I want to burn audio files to a dvd. What is the file format for that? I’ll need to convert my music but I don’t know which format is the one. Can Audacity convert the correct files?
John B.
<<>>
On a Mac, you put the blank DVD in the machine and OK the opening dialog. Drag the sound files over to it and burn. That will produce a Data DVD with the straight sound files on it. On a Windows machine, you need to add a CD/DVD Authoring tool (Nero), but it’s basically the same thing.
There is no (popular) standard sound format for DVD, so that’s that.
If you want to add sound to a Movie DVD, then you need a full-on video editing package like iMovie, Final cut, Premiere, etc. Sound on a Movie DVD is embedded inside the video and you can’t separate them.
What’s the goal?
Koz
I have Windows XP Pro. I wanted to make a dvd-audio because a dvd can hold more music. Roxio Easy Media Creator won’t do it. There are dvd-audio players out there. Maybe I would need a special type of disc? Audio DVD Creator will convert music to a dvd as a video_ts.ifo file. Maybe I should be content with mp3’s on a cd or mp3 player? Searched for freeware.
Thanks,
John
There are, but they are not very common - do you have one/intend to buy one?
DVD Audio Tools will (and is free)
Many different formats are supported:
If you would be happy playing the disks on your computer you can just make a DVD data (iso) disk.
16bit 44.1kHz will give you CD quality and will facilitate easy transfer to CD at a later date if you wish.
Some DVD players (and some CD players) will play MP3s that are burned to a data CD, though the folder navigation may be limited - check your DVD player documentation (or just try it) to see what your DVD player supports.
320kbps CBR (Lame Quality level “Insane”) will provide very close to CD quality.
Oh, Real DVD-Audio format. Yes, that’s Dolby AC3 – the same as Movie DVDs, although Movie DVDs have more options. I bought one or two of those just to have them around before the format vanished completely. I have “Buena Vista Social Club” on DVD-Audio. As I recall, it plays on my computer and most DVD players, but nothing else.
I do remember that you have to pick how many channels you want to record – up to 6 (5.1) and possibly beyond.
I gotta dig that out and try it again.
Koz
I’m not buying a dvd-audio player. I thought I could play dvd-audio made on my dvd burner but I cannot play on my Samsung dvd player. I was able to transfer all the songs that I had converted with Switch (one song every format except AC3). I was able to play most of the formats on my computer’s dvd player but not the Samsung dvd player in the tv room. I can’t play m3u, pls, rss, wpl, spx, and vox. Som asked to be converted. I downloaded dvd-audio from Soundforge.net but I have a hard time unzipping it and there is no .exe files to run the program. Where do I get AC3?
I’m probably barking up the wrong tree but it’s worth a shot to know what my capabilities are.
Thanks for the input from all,
John B.
I use SUPER by erightsoft for all my format conversions. It’s a real pain to download it (there are guides on Google of how to download SUPER) but it’s free and will handle most media formats (including video). It will not decode DRM protected files (copy protection).
Re: “SUPER by erightsoft”
I downloaded it but because I have a wide screen monitor I can hardly see it and I won’t change the resolution because it is a lot of trouble. Also, I see only INPUT in AC3 and no conversion OUTPUT to AC3. I could be mistaken but it is just too small to see. The help notes didn’t say what I want to hear either.
Thanks,
John B.
Dolby AC3 creation is heavily licensed software.
So is MP3 which is why Audacity comes without it.
Koz
SUPER supports AC3.
Perhaps you could use the Windows Screen Magnifier ( Start > All Programs > Accessories > Accessibility)
Something else that may be worth checking - My DVD player supports MP3s on DVD-R disks (written as normal data disks). You can get one heck of a lot of MP3s on a DVD, even at the highest 320kbps setting.
I put some mp3’s on a dvd and they’ll play on my Samsung dvd player in the tv room. I need to clean up the quality. I copied at 128Kbps and from now on I’ll use a higher quality. The main reason I want to use dvd’s for music is for traveling in my car and camping. One dvd might hold more music that a cd and I can see what’s playing on the menu. I’m new to all this and not up to speed on the tech. I like the magnifier. I tried it once before but didn’t take the time to learn how to use it. Windows recommends downloading a magnification utility. I think the Video_TS.IFO files are larger than mp3’s from what I can tell. That makes putting mp3’s a better way to accomplish my goals.
Thanks for helping me to make some progress,
John B.
EDIT I tried a free magnifier and I think the one comes with Windows XP is better.
Will a straight DVD with MP3s on it play in your car?
Most car players won’t touch DVDs of any kind. DVD players, at least the later ones, will play anything, so getting one of your shows to play on one of those players doesn’t tell you anything. They will play floor sweepings.
Generally, portable CD players and the one in your older car demand that you get the dance right. they will not play MP3s on any kind of disk and they only work right when the CD is formatted and prepared correctly.
Most people’s first try is to put MP3s on a Data CD instead of a Music CD. That kills off the 78 minute show length problem. Those disks will play forever – but only on a player that’s expecting them. They’ll play on my sister’s new car, but not in my old truck.
DVDs are a whole new world. Audio DVDs are a cousin to movies you rent at Blockbuster or Hollywood video. Some of the file structure is the same. Video_TS.IFO is a Movie DVD Transmission Stream information file. It’s not music or video.
Koz
“Will a straight DVD with MP3s on it play in your car?”
I was thinking of a portable dvd player not a dvd in a cd player. I can hook it up on aux. If my Samsung will play my mp3’s then all is go! And here’s another epiphany: I can get a mp3 player with eight gigs for about $70-. That might be a viable way to go in addition to using a dvd player to play music. I don’t know how to use a mp3 player or it’s functions such as search. I told ya I’m new to all this but I’m sorting it all out.
John B.
I only use Daniusoft Media Converter Ultimate, it can handle with all types of media files and have had no issues:)
Danisoft might be worth a try. They have a lot of programs to choose from. Today I used Roxio to make mp3’s on a cd and was able to get 15 songs on a cd. The Create New mp3’s disc recorder will play on the dvd player but not a cd player in the kitchen or car. Thirteen songs use up only 65MB Create New mp3’s while the other formats got about 73 minutes on a cd. However, Create New Audio and Files to Disc on Roxio will play in the car cd. I’m trying all sorts of combination’s to get to know the best one. I can’t seem to get the mp3’s to use the same disc space on Create New Audio as I did with Create New MP3’s. These are all different functions of the Roxio program.
Getting there,
John B.
EDIT I have Audacity, Switch and Prism that I’ve downloaded for free and they are easy enough for me to understand.
You could buy a nice iPod and install iTunes on your computer – either type. Apple AAC format will do about twice the music at the same bit rate than MP3 will. At just High Quality, you can get billions of stereo songs on an iPod.
Koz
And if you get a car radio with an Aux input that you can connect your iPod to then you can play them in the car (You can also use those little FM transmitter jobbies to send the output from the iPod to your car radio - but they never work as well as a direct connection).
WC
In my car I have a Blaupunkt and I have the Aux hooked up for my 1gig mp3 players already but I haven’t started using it yet because I’m not sure how, especially searching for songs and if it starts where it left off. Are iPods and iTunes compatible with Windows XP Pro? IPod and MP3 players are becoming more abundant with autos and kitchen appliances so maybe a dvd-audio in not really the way to go after all. Docking stations. I’ll start doing some research on what the capabilities are. IPods are better that MP3 players? I’ve been knocking myself out with trying to get the cd and dvd issues resolved but an iPod might be the answer.
Thanks for the input. I’m learning more and more.
John B.
iTunes was designed to work on Mac or Windows. iPods (the ones I know about) connect to both FireWire or USB.
It should be possible to connect one of these between the iPod and the radio.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102970
Koz
I’ll do some research on iPod’s and MP3 players. Some have cameras and video capture. I guess I was wrong about the dvd-audio thing but in the meantime I downloaded some valuable software. One question about copying music with Audacity is this: Do sites like Youtube and Lala stream their music in .wav or mp3? When I copy a song I then Export to .wav. If a song is copied from a mp3, is it compressed and I get full value of the song or is mp3 a stripped down song? I know I over do it but I’d like to know all the angles. Is there enough song information on a mp3 to expand to .wav?
Thanks for your input,
John B.