IMac Superdrive capacity for ripping CDs
I have a fairly large number of CDs (several hundred) I would like to rip to mp3 (Late 2009 iMac i7). CDs I have ripped using the iMac's internal drive have come out fine, but the drive does seem to slow down a little after a while. I am also a little concerned about how well the drive would hold up. Is the internal drive sufficient for the purpose of ripping a large number of CDs or should I consider buying an external drive for the job?
Hi Larry
Yes if your planning to rip lot's of media then an External DVD Drive is the way to go. Not only are External DVD Drives (even USB models) much faster than Internal Drives, but they also relieve all that ware n tare on your Internal Slim DVD Drive.
While others here swear by LaCie or OWC External FireWire DVD Drives, I'm using an OS X compatible LG GE24LU20 USB Drive that gets the job done about 4x faster than my Internal Drive.
Dennis
Similar Messages
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IMac SuperDrive will only read CDs
My imac 27 inch will only read CDs - DVDs just whir and then eject.
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
First, reset the SMC > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 If it doesn't work, take the Mac to an Apple Store -
External Drive replacement for iMac "SuperDrive" ?
From reading this forum, it seems some iMac SuperDrives (mine included) have serious problems with reading and/or scratching discs. Apparently the only real solution is to use an external drive.
Can anyone recommend an external drive (USB or Firewire 800) that is compatible with the Mac CD and DVD disk-burning functions, iMovie and iDVD, will download software, play movie DVDs, and music CDs? In other words, it should do everything the SuperDrive is supposed to do. Also, it should last more than 6 months!
Thanks!only store they have is by chicago, which is also their office & where all of their tech support staff are located. they have hrs you can call in 7 days a week for help & are great about fixing or replacing anything that quits. haven't heard the same about lacie at all. the lacie drive are prettier tho, but seem more expenisve for what you actually get, imo.
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IMac superdrive not accepting disks
I have a 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 iMac that will not accept CDs or DVDs. When I attempt to load a CD/DVD the disk gets stuck half way in, as if there was a disk already in the superdrive (which there isn't, having checked in finder, disk utility, etc). I have tried resetting the SMC but without any success. Is this (yet another) faulty drive or does anybody have any other fixes?
ThanksIf it will Not accept any disks AND there is definitely not one already in it, it has unfortunately died. I would recommend if you are not under Warranty, getting an External USB DVD/CD writer from a name brand such as LG from Amazon.com or such for about $30 US. Much cheaper than Apple's and works fine.
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Rip CDs to a different location than the iTunes music folder?
I just got my first iPod about two weeks ago: a 32 GB Touch. It's awesome. I started ripping a ton of music to my PowerBook G4's 80 GB hard drive. Now it's running out of space. I was thinking of buying a USB external drive to store all the music I want, but I'm afraid the USB speed will cause trouble ripping CDs.
So, I was thinking I could rip the music to my desktop and then just copy it to the external drive. Is there any way to do this in iTunes? Rip here and play from there? Of course, I know I could just change the setting for the music folder in iTunes each time, but that seems a little more tedious than merely copying.This all hinges on the precise sequence and nature of CD rips in iTunes. If you rip a whole CD, then my assumption is (I don't know 100% about all these steps) :
1. the read is local, from the CD drive
2. the conversion of a particular track is done in RAM
3. once a track is processed (and while the next one is being read and converted) it is written out to your Library.
This means that even with slow USB, iTunes can still read and convert a track, while writing the previous track to disk. But I don't know what happens if iTunes finishes the second track while the first is still being written. I'm guessing that all converted tracks "back up" into a queue waiting to be written (hypothesis only - I have never been faced with this particular problem). -
Ripped CDs wont show up in iTunes library
I've recently got an iPod touch 5th generation, mainly because my MP3 player doesn't have enough space for my music. I've tried looking on the internet but nothing has really helped my situation.
As I found out, you can't sync the iPod with Windows Media Player, which is where all of my music is stored. I found out that you had to download iTunes and then sync all of the songs from there to my iPod. Most of my songs showed up in my iTunes library after installing it (ones that had been converted to MP3 files on the internet for personal use for free via online websites).
When I ripped some CDs to WMP on my computer, I was quite excited that I could have all of my favourite music on my iPod. All of the music that I want on my iPod is in one playlist together, so I thought I could just transfer them to iTunes and then sync them.
After it had finished syncing to my iPod, I noticed that my ripped CD albums had not showed up in my iTunes library and had therefore not been synced to my iPod.
I would really like for these to be put onto my iPod, for that is the whole reason of getting it, not just for the social media.
I have about 4 CDs which I've ripped to WMP that I want on my iPod, but I cannot figure out any way of getting them onto it. They wont show up in my iTunes library but I can't understand why and I've searched the internet for solutions and nothing has helped me.
Does anyone have any ways of helping me add my ripped CDs onto my iPod? I don't want to have to waste money on having to buy them all again from the iTunes store when I already have them in real life.From iTunes Help:
If you have audio or video files on your computer, you can import them into iTunes so they appear in your iTunes library.
To add media from MusicMatch Jukebox or Audible Manager to your iPod, iPhone, or iPad, you need to first import it into iTunes.
Add items from your computer to your iTunes library
Do either of the following:
Drag a file or folder from the desktop to the iTunes window.If you add a folder, all the files it contains are added to your library.
In iTunes, choose File > Add to Library, locate a file or folder, and click Open.
By default, adding items to your iTunes library places a pointer to each file in the iTunes folder; the original file remains in the current location. For information about copying files to the iTunes folder instead of creating pointers to them, see Change where your iTunes files are stored. If the file is an unprotected WMA file and you have Windows Media Player Series 9 or later installed, iTunes makes a copy of the file and adds it to your iTunes library. The original WMA file remains unchanged. You can’t add protected WMA files or protected WMV files to iTunes. -
How to rip CDs into iTunes from several machines, simultaneously
I have about 300 CDs that I'm re-ripping into my library for two reasons (1) I had a hard drive failure that corrupted / lost some of the files and (2) I'm shifting from MP3 to Apple Lossless format.
Setup: MacMini is linked to entertainment center for iTunes playback but I ahve 2 other Macbooks on network. iTunes library is on an external hardrive connected to mini via firewire --accessible to macbooks via network.
Issue 1: Can I load the iTunes library from the external hard drive on each of the three machines, then have each of the three re-rip CDs simultaneously to overwrite the old files? After the CDs have been re-ripped, I'd just tell iTunes on the MacMini rebuild the library so that it knew the actual file types for the CDs imported by the macbooks.
Issue 2: I want to overwrite existing songs (1) to avoid duplicate files and (2) I've misplaced / stored a couple hundred other CD's, so I can't just erase the old library, rip from three machines, then import into the mini b/c that would be a large loss of CDs.
My plan would as follows, but I'm not certain if it will work or if it's the best way:
1. Erase the iTunes library (not the files) on all three machines for a clean start.
2. On Each machine, Preferences -> Advanced -> General: Set the iTunes music folder to the external drive where the current music files are located. Also set each computer to "Keep Music Folder Organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder..."
3. on Each machine, select File -> Add to Libary: to add all of the current music files.
4. Start simultaneously shoving my CDs into the three machines and re-importing using lossless / telling it to overwrite existing files when prompted.
5. When done re-importing the CDs, erase the macbook libraries (I don't listen to music on them), tell the mac mini to erase it's library, then re-add all the newly ripped files and the preexisting/not-overwritten files to the library to rebuild it, so that the mini becomes aware of the files that were added / rewritten by the other two machines.
While none of the three machines would be ripping the same CD or trying to overwrite the same music files at the same time, my concern is that all three machines would run into problems if trying to update / write to the same iTunes non-music file, for example the iTunes Libarary Database file of the iTunes Library.xml file on the external drive.
Comments? Suggestions? Experiences?
Thanks,
mjcI have about 300 CDs that I'm re-ripping into my library for two reasons (1) I had a hard drive failure that corrupted / lost some of the files and (2) I'm shifting from MP3 to Apple Lossless format.
Setup: MacMini is linked to entertainment center for iTunes playback but I ahve 2 other Macbooks on network. iTunes library is on an external hardrive connected to mini via firewire --accessible to macbooks via network.
Issue 1: Can I load the iTunes library from the external hard drive on each of the three machines, then have each of the three re-rip CDs simultaneously to overwrite the old files? After the CDs have been re-ripped, I'd just tell iTunes on the MacMini rebuild the library so that it knew the actual file types for the CDs imported by the macbooks.
Well, yeah, this wold work, in 1/3 the time. If you have changed ANYTHING about a song title, album title or artist, iTunes will not see it as a duplicate.
Issue 2: I want to overwrite existing songs (1) to avoid duplicate files and (2) I've misplaced / stored a couple hundred other CD's, so I can't just erase the old library, rip from three machines, then import into the mini b/c that would be a large loss of CDs.
So, some of the MP3's won't be AAC's in the end?
My plan would as follows, but I'm not certain if it will work or if it's the best way:
1. Erase the iTunes library (not the files) on all three machines for a clean start.
Right Click/Duplicate first, just in case. OR (better method) hold the Option key while opening iTunes and choose create new library.
2. On Each machine, Preferences -> Advanced -> General: Set the iTunes music folder to the external drive where the current music files are located. Also set each computer to "Keep Music Folder Organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder..."
3. on Each machine, select File -> Add to Libary: to add all of the current music files.
4. Start simultaneously shoving my CDs into the three machines and re-importing using lossless / telling it to overwrite existing files when prompted.
If you have changed ANYTHING about a song title, album title or artist, iTunes will not see it as a duplicate.
5. When done re-importing the CDs, erase the macbook libraries (I don't listen to music on them), tell the mac mini to erase it's library, then re-add all the newly ripped files and the preexisting/not-overwritten files to the library to rebuild it, so that the mini becomes aware of the files that were added / rewritten by the other two machines.
On the three machines, hold the Option Key while opening iTunes and choose the original library, then delete the new library file you created for this adventure. Then do the same to create a new library on the MacMini. If you have created playlists, first export each playlist as a .xml file and import it when finished.
While none of the three machines would be ripping the same CD or trying to overwrite the same music files at the same time, my concern is that all three machines would run into problems if trying to update / write to the same iTunes non-music file, for example the iTunes Libarary Database file of the iTunes Library.xml file on the external drive.
They will each be creating their own unique library database, missing what the other two machines are adding to the iTunes Music Folder. They will not be re-writing the .xml file on the external hard drive. Each computer will have it's own .xml file on it's hard drive.
Tracy -
iMac will not play the DVD that I have made on imovie and burned on iMac SuperDrive ?? (DVD plays fine on household DVD player and also plays fine on Toshiba laptop ) Why not on the iMac - anyone know???
There are many reasons this could be the case but whether an optical disc can be read or not is a function of:
The reflective media layer of the disc
Whether the burned disc was a DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW
The brand, model, and production lot of the disc
The specific frequency of the Write lasers that burned the disc
The specific frequency of the Read lasers that are attempting to read the disc
Are the Read lasers in the drive working (it is common for one set of lasers in a drive to fail while others continue to work)
How old are the Write and Read drives (laser frequencies change with age)
Is there dust on the read laser
Is there dust on the read lens
etc.
At one time it was estimated that fewer than 80% of all burned discs were readable in 90% of the drives. That has, I believe improved over time but at the same time it seems the faillure rate of lasers in the drives has increased but that may simply be the result of how many different read and write lasers there are in today's superdrives. Fortunately todays drives are a lot less expensive the replace -- now that Apple no longer installs optical drives in their computers. -
Itunes 7.6.1.9 - ripping cds using too much cpu!
When ripping new cds, itunes starts hogging the cpu like no tomorrow. it will get to 99% at times! I have a 1GB ram, and have NEVER had this problem with any other application or version of iTunes for that matter. I consistantly run multiple programs at the same time, such as Photoshop CS, Firefox and itunes all at the same time with not even 30% of the cpu being used. This is ridiculous.
In addition to basically fearing my machine will crash if i want to put a new cd on my computer, now songs hang up / skip randomly (including itunes purchases!) and this also NEVER happened before the upgrade.
What is the deal?Hey folks, there is a DEFINITE bug in version 7.6.029 which is causing a variety of problems, including massively slow time to rip CDs, and frequent hangs of iTunes. I just upgraded from 7.5 to 7.6.029 after ripping about 200 CDs relatively quickly using iTunes.... IMMEDIATELY after iTunes "auto upgraded" itself to 7.6.029, I started seeing massively slower times....rips that took 4 minutes previously now take over 20 minutes. I tried a variety of other suggested fixes (deleting video files, deleting podcasts, upgrading quicktime, etc).... not a bit of it helped.
Here is what DID fix the problem:
1. I copied my already ripped music files to another disk for safety,
2. then I deleted version 7.6.029 from my PC via add/delete programs.
3.deleted quicktime via add/delete programs
4.killed ituneshelper via task manager
5. rebooted my pc,
6. installed version 7.5.0.20 by using file I found at:http://appldnld.apple.com.edgesuite.net/content.info.apple.com/iTunes7/Win/061-3 902.20071105.G6edS/iTunes75Setup.exe
7. manually delete "iTunes Library.itl" in the ..My Documents/My Music/iTunes directory
8. I then got the 'old' iTunes to come up by selecting "repair" on the iTunes restart
9. I then did "file->add folder to library" on iTunes menu (pointing at the saved music files from step 1.) to re-import all my music. Of course, I logged onto iTunes beforehand with my AppleID so that iTunes would re-retrieve all the album art. I did NOT manually delete any files at any time in the except the iTunes Library.itl file in the ....->My Documents->My Music->iTunes folder.
That has completely fixed my problem. Disks are now back to being ripped in the 3 to 5 minute range...CPU usage is still as high as it was in 7.6, but iTunes no longer locks up, and the program is now properly managing my multispeed CD disk drive...operating it at 10x speed to rip discs (as opposed to 1.2 to 2x speeds under iTunes version 7.6)
So, sorry Apple, I won't be upgrading iTunes until I read that you have really fixed this problem...comments everywhere point out this performance bug, and I don't see any coherent response from you guys...just misplaced blame on disc drives, cpus, etc.....but the code is BAD... Hey, you didn't just outsource the iTunes coding effort did you? Sure looks like it. -
I have tryed looking for input on how to erase the firmware and reinstall it to reset it from being corrupt like most PC computers when the hardware starts acting werid but no solutions on how to. Currently the CD=Rom does not load CD's or DVD's only the ones it would like to allow me to. Some CD/DVD are just fine others that are not dirty will not load at all. I am trying to do an Firmware restore CD load, but it will not allow me to Boot to the CD. Either from the "C" or by using the Option key to select and boot to it. I also cannot see a CD icon in Startup Disk in Sys Pref. The icon on the right side shows "No Drives." This is in my Sys Info window under ATA devices "This computer doesn't contain any ATA devices. If you installed ATA devices, make sure they're connected and powered on." And under Disk Burning this comes up "No disc burning device was found. If the device is external, make sure it’s connected and turned on." It seems my computer does not have a superdrive. I have hardware in it, just trying to solve the problem with the disk not injecting/ejecting running cd/dvd but only when it would like to, and having its mind of its own. I would like to find the way to remove the firmware, and reinstall the firm itself from scratch. Ect. Esentially I would like to Wipe it all completely and build it back up, peice by peice, otherwise im back PC, and this one I will watch burn in a fire, with included intentual Souls. I only want it to work correctly for me and not ruin my life trying to fix it. It currently is a 9,1 iMac with Lion 10.7.xx SN QP911 I dont know what is wrong with the iMac and why for this model only is thier so many problems with it, and yes, "IT IS JUST ME." These are the following things I find to be wrong with it. In the Recovered Partion are thier disk images named "Unknown" about 10-15 of them hidden inside itself, thoughout the hidden par. The recovery part is not hidden and locked. All the firmware is written and corrupt. Amongst the many various hidden entities inside the operating software. I mean its just a computer but for the people who decide to do these things, Will Burn. As it does mean just that much to me.
Burn, ect ect
James
Murder me then alsoJurgen,
Page 36 of the iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor) Hardware Developer's note has a very nice table depicting CD/DVD types. And yes, it supports both.
http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Hardware/hardware2.html
Steve -
What are the best settings for ripping cd's in the AAC format?
I have researched and found out that the AAC format rules over the MP3 format as fas as sound quality goes with lossy formats. Example: AAC at 128 is better than MP3 at 160 as so forth. My questions are: What are the best settings for ripping cd's in the AAC format? Will I be able to burn cd mixes with the tracks I import into itunes after importing using the AAC format? Does the AAC format have VBR like the MP3 format? Is there other ripping software such as dbPoweramp and Exact Audio Copy that does a better job ripping cd's in the AAC format? Please help!
mysteryroach wrote:
My questions are: What are the best settings for ripping cd's in the AAC format?
It is a matter of opinion, but I suggest 256 kb/s, CBR, and leave all other settings on automatic.
Will I be able to burn cd mixes with the tracks I import into itunes after importing using the AAC format?
Yes. Just put them in a playlist and burn.
Does the AAC format have VBR like the MP3 format?
Yes. You will see it as an option in the Import Settings.
Is there other ripping software such as dbPoweramp and Exact Audio Copy that does a better job ripping cd's in the AAC format?
EAC does a better job of correcting errors in damaged CDs, but for normal CDs iTunes does a fine job of ripping to AAC. -
The best quality for ripping a song
hi,
i have some old cds that i would like to rip and upload to my ipod touch.
but what's the rate for ripping songs from cds that would give me the best quality of the songs.
thanks.
ps. now i use 192 bps, but sound quality doesn't seem too good.You'll get an extensive comparison of the AAC and MP3 formats and bit rates benchmarked against CD format at this link: Planet of Sound - Quality of AAC audio and MP3
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I have purchased a new iMac and I have an Logic Pro version 8 installed on my Mac air. Can someone tell me how to migrate it to the iMac since I misplaced my CDs.
You should be able to hook the two up and run the migration assistant app to transfer all apps to the new machine.
Mike,
I do agree with you... that you *could* do that but the issue is the large number of reported problems, here and elsewhere, by people trying to use MA with Logic.... resulting in them having to re-install Logic and it's content, from scratch anyhow.. negating the use of MA to achieve this..
I also believe, though I have no proof of course, that based on previous similar situations on the App Store, there will be no discount for recent purchaser of Logic 9 when the next major version of Logic is released... but then again, the current price of Logic 9 is the same price as the Logic 8 to Logic 9 upgrade price was anyhow.. so in reality, for me at least, it would be reasonable to pay that same price for the Logic 9 to Logic <whatever> anyhow!
Cheers.. -
What is the best format for ripping CD's to get the best quality?
I'm sure this has been asked before but I wanted to see what was the latest thinking. Any ideas of the additional Hard Drive usage? Thanks
mysteryroach wrote:
My questions are: What are the best settings for ripping cd's in the AAC format?
It is a matter of opinion, but I suggest 256 kb/s, CBR, and leave all other settings on automatic.
Will I be able to burn cd mixes with the tracks I import into itunes after importing using the AAC format?
Yes. Just put them in a playlist and burn.
Does the AAC format have VBR like the MP3 format?
Yes. You will see it as an option in the Import Settings.
Is there other ripping software such as dbPoweramp and Exact Audio Copy that does a better job ripping cd's in the AAC format?
EAC does a better job of correcting errors in damaged CDs, but for normal CDs iTunes does a fine job of ripping to AAC. -
*** What is the bare min. iMac to buy for editing HDV footage
Just wondering if someone could give me feedback on their editing experiences with a new iMac, HDV footage, and Final Cut Pro. I'm hiring an editor that will be working regularly with HDV footage. I'm currently on a PowerMac DP 2.7 G5 but there isn't the budget to give him a Mac Pro at this time. Just wondering if people think a 17" iMac w/ superdrive would be enough for that person to comfortably edit the HDV footage I give them. I'd be running a 19" monitor along side the iMac, so that's why I am not really considering the 20" at this point. Can anyone let me know if they think the iMac's can handle this kind of footage? I have a last generation powermac G4 tower, but I'm assuming that would be slower than a new iMac.
Thoughts?I'm currently on a PowerMac DP 2.7 G5 but there isn't the budget to give him a Mac Pro at this time.
While the iMac will work for you, personally I'd stick with what you've got and save your pennies till you can afford what you want. You'll be happier in the end with a machine that you can expand.
Remember that your computer can render when that lazy editor of yours goes home to sleep. (;
rh
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