Ripping from EAC is a given.

I am considering the following scenarios:

Scenario 1: EAC --> FLAC --> mp3 - This would store my FLAC files in one place (archive) and my mp3s in another

Scenario 2:
EAC --> LAME -->mp3 - This would give me high quality (fewer errors) mp3s?
EAC --> FLAC - This would provide me with archives


Scenario 3:

EAC --> LAME -->mp3 (Assumes no archival at this time)

My questions:

Assumming that I am ripping and encoding the entire CD, how long should it take each scenario from start to finish? (rip time & encode time separately please)

Is there any difference between Scenarios 1 & 2, and if so, what?



Thanks

do you not realize that LAME is an mp3 codec ???

LAME is MP3. So for the scenarios you indicated, you'd be going from MP3 to MP3 and that's never good. You'd only need to go from:

EAC > LAME. (uncompressed > lossy)
or
EAC > FLAC (uncompressed > lossless)
or
EAC > FLAC > LAME. (uncompressed > lossless > lossy)

As for speed, none of us can really give you an estimate of how long something would take you to do, as we do not know your computer specifications, and it varies from instance to instance; depending on settings used, background PC activity, etc.

If you post your hardware specs, we may be able to give you a rough guess though. Of course, you could always try it yourself and get the correct answer for your PC setup.

Ehrm... you do know that LAME in fact is an mp3 encoder? Or am I interpreting your question wrong?

I'd suggest for archiving: EAC --> FLAC

and for mp3: EAC --> LAME (preset standard)


dang... ArsonDragon beat me to it:)

Thank you for your comments.
The diagram was meant to express that the resulting mp3 is via LAME.
As you can see, by the number of posts that I have submitted (now three), the expression of what little knowledge that I may have may not be picture perfect. I have read many posts in order to try to gain a better understanding of the flow of the possibilities at hand.

You might want to consider using Mareo for ripping your albums to FLAC and MP3 at the same time, or any other combination of codecs.

Thanks!

I was asked to a VERY quick analysis for planning purposes and was instructed not to start on the project right away.

I will suggest that I take the time to run some actual tests.

In the meantime, I can provide hardware information in the event that anyone may be inclined to offer what I would understand to be ESTIMATED times.

P4 - 1 GHZ
512 MB RAM PC133
200 GB 7200 RPM ATA 100
Sound Blaster PCI 128

Also, for the EAC > LAME and the EAC FLAC scenarios, my understanding is that I may run as many simultaneous instances of this as I have CD or DVD drives. Am I correct?

Lastly, must I dedicate the computer solely to the ripping and encoding, or can run other apps while the ripping and encoding is in process?

All of this information will help me to know what resources (ESPECIALLY TIME) and hardware that I need in order to complete this task in the quickest and most time efficient manner. I have access to 8 computers, some with 2 optical drives in them so I might be able to run simultaneous ripping and encoding runs, given that I have appx. 1000 CDs.

Thanks again.

1000 CDs... ouch

if you're wanting both MP3 and FLAC, and only want to rip once, then my suggestion is play with Mareo. it's a commandline app that works like an encoder from EAC's end, but actually will encode to any number of files and formats.

so for example, in EAC it will rip a track, then go to encode it with mareo, and mareo will encode a Flac and an mp3 if you tell it. when both encodes are finished, EAC will start the next track.

this will speed things up considerably for you, and all you need to worry about is whether you want your flacs as 1 CD per file, or 1 track per file (i've no idea how to do a 1 CD flac but several mp3s without additional steps).

Thanks. Your suggestion is outlines my feeble attempt at expressing my thoughts.

Depending on the amount of time each of the two scenarios take, I will have to decide whether I break out each scenario as individual tasks. In other words, I may do the mp3s first, and then at some later date do the archiving with FLAC. If it is time effective (and if I can acquire another large hard drive), then perhaps I can do both and be done with it.

I went to the Mareo website. Great suggestion! In the event that I do everything at once I think that this is worth using.

The jury is still out on whether I will rip only once. I will have to do a time estimate and make sure that I have enough hard drive space.

Thanks!

I just finished ripping my CD collection, so I thought I would throw my numbers at you. Maybe it'll help you guestimate yours more accurately.

208 CDs ripped using Monkeys Audio codec = 75gb
MA is lossless, so could be comparable to the size you'd expect from FLAC (give or take)

I have a P4 1.7ghz CPU, 512mb RAM, 16x DVD-ROM, and I ripped/encoded around 9x, so each disc took somewhere between 6 and 8 minutes. Unfortunately I don't know if the CPU or DVD-ROM was the bigger bottleneck, so I'm not sure how much the 700mhz difference would change things.

How much HD space do you have available? That could be an easy way to pick a format (you may not have enough for 1000 lossless CDs for example)

I think I have a better idea for compression. Start off ripping to wav, get things done faster, use less resources. Then when you are done for the night, encode all files to flac/whatever while you sleep and move them out of the directory EAC rips to. I got about 100 CDs done on 2 computers in about 7-8 hours total this way.

wath the difference between

EAC -> FLAC -> mp3
and
EAC -> FLAS -> lame-> MP3


what the differen on going to mp3 or going to lame ?

are you cosnidering another encoder then lame ?

^no difference

well i ripped/encoded about 40 cds once - on an older 800 mhz p3 computer - together with checking the tags, reriping problematic files and burning resulting mp3s (with some pretty good teac drive) - in about two evenings (encoding went on over night irc).

p.s. btw i dont think you will be happy with ripping from 2 drives at once, better get some additional computers (what you need is a 'renderfarm' )

p.s.2. i would do 1 step at the time -

1st rip and encode to flac
2nd check the tags and ripping quality
3rd recode flacs to mp3

(p.s.3. what i miss in the usual process is simple wav lenght checker, i got songs cut of at the end several times, and i dont have a clue on how to check that via eac procedure thingy - so iam still not sure if i have to blame the ripper or maybe even encoder? - but again, thats only a problem when you have to rip several cds...)

BTW, based on the monkey information, it would probably take 400gb to rip lossless. Perhaps only rip really important/crucial to flac, or wait for another HD.

Ree,

Thanks for your comments.

Did your 6 to 8 mins include tagging? When is the best time to do the tagging, immediately after the rip or save them all until after all the CDs are ripped?

I have a 200 MB hard drive. Because I bought this one for $99 after rebate, I just may purchase another one if they go on sale again.

Mini

200MB!
Maybe it`s time to buy a new bigger one..

justo mikar,

Cool. These are all really great recommendations. I think that what I will need to do is to try the various recommendations and time it as an experiment. Then I can decide which one is best for me. I have 8 machines so I can do work!

Mini

OOPS!!!!!!

I meant a 200 GB Hard drive. 200 meg wouldn't get me to the corner!

Mini

smok3,

Thanks for your suggestions! I think that what I need to do is experiment with all of these methods to see what ones will work best with my configurations. I'm really looking for something that requires the minimum amout of intervention on my part. I really like the sound of the overnight encoding methods!

Having to attend to a system every 15 to 30 minutes would be disruptive. Once an hour is okay because I could do other things in the meantime. Being able to get certain things done during the day and then ALOT of things done overnight while we are asleep sounds good!

Mini

If you are only attending the system every hour, then you might as well encode then. Since the ripping will be done within 10 minutes.

About tagging: If you only want freedB info, then just let EAC tag it. If you want precise info then once you have a set of flacs encoded. Use a tagger (my recommendation is the godfather since it can get all music guide info) to tag and then rename your files accordingly.

If you decide to do the overnight encoding, then I would recommend ripping a good chunk and encode overnight. Then the next day, while letting CDs rip, tag the first chunk so you'll be at the computer and can insert cds when necessary (although I really don't know where all 8 of your computers are located). Continue until finished.

Also, if you are concerned with track quality and wish to check log files then perhaps this would help. Something I mean to do, but have not yet is write a program that would sequentially open log files with a naming scheme of log[x] where x is the sequential number and check for the line track qualiyt yy where yy is the lowest percentage you will accept. For instance I would set mine at 98 so anything 98 or below would be caught and output to a file with the album and track name. If anybody has better programming knowledge than me, perhaps they could look into this.

Sounds good! I think that Godfather sounds like the way to go. I code, so if I get a minute to write the program that you suggested, then I just might do so. If you will send me a log file, I can look at it to see how easy or difficult the format is. I think that you should be able to email me via HA. If you can't send me an attachment via HA within the email, hopefully it will reveal your email address so that I can then give you mine. If all else fails, you can try to PM me.


Best regards,

Mini

If you are going to use multiple machines, it might be a good idea to be picky about the drives they contain and only use the ones that are known to be satisfactory rippers. I would organize the CDs in a fashion so you could later tell exactly what machine/drive was used to rip them. In case after the ripping process you find that a whole bunch of CDs hasn't been ripped properly, you could isolate which drive caused the problems and you'd only have to rerip those. Keep the logs!

Thanks for the info. I've got 8 systems within 2 feet of where I am at, and they each have different drives. Is there a list of good or bad drives somewhere on HA?

Secondly, during ripping and encoding, can the computer be used to do anything else?

Ya, you can use it for other things, just set EAC's priority to normal or low. This won't even be a problem if you choose to just rip to wav, since it won't be needing cpu time to encode. If your drives are of a fairly good name, you should be alright. If you make that program then you can just check logs after the first night and see if it is a drive causing problems.

Cool! If I write the program, then I would be willing share it.


Mini