How do I rip XCP encoded CDs to my computer?

July 19, 2005 10:46 AM

I just got a compact disc encrypted with XCP technology. How do I rip it to my Mac G5 computer (OSX 10.4.2)? I want to put the music on my iPod as well as run it on my music server here at home. I have Virtual PC if a Windows app is necessary.
posted by thewiseacre to computers & internet (15 comments total)

What happens when you put the disc in your computer? What do you see as volumes in Disk Utility?
posted by odinsdream at 11:51 AM on July 19, 2005

I would not put it into your computer until you make sure that it will only load on the desktop and you quit iTunes. In other words, you want the computer to treat it as a data cd rather than as a music cd.
posted by OmieWise at 12:00 PM on July 19, 2005

You can do it under windows with EAC 0.95pb3, and the TOC retrieval/reconstruction feature.
posted by Jairus at 12:03 PM on July 19, 2005

Sorry if this is too much of a derail, but does anyone know if you would be able to return the CD in a situation like this? Surely listening to the tracks from the CD on your iPod isn't illegal, so why can Sony stop (try to stop anyway) you from doing it? Are you making some sort of tacit agreement when you buy the CD that you will only listen to it in the ways that Sony sees fit?
posted by Who_Am_I at 2:07 PM on July 19, 2005

Say, what CD is it? I buy tons of music on eBay and I want to avoid this silly shit.
posted by mds35 at 2:34 PM on July 19, 2005

The disc is the new B.M.R.C. "Howl."

I can't get the TOC/reconstruction method to work, though EAC (running under Virtual PC) does see the 12 music tracks listed. It just can't extract.

When I put the disc into the computer, it autoloads the XCP application. I can't just look at it like a datadisk with anything other than EAC.
posted by thewiseacre at 2:44 PM on July 19, 2005

thewiseacre, hold down SHIFT when inserting to disable autoplay. Are you using the exact version of EAC I suggested? Other versions had the feature changed for legal copy-protection reasons.
posted by Jairus at 3:18 PM on July 19, 2005

Just a quick pedantic note; it isn't a CD. CD implies Compact Disc, which is a specification that does not allow things like this. If you examine the packaging, you probably won't find the Compact Disc - Digital Audio logo (the one in a little square embossed on the plastic), because they cannot sell it as such.

If you're using OS X, you ought to be able to set autoload options in the CDs & DVDs pane in System Preferences. Set all of them to "Ignore."

Unlike Windows (with an admin user), the CD still won't be able to do something creepy, like permanently replace your CD drivers or anything on OS X, without requiring you to type in your password. If you did already type in a password, you're probably in a much worse situation, as you're at the mercy of the alien software.
posted by odinsdream at 4:51 PM on July 19, 2005

I'm not sure what the XCP encrypted discs look like, but I *think* that Garbage - Bleed Like Me has it; when the disc is read by a computer, there are no *.cda track pointers, just a couple of folders and files.

I used Nero to "extract tracks" (even though it couldn't "see" them) as wavs and it worked like a charm.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 5:54 PM on July 19, 2005

I hold down shift and it will still load the disc; that might be an idiosyncracy with VPC. When it loads into EAC (yes, using the version you specified), all the tracks come up as visible but the icon isn't a musical note. It's more like a little textpage icon.

When I select the TOC option, the only thing that happens is that the tracks disappear from the window in EAC. Then I have no idea what to do next.
posted by thewiseacre at 6:57 PM on July 19, 2005

Perhaps something like ISOBuster can bypass?
posted by PurplePorpoise at 9:00 PM on July 19, 2005

ISO buster can rip the tracks off the CD, but it rips them to a file format called TAO...I can't figure a way around that. Is there a way to convert TAO to WAV? I've tried several shareware apps that can't.
posted by thewiseacre at 5:16 AM on July 20, 2005

... you can select which format ISO buster rips to (it should be a dropdown option on the context menu); maybe try the function on a different "layer" on the left-hand window (ie., the root, the ISO, or the UDF).

Nero should be able to take care of it, though.
posted by PurplePorpoise at 8:48 AM on July 20, 2005

in ISO buster the "extract to .wav" is greyed out (i.e. it's not selectable.) The only thing to select is raw file extraction, which is what extracts to the TAO format. I get the same extraction whether it's done on the left side window or the right.

how would I do this with Nero? When I try to do a direct clone of the disc, it says the disc is copyrighted.
posted by thewiseacre at 2:42 PM on July 20, 2005

Go to CD --> audio --> Rip CD tracks
posted by PurplePorpoise at 6:23 AM on July 23, 2005