Scratched CDs and EAC Options

[actio]

but is there a free software that let me correct glitches outside eac

[Supacon]

This post is old, so not sure if I should start a new one now, but I'm wondering if anyone has experience extracting badly scratched CDs with Plextools, rather than EAC.

I've done almost 300 discs with EAC now, and I know, based on the logs, which ones are scratched enough to be very likely to have errors. Some of these CDs literally had to be ripped over a period of many DAYS!

I've played with plextools before, but i'm not sure if I can do image extraction with cuesheets in the same way EAC can. I actually do own a CD-Resurfacing machine (this one is a bit like an industrial polisher, you use wax with a couple of buffing and polishing wheels).

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the bad CDs I have have been DJed with for many years, and have holes and pitting in the topside foil layer. I can still rip them, and most of them sound okay, but there are a few that are particularly bad after extracted.

I'd buy new copies of these CDs if I could, but apparently they are very rare now!
I am actually willing to purchase a new CD-Rom drive that would be optimal for this... suggestions? Plextor Premiums, or their newest DVD-Writers seem to do well.

Any advice on software alternatives to EAC for extremely scratched CDs would be much appreciated.

This post has been edited by Supacon: Mar 22 2005, 01:38

[Eli]

Any advice on software alternatives to EAC for extremely scratched CDs would be much appreciated.

Have you tried Burst Mode? Its better for scratched CDs then Secure mode, but I suggest you use Shift+F6 for test and rip + AccurateRip (if your disk is in the database). If you get 2 matching CRCs your rip is accurate. I use secure mode to identify CDs with difficulty ripping then burst mode to get good rips.

[Supacon]

Eli: Okay... I know that on occasion, burst mode can work better for some CDs. I think that the ones I've got now are way beyond that, though.

There is pitting in the topside foil on a lot of my CDs. (I have no idea what caused this, other than general abuse).

I've tried Plextools, but using the highest form of error correction, it is extremely, extremely slow. The second highest is more reasonable. So far its results haven't been a whole lot better than EAC, but it can be faster, and produces more accurate logs. (Accurate to the point of being extremely difficult to review. Every single try on every error on every frame is logged... that means that some of PlexTools' logs are hundreds of kilobytes in length.)

I've read about Feurio, but so far, not much difference. It's faster, but I don't know if there are really any advantages of it over EAC burst mode... and I've also heard of BlindRead, which I haven't yet tried.

edit: spelling

This post has been edited by Supacon: Mar 26 2005, 02:18

[Eli]

In my experiene the error correction rarely/never can overcome certain errors. If they are as bad as you say and even your prof cd repair cant fix it I think the only solution is to look for someone else with the CDs

[Rotareneg]

I've got an old Art of Noise CD that's in such bad shape that the only thing I could find that could do a decent job of reading it is my Panasonic SL-SW860 with it's anti-skip on. My LTR-52327S and EAC can read some of the tracks ok, but most slow secure mode to a virtual stand-still and/or have terrible glitches in burst mode. I ended up just recording the line-out from the 860 onto my SBLive with Audacity which worked pretty well.

[Supacon]

Interesting idea, to use an actual stereo audio CD player, but not exactly an idea solution. Recording in analogue... ugh.

In my experiene the error correction rarely/never can overcome certain errors. If they are as bad as you say and even your prof cd repair cant fix it I think the only solution is to look for someone else with the CDs

You know what? I've actually gone through three copies of some of these CDs already. It's a big set, and many of the oldest CDs are very, very hard to find now because they have been discontinued. (Although I did buy the ones I could). They are compilations intended for DJs, so probably almost every one in existence has been used and abused likewise.

Maybe I need to find a DJ that was all excited, and bought this CD set, and then never bothered to find any work. Sometimes I can get lucky, and I'll have early track on one CD that is damaged, and a latter track on another CD that is damaged. Then I can use CoolEdit and stitch the two files together to make a kind of frankenstein CD image.

In theory, this should be identical to the original, because I specified the exact sample to cut from, and such. I felt like an amateur neurosurgeon

[PFS]

You know what?  I've actually gone through three copies of some of these CDs already.  It's a big set, and many of the oldest CDs are very, very hard to find now because they have been discontinued.  (Although I did buy the ones I could).  They are compilations intended for DJs, so probably almost every one in existence has been used and abused likewise.

You can always find a CD resurfacing place if it's rare and you can't rebuy it. Repairing (~$4-$5) would definitely be cheaper than rebuying anyway.

I totally intend to do this with my old "The Greatest Hits of Hance" compilation from '92. Definitely can't get it anymore and, oh, the nostalgia of my first CD. And did they ever know how to pick 'em...still sounds fresh today.

[PFS]

I've got an old Art of Noise CD that's in such bad shape that the only thing I could find that could do a decent job of reading it is my Panasonic SL-SW860 with it's anti-skip on. My LTR-52327S and EAC can read some of the tracks ok, but most slow secure mode to a virtual stand-still and/or have terrible glitches in burst mode. I ended up just recording the line-out from the 860 onto my SBLive with Audacity which worked pretty well.

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Man...the graphic hadn't loaded on that when I wrote my reply above. How on earth can anything read it at all? It looks like the actual data layer has a jillion holes in it...nothing can repair that.

[unfortunateson]

A little OT, but virtually my entire cd collection is scratch free. For the past few years, I've learned to buy a cd - rip to flac - then put it back in its case and never need to use it again. Ill just burn a copy from the cue sheets if i want to listen elsewhere.

[VCSkier]

A little OT, but virtually my entire cd collection is scratch free.  For the past few years, I've learned to buy a cd - rip to flac - then put it back in its case and never need to use it again.  Ill just burn a copy from the cue sheets if i want to listen elsewhere. 

i think most of us do this now (i actually perfer wavpack, but the general idea still), the problem is that weren't so wise from the start, and now our older (and generally rarer) cd's are damaged beyond repair. if i only knew about ha 5 years ago....

[Rotareneg]

Man...the graphic hadn't loaded on that when I wrote my reply above.  How on earth can anything read it at all? It looks like the actual data layer has a jillion holes in it...nothing can repair that.

That poor disk appears to have been through hell and back, both sides were equally scratched, and of course the scratches on the label side caused permanent damage to the data. After an extensive resurfacing with a "disk doctor" type tool I got the bottom of the disk half-way ok, and between the 40 seconds of buffering and the CD players seemingly very effective error correction it was able to play just fine. If I run a C1/C2 error scan on my computer it'll abort with an error.

[PFS]

That poor disk appears to have been through hell and back, both sides were equally scratched, and of course the scratches on the label side caused permanent damage to the data. After an extensive resurfacing with a "disk doctor" type tool I got the bottom of the disk half-way ok, and between the 40 seconds of buffering and the CD players seemingly very effective error correction it was able to play just fine. If I run a C1/C2 error scan on my computer it'll abort with an error.

Now THAT is exceptional glitch removal.

[Supacon]

I'm amazed if anything is able to play it without skipping all over, let along without glitches. Anyways, PFS, I actually OWN an industrial CD resurfacing machine. It's probably not the best one in existence, a bit like a motorized bench-polisher for plastics, but it does a pretty good job at removing scratches from the play surface.

Unfortunately, when I bought the machine (for this daunting job), I couldn't see how much of the damage was on the label side. It's nowhere NEAR as bad as that Art of Noise CD, but the same idea.

It's really strange though... you can tell after polishing the play side, that the remaining bumps and scratches are on the data side of the disk. But you can't actually see scratches to the outside of the label. It's almost like the scratches are from the inside out.

DJs often subject their discs to temperature extremes (up here in the great white north, especially). Could freezing, or heating repeatedly affect a CD in such a fashion? Or is it probably just damage from being handled?