be the fastest, it provides users with the most practical freeware programs for creating highest quality audio back-up possible. you can't use Mareo to create an image & multiple wav files & why would you want to back-up lossless with a lossy format? doesn't make much sense to me. Anyway I think it's better for new users to become familiar with FLAC frontend because they will probably need to use it for other tasks too such as decoding, verifying & replaygain. I may add a section on configuring FLAC in EAC for those who want to simultaneously rip & encode.

And as the title of the thread says: EAC+FLAC Image.

This post has been edited by westgroveg: Sep 20 2004, 14:17

[Synthetic Soul]

I think for someone who has hundreds of CD's to rip/encode this is not a good process to follow.

At the moment (after much research and deliberation) I have configured EAC and MAREO to rip/encode/tag to FLAC and MP3 simultaneously whilst specifying separate file paths.

Once everything is configured this is just a ONE STEP process.

I then burn the FLACs to DVD(-R) as a data disc using Nero Express. Yeah, you can muck around with PAR2 but its not necessary with a HDD and DVD back up. There is a thing as too cautious.

Because of my settings (FLAC @ Q8/MP3 @ LAME APS) and system each album is about 12-15 minutes to rip/encode which may be too long for some. It did take a few weeks to do 230 CDs. I also did MP3Gain in 'album mode' to all MP3 files once I was finished ripping/encoding.

This way I have portable files and a lossless backup with the ability to encode to future codecs/formats. I would hate to rip the whole collection again.

If anyone could improve upon this process I would like to hear it.

• Why use FLAC for archiving? With 230 albums you could have saved quite a few MB if you used La, Monkey's Audio, or Wavpack
• When you are talking a single backup of all your CDs I personally don't think PAR2 is overkill. You say you have a HDD and DVD backup, but if your FLACs are only on DVD - the MP3 files aren't a backup, but an alternative

I do agree, when archiving 230 CDs that the process needs to be as automated as possible. I wrote a guide to archiving using MAC, TAG, and PAR2 to backup a CD. I have recently, finally, put this in to practice - with a couple of minor amendments. My batch files now move all files into an "Artist\Album" file structure after processing, and record each process in a single CSV file. This means I have a record of all CDs I have archived so far, against the DVD disc number (which I pass in EACs command line options). I was encoding as MP3 as well, but decided not to bother - I don't really like album MP3s - I prefer them split into tracks. It sounds like you are archiving track by track - I prefer a full disc image.

I think the point I am making here is: there are many ways to skin a cat

Edit 2005-01-13: Updated URL to blueyonder address

This post has been edited by Synthetic Soul: Jan 13 2005, 11:24

[Polar]

Why use FLAC for archiving?  With 230 albums you could have saved quite a few MB if you used La, Monkey's Audio, or Wavpack

With 230 albums, the size difference between FLAC -8 and La -high would be a lot more than "quite a few MB". It would amount to some 6 GiB.

It all really depends on what you're planning to use your archive for. If it's just as a life buoy to save your CDs from future wear or destruction, then La or OptimFROG would be your best bet. If you do intend to actually listen to the files, then go for FLAC or WavPack.

[westgroveg]

Added

- Comparisons links
- Other guides links

[Twinky]

Why use FLAC for archiving?  With 230 albums you could have saved quite a few MB if you used La, Monkey's Audio, or Wavpack

With 230 albums, the size difference between FLAC -8 and La -high would be a lot more than "quite a few MB". It would amount to some 6 GiB.

It all really depends on what you're planning to use your archive for. If it's just as a life buoy to save your CDs from future wear or destruction, then La or OptimFROG would be your best bet. If you do intend to actually listen to the files, then go for FLAC or WavPack.

I probably should have mentioned that as portable HDD players increase their capacity I will move toward using FLAC for portable listening.

Therefore, I will use my FLAC archive for back-up, transcoding to different and/or future codecs and possibly portable listening. In my case, FLAC is the best codec.

The other reason I don't like creating images is that I like to mix and match songs from different albums, create mixes et al. It's just too restrictive.

[ponchorage]

There are many ways to skin a cat. Although this guide many not be the fastest, it provides users with the most practical freeware programs for creating highest quality audio back-up possible. you can't use Mareo to create an image & multiple wav files & why would you want to back-up lossless with a lossy format?

And as the title of the thread says: EAC+FLAC Image.

I've created a program similar to MAREO that DOES allow you to encode to a flac image and individual lossy files. It is called Flacattack and you can find it at http://www.uninformative.com/flacattack for anybody that's interested.

[westgroveg]

There are many ways to skin a cat. Although this guide many not be the fastest, it provides users with the most practical freeware programs for creating highest quality audio back-up possible. you can't use Mareo to create an image & multiple wav files & why would you want to back-up lossless with a lossy format?

And as the title of the thread says: EAC+FLAC Image.

I've created a program similar to MAREO that DOES allow you to encode to a flac image and individual lossy files. It is called Flacattack and you can find it at http://www.uninformative.com/flacattack for anybody that's interested.

Added

-Other Tools subsection with a link to FLACATTACK

[Synthetic Soul]

I have sent a PM with the same message, but I never see mine, so:

Can you please change the URL for my guide in the first post to:

http://www.neilpopham.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/cd_backup.html

May I also take this opportunity to thank you for the reference.


Edit: I have seen your response to my PM. Thanks again. I guess it's just me then

This post has been edited by Synthetic Soul: Jan 13 2005, 11:28

[zilexa]

Why do you prefer to burn an image rather than ripping separate tracks and compressing the separate tracks with flac?  When using flac with EAC to make separate comressed tracks, it is a one step process resulting in compressed and tagged tracks.

I want to do this... just like with Ogg... EAC rips the CD and then convert them to FLAC... but wich flac encoder can be used for this?

I just want to insert CD, press the button and there it goes... just like using lame or oggencoder.
I really see no reason why to do it with sooo many steps and different programs... while ONE CLICK produces same result...
and since FLAC is lossless... it is the format that can be used to encode to whatever you want (ogg/aac/mp3) so no need for having the cuesheet/image thing.

This post has been edited by zilexa: Feb 11 2005, 12:01

[esa372]

I want to do this... just like with Ogg... EAC rips the CD and then convert them to FLAC... but wich flac encoder can be used for this?

Any version of FLAC should work with EAC.

Version 1.1.2 is the latest:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=31273

You can download it from RareWares:
http://www.rarewares.org/lossless.html

[zilexa]

I want to do this... just like with Ogg... EAC rips the CD and then convert them to FLAC... but wich flac encoder can be used for this?

Any version of FLAC should work with EAC.

Version 1.1.2 is the latest:
http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=31273

You can download it from RareWares:
http://www.rarewares.org/lossless.html

yes... but then, when I compress a wav file or CD... after cdextraction it is finished... the encoder stops immediately and no flac file is created... I use this commandline (from http://www.saunalahti.fi/cse/EAC/index.html):
FLAC:
3. Set file extension to .flac
4. Locate 'flac.exe' (version 1.0.4 or later needed)
5. Use command line -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

But even if I only use -T it also stops immediately!
using version 1.1.2

This post has been edited by zilexa: Feb 15 2005, 15:04