Hydrogenaudio Knowledgebase - User contributions [en]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-05-07T21:35:37Z

Philbar: /* EAC Options */

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis files work by removing part of the data using [[Psychoacoustics]] and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of your drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked ([http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Exact_Audio_Copy#Track_synchronization_technology See here])
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''". If the option isn't available, install [http://www.nero.com/nero7/enu/ASPI_Driver.html Nero's ASPI Driver].

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-04-24T02:57:05Z

Philbar:

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis files work by removing part of the data using [[Psychoacoustics]] and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of your drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''". If the option isn't available, install [http://www.nero.com/nero7/enu/ASPI_Driver.html Nero's ASPI Driver].

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

User talk:HotshotGG

2007-03-24T07:22:43Z

Philbar: /* Lossless Backup of CDs */

==Lossless Backup of CDs==
The guide is suppose to serve as the easiest way to achieve a perfect 1:1 copy of a CD which can be used practically. The article only uses EAC because EAC happens to be the best program for the job. These types of guides serve as a tutorial to accomplish a certain task and are not manuals explaining how to use a program. It was my intent to avoid using program names in the title because it's not about the program...it's about the technique. [[User:Philbar|Philbar]] 02:22, 24 March 2007 (CDT)

==Blog==

Thanks --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:10, 29 November 2006 (CDT)

Thanks for clearing up my pages. I like your bio and taste in music... --[[User:Icheyne|Icheyne]] 03:48, 29 November 2006 (CST)

2006-04-06 22h43 Norz: Hi! Best wishes to you & Vorbis! :)

==Deletion Articles==

So, my templates that the community has mostly used and help give an overview of articles are "stupid". Okay, fair game. The articles [[Ableton Live]], [[Ardour]]... are stupid. Stop making them.

Polite, isn't it? {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 03:22, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

They are "stupid" in a sense that HA does no co-exist on the large scale that wikipedia does. Some of your templates are useful, but we have no use for your templates and the fact that you wish to enforce them on others. This is the only way you are making contributions to the wiki. Quite frankly it's annoying our wiki editors, my self included. Maybe you care to actually write some pages? yes? When Beto contributed the Software Infobox to the community he did it out of necessity. HA does not run things in the same manner the way wikipedia does. It's based upon the best interest of the community at hand. Are References necessary for pages? yes? can we expand the wiki based upon the particular interest of the community as a whole? yes? we can. Do we need to strictly enforce rules on a grand scale? no. There are only four to five dedicated user that make contributions to our wiki anyhow do the due to the time needed and the technical skills required to translate complicated matters into plain english. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:19, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

[http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Special%3AContributions&offset=0&limit=50&target=Elliottmobile&namespace=0 A list of all my article-only contributions.] All I contribute is templates, now? {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 14:59, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

You are just moving stuff around and maintaining things from what I can tell by those edits. You are just contributing to the templates/maintenence nothing else. If you are only job is police the wiki like, such expect to recieve more critisism. You single handledly violated the wiki policy anyway, by interjecting personal opinion into a page that was unecessary. Save your opionions for your own personal user page and respect other people space. Once you have done so I will be a little more polite. I think a few others would agree. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 17:25 2 October 2006 (CDT)

#That was before policy even existed here.
#Point me to the mystical "few others" you talk about, please.
{{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 06:02, 3 October 2006 (CDT)

Canar for example. It's very simple stay off my case and don't violate your own policies. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:26, 4 October 2006 (CDT)

Apart from you, there's Canar. So, other, not others. {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 03:41, 4 October 2006 (CDT)

I am through aruging about this, but the bottom line is you don't run this wiki. Jan is the only adminstrator here in charge of it. Stop being a pompous asshole acting like you do. It's a community wiki. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:19, 6 October 2006 (CDT)
:But isn't it funny how you force your viewpoint, contradicting yourself? Community wiki, indeed. {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 06:03, 7 October 2006 (CDT)

I don't force my viewpoints on anyway. If they agree with me then it stands. I reserve that right, because I make major conntributions. If they don't agree with me they can fix or adjust the pages. Jan reserves that right too, he's the admin. Populean reserves that right as well, because he is a major contributer. You don't deserve any right, because you haven't made any significant contributions, you violate your own policies, and you edit this wiki like it's your own. You make more work for everyone else. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 14:06, 8 October 2006 (CDT)

User talk:HotshotGG

2007-03-23T23:29:05Z

Philbar: /* Blog */

==Lossless Backup of CDs==
The guide is suppose to serve as the easiest way to achieve a perfect 1:1 copy of a CD which can be used practically. The article only uses EAC because EAC happens to be the best program for the job. These types of guides serve as a tutorial to accomplish a certain task and are not manuals explaining how to use a program. It was my intent to avoid using program names in the title because it's not about the program...it's about the technique.

==Blog==

Thanks --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:10, 29 November 2006 (CDT)

Thanks for clearing up my pages. I like your bio and taste in music... --[[User:Icheyne|Icheyne]] 03:48, 29 November 2006 (CST)

2006-04-06 22h43 Norz: Hi! Best wishes to you & Vorbis! :)

==Deletion Articles==

So, my templates that the community has mostly used and help give an overview of articles are "stupid". Okay, fair game. The articles [[Ableton Live]], [[Ardour]]... are stupid. Stop making them.

Polite, isn't it? {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 03:22, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

They are "stupid" in a sense that HA does no co-exist on the large scale that wikipedia does. Some of your templates are useful, but we have no use for your templates and the fact that you wish to enforce them on others. This is the only way you are making contributions to the wiki. Quite frankly it's annoying our wiki editors, my self included. Maybe you care to actually write some pages? yes? When Beto contributed the Software Infobox to the community he did it out of necessity. HA does not run things in the same manner the way wikipedia does. It's based upon the best interest of the community at hand. Are References necessary for pages? yes? can we expand the wiki based upon the particular interest of the community as a whole? yes? we can. Do we need to strictly enforce rules on a grand scale? no. There are only four to five dedicated user that make contributions to our wiki anyhow do the due to the time needed and the technical skills required to translate complicated matters into plain english. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:19, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

[http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=Special%3AContributions&offset=0&limit=50&target=Elliottmobile&namespace=0 A list of all my article-only contributions.] All I contribute is templates, now? {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 14:59, 2 October 2006 (CDT)

You are just moving stuff around and maintaining things from what I can tell by those edits. You are just contributing to the templates/maintenence nothing else. If you are only job is police the wiki like, such expect to recieve more critisism. You single handledly violated the wiki policy anyway, by interjecting personal opinion into a page that was unecessary. Save your opionions for your own personal user page and respect other people space. Once you have done so I will be a little more polite. I think a few others would agree. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 17:25 2 October 2006 (CDT)

#That was before policy even existed here.
#Point me to the mystical "few others" you talk about, please.
{{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 06:02, 3 October 2006 (CDT)

Canar for example. It's very simple stay off my case and don't violate your own policies. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:26, 4 October 2006 (CDT)

Apart from you, there's Canar. So, other, not others. {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 03:41, 4 October 2006 (CDT)

I am through aruging about this, but the bottom line is you don't run this wiki. Jan is the only adminstrator here in charge of it. Stop being a pompous asshole acting like you do. It's a community wiki. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 16:19, 6 October 2006 (CDT)
:But isn't it funny how you force your viewpoint, contradicting yourself? Community wiki, indeed. {{User:Elliottmobile/sig2}} 06:03, 7 October 2006 (CDT)

I don't force my viewpoints on anyway. If they agree with me then it stands. I reserve that right, because I make major conntributions. If they don't agree with me they can fix or adjust the pages. Jan reserves that right too, he's the admin. Populean reserves that right as well, because he is a major contributer. You don't deserve any right, because you haven't made any significant contributions, you violate your own policies, and you edit this wiki like it's your own. You make more work for everyone else. --[[User:HotshotGG|HotshotGG]] 14:06, 8 October 2006 (CDT)

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:15:54Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''". If the option isn't available, install [http://www.nero.com/nero7/enu/ASPI_Driver.html Nero's ASPI Driver].

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

The codec you choose is completely up to you; Use the [[lossless comparison]] article to help you decide. Once you have made up your mind, install the following codec using the following links:

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
:Note: Monkey's Audio doesn't support tagging command lines so Wapet must be used in conjunction.
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:08:42Z

Philbar:

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''". If the option isn't available, install [http://www.nero.com/nero7/enu/ASPI_Driver.html Nero's ASPI Driver].

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:07:21Z

Philbar: /* EAC Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''". If the option isn't available, install [http://www.nero.com/nero7/enu/ASPI_Driver.html Nero's ASPI Driver].

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:06:00Z

Philbar: /* EAC Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use "''Installed external ASPI interface''".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:05:32Z

Philbar: /* Drive Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer''' - Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:04:53Z

Philbar: /* Drive Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "''Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)''"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "''Detect Read Features...''"
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:04:10Z

Philbar: /* See also */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]
* [[Lossless comparison]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:02:33Z

Philbar: /* See also */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Monkey's Audio]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T17:00:31Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m"
"C:\Program Files\Monkey's Audio\MAC.exe" %s %d -c2000
:'''Note 1''': This needs to point to where the MAC.exe is located and please ensure that " " is around the full location.
:'''Note 2''': The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:46:04Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
[[Image:EACandFLAC.png|thumb|300px|FLAC configured with tagging support]]
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d '''-c3000'''
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
::Fast = ''-c1000'' ; Normal = ''-c2000'' ; High = ''-c3000'' ; Extra High = ''-c4000'' ; Insane = ''-c5000''

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:21:47Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
'''-8''' -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging] (see also: [[EAC and Monkeys Audio]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d '''-c3000'''
:'''Note:''' The green portion is where you would change the compression level or add settings for the FLAC encoder.
{| align="right" border="1" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0"
| '''-c1000''' || Fast
|-
| '''-c2000''' || Normal
|-
| '''-c3000''' || High
|-
| '''-c4000''' || Extra High
|-
| '''-c5000''' || Insane
|}

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack] (see also: [[EAC and WavPack]])
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:14:32Z

Philbar:

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|Create a lossless back-up with EAC and Flac}}
{{merge-from|EAC and WavPack}}
{{merge-from|EAC and Monkeys Audio}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:11:08Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform''' - Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression''' - You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:10:39Z

Philbar: /* Compression Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform'''
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression'''
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

'''''Encoding Options'''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T16:10:27Z

Philbar: /* Ripping a CD */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform'''
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression'''
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

''''Encoding Options''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the ''EAC Options>General'' and enable "''On unknown CDs''" and select "''automatically access online freedb database''". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access.
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...'' (shortcut key combination: Shift+F6)
* While the program extracts the CD open the cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav and WAVE with the files extension you used for compression (ie for FLAC replace it with ".flac" and "FLAC" or for Apple Lossless replace it with ".m4a" and "Apple Lossless"). Also delete all the directory folders using the find/replace feature by leaving the replace field empty (for the recommended file naming scheme, delete ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). Save the cue sheet and move it into the folder where the music is located (ie ARTIST\(YEAR) ALBUM\). When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program that is compatable with EAC's noncompliant CUE sheets such as [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn] (Nero will not work unfortunately).
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T15:59:13Z

Philbar:

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
'''Extraction'''
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

'''General''' - All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

'''Tools'''
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

'''Normalize''' - Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

'''Filename''' - This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

'''Catalog''' - Not important

'''Directories''' - Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

'''Write''' - Nothing to do with extraction here.

'''Interface''' - Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
'''Extraction Method'''

Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

'''Drive'''
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

'''Offset / Speed'''

Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

'''Gap Detection'''
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

'''Writer'''
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
'''Waveform'''
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

'''External Compression'''
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

''''Encoding Options''''

[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

Template:Multiplemergefrom

2007-03-20T15:36:09Z

Philbar:

<div class="messagebox merge">[[Image:Merge-from.gif|left]] It has been suggested that ''{{{1}}}'' be [[Wikipedia:Merging and moving pages|merged]] into this article or section. ([[{{{2|:{{NAMESPACE}} talk:{{PAGENAMEE}}}}}|Discuss]])</div><includeonly>[[Category:Articles to be merged{{#if: {{{date|}}} | since {{{date}}} }}|{{PAGENAME}}]]</includeonly>

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T07:03:38Z

Philbar: CDex might have secure mode, but it's not quite as accurate.

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper compared to CDex (read [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?act=ST&f=20&t=3164 article]), iTunes, and others is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable
====Encoding Options====
[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T06:57:00Z

Philbar: /* Encoding Options */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper (compared to iTunes, etc...) is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable
====Encoding Options====
[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* ''Use file extension:'' .flac
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* ''Use file extension:'' .m4a
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* ''Use file extension:'' .ape
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Use file extension:'' .wv
* ''Program, including path, used for compression:'' Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T06:55:39Z

Philbar: /* External Compression */

{{merge-from|Create a long-term archive}}

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper (compared to iTunes, etc...) is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You may use many different encoders for this section. See below for most lossless encoder options.
* ''Use external program for compression:'' Enable
* ''Parameter passing scheme:'' User Defined Encoder
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable
====Encoding Options====
[http://flac.sourceforge.net/ Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC)]
* Use file extension: .flac
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'flac.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s

Apple Lossless using [http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=35242 iTunes CLI Encoder] (iTunes required)
* Use file extension: .m4a
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'iTunesEncode.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-e "Lossless Encoder" -a "%a" -l "%g" -t "%t" -g "%m" -y %y -n %n -i %s -o %d -d

[http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio] w/ [http://www.synthetic-soul.co.uk/wapet/ Wapet for tagging]
* Use file extension: .ape
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'wapet.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
%d -t "Artist=%a" -t "Title=%t" -t "Album=%g" -t "Year=%y" -t "Track=%n" -t "Genre=%m" MAC.exe %s %d -c3000

[http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* Use file extension: .wv
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'wavpack.exe'.
* ''Additional command line options:''
-h -w "Artist=%a" -w "Title=%t" -w "Album=%g" -w "Year=%y" -w "Track=%n" -w "Genre=%m" %s %d

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T02:11:58Z

Philbar: /* See also */

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper (compared to CDex, iTunes...) is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again. And there's no reason to be concerned about the warning: Caution! Beta Version!. I have ripped over 500 CDs with this so-called "beta" software without a single problem.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You have some options here. I recommend FLAC, but if you like MP3 them use the LAME encoder.
* Use external program for compression: Enable
* Parameter passing scheme: User Defined Encoder
* Use file extension: .flac or .mp3 depending on you preference.
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'flac.exe'. (Links for installing encoder: [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC])
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
Note: You could use other encoders such as [http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio], [http://www.etree.org/shncom.html Shorten], or [http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless|Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T02:11:45Z

Philbar: /* Ripping a CD */

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper (compared to CDex, iTunes...) is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again. And there's no reason to be concerned about the warning: Caution! Beta Version!. I have ripped over 500 CDs with this so-called "beta" software without a single problem.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You have some options here. I recommend FLAC, but if you like MP3 them use the LAME encoder.
* Use external program for compression: Enable
* Parameter passing scheme: User Defined Encoder
* Use file extension: .flac or .mp3 depending on you preference.
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'flac.exe'. (Links for installing encoder: [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC])
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
Note: You could use other encoders such as [http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio], [http://www.etree.org/shncom.html Shorten], or [http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.

==See also==
* [[FLAC]]
* [[Exact Audio Copy]]
* [[Lossless compression]]

[[Category:Guides]]
[[Category:EAC Guides]]

EAC Lossless Backup

2007-03-20T02:09:17Z

Philbar: creation of page

This tutorial is written for people who want to rip their CDs, but still desire to maintain the same quality as the CD and the same flexibility as MP3s. Compression systems that produce mp3/mp4/wma/ogg files work by removing part of the data and then compressing the remaining data. The result is a loss in quality. This tutorial will walk you through the steps required to produce lossless backups of your CDs using [http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/ Exact Audio Copy] V0.95 beta 4 and the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) but almost any encoder can be used.

The features that currently makes EAC the best CD audio ripper (compared to CDex, iTunes...) is its ''secure extraction mode'' and ''offset correction''. Secure extraction is a system for verifying the data that was extracted from the CD and then if one piece doesn't match, EAC will scan that section of the disc a number of times to see if it can recover the data. This means that if there's a problem with your disc, such as scratches, EAC will return to the area in question, and painstakingly re-survey the damaged sectors, so it can reproduce the audio information contained on your CD as accurately as possible onto your hard drive. The offset correction fixes the errors that comes from your drive. The head of you drive isn't very accurate at finding the beginning of music files so it ends up cutting either a piece at the beginning or the end off. This piece is normally very small and most likely consists of silence but it might be helpful for live disc that have no gaps or silence between tracks. EAC will fix your drives offset to make sure you get ALL the data off the CD.

The downside of EAC is that it's not the easiest program to configure. You'll need to configure EAC only once; After that, you'll never need to worry about it again. And there's no reason to be concerned about the warning: Caution! Beta Version!. I have ripped over 500 CDs with this so-called "beta" software without a single problem.

=Configuring Exact Audio Copy=
Open the EAC menu and edit the following options:

==EAC Options==
===Extraction===
* ''Fill up missing offset samples with silence:'' Unchecked (In later configuration, you will fix your drive offset error so there will be no missing offset samples.)
* ''No use of null samples for CRC calculations:'' Unchecked (This option isn't really important and has absolutely no influence on the extraction quality.)
* ''Synchronize between tracks:'' Checked (See here)
* ''Delete leading and trailing silent blocks:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction on read or sync errors:'' Unchecked
* ''Skip track extraction after duration longer than:'' Unchecked
* ''After each:'' Unchecked (It will just make things slow and unless your drive over heats it's useless)
* ''Lock drive tray during extraction:'' Checked (Prevents accidental opening of drive tray)
* ''Extraction and compression priority:'' Normal for most people; Idle for old and slow computers; High for computers with multicore processors or multiple processors.
* ''Error recovery:'' High

===General===
All options here do not affect the extraction and compression of the CD so choose what you see fit.

===Tools===
* ''Retrieve UPC/ISRC codes in CUE sheet generation:'' Your decision.
* ''Use CD-Text information in CUE sheet generation:'' Checked
* ''Create '.m3u' playlist on extraction:'' Your decision.
* ''Automatically write status report after extraction:'' Your decision. It is good to include this when sending to other people so they know it was a successful extraction.
* ''On extraction, start external compressors queued in the background:'' Checked. Use 1 compressor thread because most computers will compress faster than they can extract.
* ''Do not open external compressor window:'' Checked (Doesn't affect the extraction but it prevent the compressor program from opening the Command Prompt)
* ''Activated beginner mode, disable all advanced features:'' Unchecked (You no beginner with this guide.)

===Normalize===
Disable normalization; the CD should be mastered anyways.

===Filename===
This can be whatever you would like it to be. I personally find the best organization is as follows:
* ''Naming scheme:'' %A\(%Y) %C\%N - %T
* ''Various Artist:'' Various\(%Y) %C\%N - %T (%A)

===Catalog===
Not important

===Directories===
Up to you. I have mine pointed to 'My Music' in windows.

===Write===
Nothing to do with extraction here.

===Interface===
Use 'Installed external ASPI interface".

==Drive Options==
===Extraction Method===
Select "Secure mode with the following drive features (Recommended)"
Place a Audio CD in the drive and run "Detect Read Features..."
With the information obtained select:
* ''Drive has 'Accurate Stream' feature:'' Enable if your drive has Accurate Stream. (This feature prevents jittering.)
* ''Drive caches audio:'' Enable if your drive has Caching. (This will erase the cached data after every read so that the secure mode can actually work. If your drive doesn't cache then it's a good thing for CD ripping with EAC.)
* ''C2 Error Info:'' Disable (Some drives don't report this accurately so its a safe bet to let EAC handle C2 error checking.)

===Drive===
* ''Drive read command:'' Select Autodetect read command now so that it will not have to figure it out every time your rip a CD.
* ''"Big Endian" byte order (Motorola):'' Only select this if extracted tracks consist of noise. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Swap channels:'' Only select this if your drive has the stereo channels backwards. Otherwise, leave it disabled.
* ''Spin up drive before extraction:'' Enable (It takes just a second and is a safe precaution).

===Offset / Speed===
Visit the [http://www.accuraterip.com/driveoffsets.htm Accurate Rip: CD Drive Offset Database] and find your drive and offset value. If your drive isn't in the database you can find a CD from [http://www.accuraterip.com/keydiscs.htm this list] and run 'Detect read sample offset correction...'
* ''Use read sample offset correction:'' Enable and enter your drives offset value into the field.
* ''Override Lead-In and Lead-Out:'' Disable (Your offset should be correct so this is not necessary and will only result in an inaccurate extraction).
* ''Speed Selection:'' Actual
* ''Allow speed reduction during extraction:'' Enable
* ''CD-Text Read capable drive:'' Disable

===Gap Detection===
* ''Gap/Index retrieval method:'' All of these will result in the same quality rip. If the current Gap detection is slow switch to something different and see if it is faster. For most people Detection method A is fastest.
* ''Detection accuracy:'' Secure

===Writer===
Not related to extraction.

==Compression Options==
===Waveform===
Can be ignored because it does not affect compression to any other format besides wav.

===External Compression===
You have some options here. I recommend FLAC, but if you like MP3 them use the LAME encoder.
* Use external program for compression: Enable
* Parameter passing scheme: User Defined Encoder
* Use file extension: .flac or .mp3 depending on you preference.
* Program, including path, used for compression: Browse and locate 'flac.exe'. (Links for installing encoder: [http://flac.sourceforge.net/ FLAC])
* ''Additional command line options:''
-8 -T "artist=%a" -T "title=%t" -T "album=%g" -T "date=%y" -T "tracknumber=%n" -T "genre=%m" %s
Note: You could use other encoders such as [http://www.monkeysaudio.com/ Monkey's Audio], [http://www.etree.org/shncom.html Shorten], or [http://www.wavpack.com/ WavPack]
* ''Bit rate:'' Don't matter because it's disable automatically when using a user defined encoder
* ''Delete WAV after compression:'' Enable
* ''Use CRC check:'' Disable
* ''Add ID3 tag:'' Disable (encoder does it automatically).
* ''Check for external programs return code:'' Disable

=Ripping a CD=
* Insert a CD you would like to rip.
* freedb should automatically get the CD information, if it doesn't go back to the EAC Options>General and enable "On unknown CDs" and select "automatically access online freedb database". Make sure you put an email address in the freedb / Database options or else you cannot get access (make the email address up or use your own, it only matters if you submit CD information).
* Select ''Action>Create CUE Sheet>Multiple WAV Files With Corrected Gaps...'' (shortcut key combination: Alt+O)
* Run ''Action>Test and Copy Selected Tracks>Compress...''
* While the program extracts the CD open the Cue Sheet that it made with a text editor such as notepad and run ''find/replace'' and replace .wav with .flac and WAVE with FLAC. Save the CUE sheet. When the CD is done extracting and compressing the CUE can now be used to write a CD using a program called [http://www.burrrn.net/?page_id=4 burrrn].
* Enjoy your perfectly ripped music.