Reformatting back to flac

[Mag99]

I have a relatively small hard drive, so when I download a show, I'll leave it seeded as long as there is activity (at least a few days and up to several weeks), and will then convert the files to MP3 "for my use only" in order to save space (I'll delete the original flac / shn files). Is there any way to re-format the MP3 files back to flac to reseed the show? My guess is no, but I wanted to confirm before giving up. Incidently, I currently have a 1.77 share ratio.

Any input greatly appreciated - I'd like to help out someone who needs a seed from a show I downloaded a while ago.

Thanks!

[U2Lynne]

I have a relatively small hard drive, so when I download a show, I'll leave it seeded as long as there is activity (at least a few days and up to several weeks), and will then convert the files to MP3 "for my use only" in order to save space (I'll delete the original flac / shn files). Is there any way to re-format the MP3 files back to flac to reseed the show? My guess is no, but I wanted to confirm before giving up. Incidently, I currently have a 1.77 share ratio.

Any input greatly appreciated - I'd like to help out someone who needs a seed from a show I downloaded a while ago.

Thanks!
No, you can not change it back to flac in order to seed. Once you put it into lossy format, it is lossy forever (no matter if you change it back to flac, it is then a lossy flac). The best thing to do is to archive the flac files to DVD after you no longer want them on your harddrive. Then, if you want to reseed the show, you just drag/drop them back onto your harddrive.

[lbrow65]

Hi Mag99

I understand you having to deal with a small hard drive, but converting to mp3 is not really the way to go. When you convert a flac file (which is a perfect copy of a cd) to mp3 you are losing data. Data is discarded to make a smaller file, and it can never be regained. It is a lossy process. You can never share such a converted file on TTD. The whole idea of flac files is that no data is lost.

If you are having trouble with space, archive your flac files to dvd, so that you have the perfect copy always available. That is what I do. What you do after that doesnt matter because you always have the original perfect flacs.

opps, the powers that be posted while I was writing.,

[Karst]

Yeah, converting them to MP3 basically makes them untradable. I have a small harddrive and backup the FLAC files on CD-R. Don't understand why you would do that... :disbelief

[GRC]

... convert the files to MP3 "for my use only" in order to save space (I'll delete the original flac / shn files). Is there any way to re-format the MP3 files back to flac to reseed the show? My guess is no ...

To draw an analogy; a great work of art, the Mona Lisa, hangs in a museum in ... Paris, say. You walk in, take a photo of it, with whatever you have to hand; digital camera, 35mm, whatever. The museum is struck by natural disaster, and the Mona Lisa is lost.

Would anyone pay you any heed at all if you offered to enlarge your photo and put it on the wall in the Mona's place....? Would anyone travel, or pay to see it? Probably not.

If an mp3 version is the ONLY version on the planet of a show that I really, REALLY want, then I'd be interested in it, but if there's a better version around, I'll always want the better version.

Regards, Graham

[Mag99]

Great ideas - thanks everyone. I know mp3 is the antichrist of audio files in the trading world, but with an almost maxed-out hard drive, I tried to conserve space while making sure I gave more than I took. Archiving to dvds is a great idea and something I'll begin to implement with future shows. Thanks again for the advice!

[U2Lynne]

Mag99, I archive to DVD and so I buy spindles of about 100 DVDs online for about $25.00. Some people just buy harddrives to archive their files to, but I still like to do it to DVDs.

[lbrow65]

I agree with u2lynne, dvd spindles are the way to go. I wait until I see a good quality brand on sale and buy a couple, that keeps me until the next time there is a sale. Watch out for poor quality dvds though, cheap is not necessarily best. I used one brand and when I came back to the discs 12 months later, probably 40% of them failed to read, disc rot etc (it was tdk), heartbreaking. Choose wisely. Everyone has their own opinon on what works best for them. After some research I use verbatim, high quality, and I think i have had only one failure to read. go to this link and have a read.

http://www.digitalfaq.com/media/dvdmedia.htm

[ffooky]

The accepted rule is that DVD+R are likely to have a longer readable life than DVD-R and Taiyo Yuden are generally considered to be the premium manufacturers. The actual brand of blanks (Verbatim, Sony, Craptasto etc) is no indicator of the manufacturer...use something like Nero, Toast or whatever program for your platform can read the manufacturer's info and only buy media recommended somewhere like VideoHelp (http://www.videohelp.com/dvdmedia). The unpleasant truth is that all currently available archival media, be they DVD+R blanks, multiple hard drives, whatever, are not 100% reliable. Work out what volume of back up you're likely to need in the next couple of years or so and decide whether it's more economical to invest in further external hard drives or quality DVD blanks. When all's said and done, the best back up is all the other people who've downloaded the same shows as you. As long as at least one person's copy survives then audio history is assured :)

[Five]

To draw an analogy; a great work of art, the Mona Lisa, hangs in a museum in ... Paris, say. You walk in, take a photo of it, with whatever you have to hand; digital camera, 35mm, whatever. The museum is struck by natural disaster, and the Mona Lisa is lost.

Would anyone pay you any heed at all if you offered to enlarge your photo and put it on the wall in the Mona's place....? Would anyone travel, or pay to see it? Probably not.

If an mp3 version is the ONLY version on the planet of a show that I really, REALLY want, then I'd be interested in it, but if there's a better version around, I'll always want the better version.

Regards, Graham
well put :clap:

[Tubular]

I might travel to see an analog film print, or an uncompressed .bmp print, but NEVER a lossy .jpg print. ;) :lol:

You can get one of the five best blank DVDs ever made according to digitalfaq at www.supermediastore.com (Taiyo Yuden 8X DVD+R model YUDEN000T02). I just got a 100 pack for $45, with free shipping.

[Johnny Thunder]

I gotta throw my 2 cents worth in here. :D

I've been a long time member of the site at http://.club.cdfreaks.com. If you want to know just about all there is to know about optical disk drives and writers, this is a great resource.

Absolutely, the afformentioned Taiyo Yuden "T02" media, is about the finest in the world. The only rival to that are the new PAPA spindles (50 peice) of the 16X +R Verbatim (MCC004). For more information about these disks, visit the link I just posted and do some searches.

That having been said, and it having already been said that no backup is 100% fail-proof, optical disks are far less reliable than magnetic media is. (IE, a hard disk) Redundancy is our friend though. Graham put it best. If the shows are seeded and distributed among many users, they shall not, in all probability, be lost. You can create that same sort of redundancy at home too though.

I use optical disks to DISTRIBUTE shows, but everything I have resides on two seperate hard drives, and this is bar none, the safest way to back up your data. Think about it, even though the shows are available from other users, do you really want to have to eat up a ton of bandwidth to download them all again in the event that a disk fails? Granted, if you back up to DVD's, all your shows are obviously not on one disk, and in fact, you really should have two copies of each disk anyway. One copy you put back on a spindle and keep it in a cool dark closet, and the other you use for day to day use. Should your day to day disk fail, you can always dig out your archived disk.

BUT... Hard disks are pretty reasonable these days. 500 Gig Seagate drives can be had for about $100, and will probably put all your shows in one place that is ~oh so easy~ to organize and access. Throw that drive into an external case for around $20 and you have great portability too. Further, if you go the same route I have, you can store that second drive off site, as in a friend or relitive's house, just in case of the truely unspeakable catastrophy, such as a fire, where everything on site is lost.

It costs more, but I'll take quality hard disk storage over optical media any day of the week!

JT

[lbrow65]

good ideas from Johnny Thunder. I have oftern thought of what would happen if I had a fire and lost everything. A second hard drive off site is a great idea and not too expensive considering. (And there may even be room for the wife's wedding video too)

[direwolf-pgh]

offsite backup - $34.95/month per 1TB
http://www.elephantdrive.com/help/pricing_structure.aspx

[Tubular]

All hard drives will eventually fail too, though. How long will the best Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim media last, like 10 or 20 years? IMO it would be good to do both optical and magnetic backup, in case either fails. If you download a lot of DVDs, that is a lot of hard drive storage space that would be needed. When Blu-Rays become more common place, they are 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (dual layer). For 20 dual layer high definition video Blu-Ray shows, that's 1 TB of magnetic storage needed. One Terrabyte is probably enough to store one band's entire circulating catalog (or the catalogs of several small bands that didn't do a lot of touring) @ 16/44.1 FLAC. But when you get into 24/96 audio, DVD video, and esp. high definition video 1 TB will be spent quickly. Here is an interesting article about a scientist who is developing 50 TB DVDs, which they claim can make hard disks obsolete:
http://in.tech.yahoo.com/060708/139/65pz8.html

[direwolf-pgh]

All hard drives will eventually fail too, though. How long will the best Taiyo Yuden or Verbatim media last, like 10 or 20 years? IMO it would be good to do both optical and magnetic backup, in case either fails. If you download a lot of DVDs, that is a lot of hard drive storage space that would be needed. When Blu-Rays become more common place, they are 25 GB (single layer) or 50 GB (dual layer). For 20 dual layer high definition video Blu-Ray shows, that's 1 TB of magnetic storage needed. One Terrabyte is probably enough to store one band's entire circulating catalog (or the catalogs of several small bands that didn't do a lot of touring) @ 16/44.1 FLAC. But when you get into 24/96 audio, DVD video, and esp. high definition video 1 TB will be spent quickly. Here is an interesting article about a scientist who is developing 50 TB DVDs, which they claim can make hard disks obsolete:
http://in.tech.yahoo.com/060708/139/65pz8.htmlim calling bullshit on that story / Reeks of snake oil.. and ultra poor seek-time.
DVD and CD seek times are: 130ms and. 110ms (respectively).
Hard drives = 8ms (average)
Neat story - not buying it.
memory looks to replace hard drives.

[Tubular]

Yeah, I guess the main drive (C:\) will always need to be fast seeking, but for an archival media, 50,000 gigs is pretty cool (and staggering).

[Drummer247]

Everything fails at some point.

I store all my recordings on HDD and DVD's. If 1 fails, you have the other to fall back on. Its very unlikely (and very unlucky) that both will fail at the same time.

[diggrd]

Everything fails at some point.

I store all my recordings on HDD and DVD's. If 1 fails, you have the other to fall back on. Its very unlikely (and very unlucky) that both will fail at the same time.
I do the same with my own recordings and I do one more thing I distribute them to a massively redundant network using bitttorrent and sites like this ;)

[Drummer247]

I do the same with my own recordings and I do one more thing I distribute them to a massively redundant network using bitttorrent and sites like this ;)

Same here, forgot to mention it. lol. :)