mac stuff

hi there i would like to know a few thinks from the mac users out there any help would be great
ok here it goes
first i need a way to read and convert flac shn ape to wav i dont have anything and it not working so good
also what do you all use for burrning i have itunes and it just aint doing it for me so if you know were i could get a better program let me know
i think that is it if there is something else that i forgot that is important to bootleging let me know as i will be needing it to i am sure
thanks

[ffooky]

Best converter=xACT
Best FLAC/SHN/APE player= Cog
Best audio burner= Toast 7.1

The first two are freeware. Toast is a commercial program but pretty much covers all your audio, video and data CD/DVD burning needs, including burning audio discs straight from unconverted FLAC files.

great thanks a bunch

[Allwriter]

Originally Posted by ffooky

Toast is a commercial program but pretty much covers all your audio, video and data CD/DVD burning needs, including burning audio discs straight from unconverted FLAC files.

I have Toast and didn't realize you could burn audio disc without first converting FLAC to WAV...Or is that only on the new version 7? I have Toast 6.

[U2Lynne]

It's only with Toast 7.0.1 (7.0 left small clicks between the tracks). I haven't tried it, but that's what I've heard from others. (ffooky, I believe, knows exactly what the history is there.)

[ffooky]

Oops, sorry about the typo, it is of course 7.0.1

7.0's incorporation of flac was a disaster but 7.0.1 fixed it completely. I've tested the FLAC to audio CD facility pretty exhaustively and not found a single error yet.

If you have an iPod or need some lossy files for whatever reason, the Audio tab has a neat Export option at the bottom allowing for a one-step conversion from FLAC to 128kbps AAC (or Ogg Vorbis). You can also use this function to export to WAV/AIFF as an alternative to xACT if you like.

[U2Lynne]

Originally Posted by ffooky

If you have an iPod or need some lossy files for whatever reason, the Audio tab has a neat Export option at the bottom allowing for a one-step conversion from FLAC to 128kbps AAC (or Ogg Vorbis). You can also use this function to export to WAV/AIFF as an alternative to xACT if you like.

Oh wow, that is cool since Scott has said he doesn't want to incorporate a lossy converter into xACT. I've been having to convert to wav using xACT and then to AAC using iTunes. I'll have to put the new Toast on my Xmas list.

[ffooky]

Lynne, in order to leave Father Christmas room on his sleigh for that Quad 2.5GHz and 30" Cinema display I should point out that Scott did add flaac 0.51 to the Files section of the xACT Yahoo group. That knocks out 160kbps AAC files straight from FLAC if you need the better quality.

I'm hoping the Easter Bunny might bring me one of the Intel iMacs rumoured for January release.

On the Toast 7 front, I have a White Stripes DVD that also has the Greenhornes support set as an audio only feature. Using the new Media Browser feature I was able to rip just that audio chapter which was extremely convenient.

[shakdown]

Speaking of Macs.........
I realize download speeds vary based on # of peers and various upload speed adjustments, but just a snapshot into my world....
I have a G4 with all the modern upgrades and softwares as far as I know. High speed-cable modem from Comcast (the fastest they have)
I am downloading 3 DVDs at the same time. download rate is approx. 20-30MiB.Upload rate is no more than 22MiB on average.

Much of this seems slow to me. For example I am currently pulling down the Grateful Dead/Dylan 87 DVD. 44 peers download speed is approx 27 MiB. I have 150 hrs to go and I have already spent 24 hours on top of that.

I guess I am looking for some feedback as if these download rates are average. Or if I should try to make some other adjustments.

Thanks for any feedback!

[U2Lynne]

Well, that isn't really a mac thing, but.... have you ever run a speedtest to see what you are getting from your ISP? Also, are you firewalled (your port will appear in red brackets in the Peers List).

I get over 300 down and 50 up and I will only download one-two shows at a time and seed another (if I'm torrenting a show, I will only seed that one). That seems to get me the best download speeds and I can keep my ratio up.

[shakdown]

U2Lynne,
Thanks a bunch for the feedback.
I will look into a speed test ASAP.
After reading my post, I realized that my technical verbiage is slightly off.
Instead of 20-30 MiB/s(as i typed) it actually reads KiB/s. I am not sure if that makes a mountain of difference.

I have been pouring over the Technobabble pages and the FAQs. I even stopped all my downloads and dumped the Bit Torrent software and re-downloaded and reinstalled everything. Checked Firewalls and even added the additional ports as stated in the new software.
I have also discovered the page to view my profile. I have 2 videos pulling down and already finished 2 FLAC audios which I have now stopped 1 of.
It shows my DL Speed to be 92.92 KB/s and UL Speed to be 36.96 KB/s.

For example my Dead/Dylan 87 video currently shows,
Download Rate approx 16-19 KiB/s
Upload Rate approx 18-20 KiB/s
Time Remaining 119 hours (this has been downloading for almost 2 days already)
Connected to 49 peers.
I also notice that my small download progress window shows:
Max UL KiB/s 0 (is this part of my problem??)
Num Uploads 4

I greatly appreciate the assistance and feedback. I am having a lot of fun with this stuff but feel I am fighting my way through the learning curve. Thanks for your support!