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Lossy or Lossless?
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  #1  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:15 PM
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How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

I have many bootlegs that are in .flac (and one in .shn) format that I want to burn to CDRs so that I can play them in my car/home stereo. I usually just burn .mp3s onto CDRs and put close to 80 minutes onto them. Can I do the same using .flac and .shn? I know the size of the "lossless" formats is much larger than .mp3, but I can I still put 80 minutes of .flac files onto a CDR?

I do have a program that allows me to convert .flac and .shn to .mp3 but I really don't want to have to do that if I can burn them in their original lossless format.

Anybody have any tips? Is this possible?

I have Sonic: RecordNOW burning software on my computer and I tried to make an audio CD with .flac files using the exact same method I use to make 80 minutes CDs but Sonic won't accept them for some reason.
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  #2  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:28 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

you'll need to decode the lossless files to .wav using one of the programs listed in TTD's FAQ section such as flacfrontend and mkw [i use Trader's Little Helper -- http://thor.prohosting.com/roh0205/ -- but you need to d/l and install "v0.8.0 Build 43" FIRST, then d/l and install the updated "v0.9.3 Build 56" next]

then just burn the .wavs to Audio CD using whatever burning program you use.
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Last edited by AAR.oner; 2005-05-21 at 12:37 PM.
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  #3  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:31 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AAR.oner
you'll need to decode the lossless files to .wav using one of the programs listed in TTD's FAQ section [i use Trader's Little Helper]

then just burn the .wavs to Audio CD using whatever burning program you use.
Thanks for the quick help. Is .wav lossless? Will this degrade/hinder the performance of the audio files?

I just looked at my "conversion" program. I can convert it to "Wave." Is this what you are referring to?
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  #4  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:43 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

yes, wav and wave are the same thing, .wav is just the shortened file extention. Wave is the uncompressed lossless native form for music
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  #5  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:43 PM
brimstone brimstone is offline
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

When we talk about lossless we usually mean a lossless compression. wav files are the uncompressed files that are losslessly compressed to .flac and .shn.
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  #6  
Old 2005-05-21, 12:50 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kurt_fire
Thanks for the quick help. Is .wav lossless? Will this degrade/hinder the performance of the audio files?
.wav is a "pure" uncompressed audio file format [also referred to as PCM .wav ]...so yes, it is "lossless", beacause it has no compression...

lossless compression [such as .flac, .shn, .ape, applelossless codec, etc...] takes a .wav file and "shrinks" its size WITHOUT causing any changes or "damage" to the original .wav file...though each format varies, typically "lossless" files are between 50-70% the orig. wav file's size

lossy compression [such as .mp3, .ogg, .aac, etc...] shrinks the size much more than lossless, but at the expense of the audio...for instance, .mp3 strips out a large section of the high-end freqs completely, thus losing the "brightness" of the sound...

Therefore, for trading purposes [and in my opinion, even for personal listening] Lossless = GOOD...Lossy = BAD

Quote:
Originally Posted by kurt_fire
I just looked at my "conversion" program. I can convert it to "Wave." Is this what you are referring to?
what conversion program/s are you using?
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  #7  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:01 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by AAR.oner
what conversion program/s are you using?
dBPowerAMP Music Converter

So I'll just convert all of them to .wav and I still will be able to put 80 minutes of music onto a CDR and maintain the .flac sound quality?
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  #8  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:02 PM
vegas_jay
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

A .wav is not compressed as long as the contained audio is PCM. Wave files are allowed to contain other audio formats as well, including some kinds of comressed audio (such as MPEG).
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  #9  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:12 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kurt_fire
dBPowerAMP Music Converter

So I'll just convert all of them to .wav
yes, IF dBPowerAMP Music Converter has the ability to decode .flac/.shn files [i've never used the program]

i would recommend using a more "tried & true" program though...you can check the FAQ for recommend programs, however i like roann's Trader's Little Helper (he developed the program specifically for "trading" purposes]...it will pretty much "do" everything in re: to lossless music [except encoding .wav to lossless--this will be included in a future version] i have a feeling this program will become the "standard" soon, since it'll do what previously took 3 or 4 programs to do...i linked to it above^^^

Quote:
Originally Posted by kurt_fire
and I still will be able to put 80 minutes of music onto a CDR and maintain the .flac sound quality?
yes you'll be able to put 80 mins of music onto a cdr, and it'll maintain the original .wav's sound quality [the .wav file before it was compressed to lossless format for seeding/trading]...
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Last edited by AAR.oner; 2005-05-21 at 01:17 PM.
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  #10  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:17 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

http://www.download.com/dBpowerAmp-M...ml?tag=lst-0-1

That's a link to dbPowerAMP. I downloaded the codecs, or whatever you call them, for .shn, .flac, .ogg, and one other I forget the extension. It appears to be a good program. Or do you think I should use Trader's Little Helper instead?

And by the way, thanks for all the quick help guys. I appreciate it bigtime
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  #11  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:24 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

i'd go with trader's Little Helper...*note the download "sequence" i posted above

if you have any ?s regarding how to use it, PM me...

on a side note, since yer "new" to this and looking for answers, do you think a "Trading 101"-type guide would be beneficial to you? something that covered all the basics, posted at the top of the tech forums, etc.? i had preiously been working on one, but shelfed it [lack of time]...curious as to wether or not its something you would would use, or just skip over...let me know
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  #12  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:25 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Trader's Little Helper -- http://thor.prohosting.com/roh0205/ -- but you need to d/l and install "v0.8.0 Build 43" FIRST, then d/l and install the updated "v0.9.3 Build 56" next]
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  #13  
Old 2005-05-21, 01:41 PM
kurt_fire's Avatar
kurt_fire kurt_fire is offline
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Heck yes I'd read a "Trading 101" type post. Us noobs need to start somewhere

I'm just fiddling around with this dbPowerAMP program and have a few more questions. When converting .flac to .wav I get the following options. Which should I select for optimal sound performance?

- 8 bit, 16 bit (CD), 24 bit (DVD), or bits as source

- 8000hz all the way up to 192000hz. Out beside 44100hz it says CD.

I'd guess and say 16bit, 44100hz, but is there a combination I can choose that will increase the sound quality?
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  #14  
Old 2005-05-21, 04:53 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kurt_fire
I'd guess and say 16bit, 44100hz, but is there a combination I can choose that will increase the sound quality?
For audio cds 16bit 44100Hz stereo is your only option.
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  #15  
Old 2005-05-21, 09:25 PM
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Re: How do I burn .flac & .shn files onto an audio CDR?

Quote:
I'm just fiddling around with this dbPowerAMP program and have a few more questions. When converting .flac to .wav I get the following options. Which should I select for optimal sound performance?

- 8 bit, 16 bit (CD), 24 bit (DVD), or bits as source

- 8000hz all the way up to 192000hz. Out beside 44100hz it says CD.

I'd guess and say 16bit, 44100hz, but is there a combination I can choose that will increase the sound quality?
44100Hz/16bit/stereo is the sampling rate, bit depth, and number of channels used for audio CDs, as defined by the Red Book standard. You won't be able to burn an audio CD at any other sampling rate or bit depth.

As for changing the sampling rate/bit depth, DON'T! If you downsample to a lower setting, you will lose quality, naturally. If you upsample to a higher setting, you won't magically gain quality - you are always limited by the quality of the source file.

Here - the frequency response (range of frequency of sound reproduced) of a digital recording is equal to half of the sampling rate. So for 44100Hz, you get a frequency response up to 22050Hz. If you upsample to something higher, no data exists for any frequencies higher than 22050Hz, so you won't gain frequencies that don't even exist in the source file. (Hell, if we could do that, everyone would know about it, and it would be the ultimate form of audio compression!) Same with bit depth... if you convert to a higher bit depth, you add a greater possible degree of precision to the dynamics (volume) of the sound, but the values are the same; again, you're limited by your source.

And really, due to the calculations, rounding, and interpolation that is done in these format conversions, you'll probably introduce a tiny bit of distortion if you convert to a higher setting.

In conclusion, for burning to CD, always use 44100/16. If you are converting files for PC playback, leave the sampling rate and bit depth unchanged.
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