a different type of cds

[coonsanders]

hi
is there any other type of recording media other than cdrs where you can get more music on than 80 minates and play on a conventional cd player?whats it called?thanks

lenny

[Miz]

The only way to get more music, time-wise, on a disc is to burn mp3 files. You burn them as data files, not music, so the limitation is file size, not song length.

So the answer is, no, to play on a conventional CD player, 80 minutes is the limit.

[coonsanders]

hi
if i burn them as a data file can i use them to play on a cd player?

[Miz]

Only if the player is capable of playing MP3's.

It should say on the player or on its box or paperwork (or owner's manual if it's in a vehicle) whether it can play MP3's.

[giradman]

Originally Posted by coonsanders

hi
is there any other type of recording media other than cdrs where you can get more music on than 80 minates and play on a conventional cd player?whats it called?thanks

Hi Lenny - you've already received great advice considering using CD-Rs for music; I've burned a lot of these discs w/ MP3 files, but as stated, the CD player must be able to play these files - this option is now a fairly common inclusion in current CD & DVD players.

Of course, one 'other recording media' would be DVD-R - plenty of room for lossless music (such as WAV, FLAC, etc.) and a tremendous amount of storage for a 'lossy' codec; BUT of course you would have to play this disc on a DVD player - so if you really need to get more that 80 minutes onto an optical disc, then 2 options: 'Lossy' storage on a CD-R or 'Lossless/Lossy' storage on a DVD-R.

Dave

[coonsanders]

hi
ok how do i get more lossy storage on a cdr?thanks..

lenny

[giradman]

Originally Posted by coonsanders

hi
ok how do i get more lossy storage on a cdr?thanks..

Hi Lenny - not an easy question to answer in a brief post and will require that you do some web searching & reading; plus, I'm not sure 'how much' you already know?

Audio codecs are numerous - LIST HERE - now there are many 'Lossless Compression' options, probably the most common being FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) - however, on the average, a compression ratio of a third or so (depending on how the codec is setup) may be the maximum achieved which will not add much extra music to your CD-R; a lot use FLAC for archival storage onto a NAS or other external HD; plus, you need to make sure the equipment to play these files is compatible w/ the encoded music.

Concerning 'lossy' audio codecs, again there are numerous ones, as seen in the link above; I've used MP3, WMA (Windows Media Audio), and AAC (Advanced Audio Codec) - MP3 is the one that I use (or download purchased music) the most; you'll need software that can 'rip' music from a CD and convert it to the MP3 format (if that is the codec you chose to use?) - you may already have software on your computer for that purpose; if not, search the web for MP3 rippers. The degree of compression & quality are quite variable mainly dependent on the bit rate (higher the better but less compression) and the encoding algorithm used; bit rates that I usually use are 128, 192, or 256 kbit/sec; e.g. compression to 9:1 is possible - I've put 6-8 hours of MP3 music onto a single CD-R (lasts all day in a shop session in my basement!). Of course, playback equipment must be compatible w/ the MP3 codec (I use a $50 boombox in the basement). CHECK HERE for more on MP3.

Well, I'll stop w/ the above - good luck! Dave