How to get free CD burner to make 200-track disc from many file types?
February 2, 2010 3:13 PM Subscribe
I need free CD burning software to make a disc w/between 100 and 200 tracks, some of which are under a second, comprising many different file types. Any suggestions?
So, I'm involved in a musical project where I want to improvise music while a CD player is playing a shuffling disc full of sound effects. It absolutely has to be on a CD - it's part of the "art" of the happening, if you will. Problem is, iTunes won't do discs with way over a hundred tracks. What programs will enable me, after a FREE download (of course!), to burn up to 200 tracks of various file types, some of which are under a second long?
So, I'm involved in a musical project where I want to improvise music while a CD player is playing a shuffling disc full of sound effects. It absolutely has to be on a CD - it's part of the "art" of the happening, if you will. Problem is, iTunes won't do discs with way over a hundred tracks. What programs will enable me, after a FREE download (of course!), to burn up to 200 tracks of various file types, some of which are under a second long?
Yes, the CD audio format redbook (the official "file" format for the standard) imposes a maximum of 99 tracks. Note wikipedia.
posted by rokusan at 3:25 PM on February 2, 2010
posted by rokusan at 3:25 PM on February 2, 2010
Yep you'll need to use an mp3 player instead. Hide it behind the cd player.
posted by devnull at 3:29 PM on February 2, 2010
posted by devnull at 3:29 PM on February 2, 2010
Best answer: What operating system(s) are you using? For Windows, NoNags has a CDR/W tool category.
... but with the Red Book standards a work-around to the 99 track limit: index points, though this feature is not well supported.
Alternative: join some tracks together, so you'll have over 99 sound elements, but only 99 track markers, some of which will always play one after the next.
Otherwise, find a CD player that supports MP3s and/or other file formats, so you can keep the audio in whatever form you have it, and can play well over 99 tracks.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:30 PM on February 2, 2010
... but with the Red Book standards a work-around to the 99 track limit: index points, though this feature is not well supported.
Alternative: join some tracks together, so you'll have over 99 sound elements, but only 99 track markers, some of which will always play one after the next.
Otherwise, find a CD player that supports MP3s and/or other file formats, so you can keep the audio in whatever form you have it, and can play well over 99 tracks.
posted by filthy light thief at 3:30 PM on February 2, 2010
I used this site "the best free alternatives to nero cd dvd burner" to find and download my latest free audio and data cd burning software.
posted by Kerasia at 3:32 PM on February 2, 2010
posted by Kerasia at 3:32 PM on February 2, 2010
For what it's worth: if you're willing to sacrifice the idea of a CD for your other concerns (shuffling sound effects), you could go MiniDisc. Gescom somewhat famously did this, and this document says that the MiniDisc should support up to 255 tracks.
posted by zer0render at 4:01 PM on February 2, 2010
posted by zer0render at 4:01 PM on February 2, 2010
Best answer: "index points, though this feature is not well supported"
By which, filthy light thief probably means "barely supported; good luck in finding a player that isn't either aimed at the high-end market, or from the dawn of CDs back in the early-mid 80's, that supports them".
It's been many years since I've seen a hardware player that supports index points properly, and software players rarely do (though, IIRC, WMP does?). Many that claim to seem to combine the track and index counters, giving a max of 99 total tracks+indexes. And, if you want to shuffle, I can't think of a player - hardware or software - that'll shuffle to index points, only tracks.
Also IIRC, according to the Red Book, the minimum legal track length is 300 frames (4 seconds) from index 0 to end. This limits you too - you can't have seamless transitions on tracks <4 secs; there always has to be a pregap/count-in or no audio to pad it out to 4 secs.
posted by Pinback at 4:04 PM on February 2, 2010
By which, filthy light thief probably means "barely supported; good luck in finding a player that isn't either aimed at the high-end market, or from the dawn of CDs back in the early-mid 80's, that supports them".
It's been many years since I've seen a hardware player that supports index points properly, and software players rarely do (though, IIRC, WMP does?). Many that claim to seem to combine the track and index counters, giving a max of 99 total tracks+indexes. And, if you want to shuffle, I can't think of a player - hardware or software - that'll shuffle to index points, only tracks.
Also IIRC, according to the Red Book, the minimum legal track length is 300 frames (4 seconds) from index 0 to end. This limits you too - you can't have seamless transitions on tracks <4 secs; there always has to be a pregap/count-in or no audio to pad it out to 4 secs.
posted by Pinback at 4:04 PM on February 2, 2010
How about cd player that can play mp3 compilation CDs - they should support a few hundred files easily (although you may be annoyed by gaps as it seeks and buffers). An MP3 player on shuffle is probably your only hope for seamless playing.
If anyone else is looking for an excellent free cd burning app - CDBurnerXP rocks
posted by samj at 4:22 PM on February 2, 2010
If anyone else is looking for an excellent free cd burning app - CDBurnerXP rocks
posted by samj at 4:22 PM on February 2, 2010
I've been using CDBurnerXP with great success over the last few months for all of my disc burning needs.
Doesn't solve the 99 track problem, though - I'm with the above posters in suggesting an MP3 cd player.
posted by davey_darling at 4:38 PM on February 2, 2010
Doesn't solve the 99 track problem, though - I'm with the above posters in suggesting an MP3 cd player.
posted by davey_darling at 4:38 PM on February 2, 2010
I'm surprised this solution hasn't already been suggested — maybe there's a fundamental problem with it, but I can't think of one.
Can't you just stitch X number of tracks into a single track with some basic audio software? If they're playing one after another, you'll also have more control over transitions (if any) and/or timing between individual elements. So, taking 20 single 1-second tracks to create one single track of 20 seconds (or thereabouts), or something to that effect.
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 5:19 PM on February 2, 2010
Can't you just stitch X number of tracks into a single track with some basic audio software? If they're playing one after another, you'll also have more control over transitions (if any) and/or timing between individual elements. So, taking 20 single 1-second tracks to create one single track of 20 seconds (or thereabouts), or something to that effect.
posted by jaffacakerhubarb at 5:19 PM on February 2, 2010
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posted by Leon at 3:24 PM on February 2, 2010