Originally published June 2 2005
High-speed CD ripping services turn discs into digital music, fast
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
For CD lovers wishing to rip their discs to their computer for use on iPods or other mp3 devices, Businessweek columnist Stephen H. Wildstrom recommends using a CD ripping service. For a fee, most services will send customers a shipping package and label for their CDs. In about a week, the CDs come back, along with DVDs containing digital files of all the CDs, ready for uploading to a PC. Wildstrom tried two different services, RipDigital and ReadyToPlay, and recommends both.
For teenagers and twentysomethings, downloads -- legal or otherwise -- have become the natural way to acquire recorded music.
But there are lots of graybeards like me who still prefer to buy CDs and who have acquired hundreds of them over the past couple of decades.
Ripping CDs to computer files isn't difficult.
But it is time-consuming -- around 10 to 15 minutes per disk depending on the speed of your computer, the digital format, and the length of the CDs.
In a week or so your CDs come back, along with several data DVDs containing music that's formatted and ready to load onto your computer.
RipDigital includes a program that automates the process of copying the files from the DVD to your computer and loading the music into your library of iTunes or a Musicmatch jukebox, but it really isn't needed.
The ripping services offer a variety of digital formats, including mp3, Windows Media, and AAC (used by iPod and iTunes).
For the best sound quality you can leave the music uncompressed, but the resulting huge files can't be used in portable music players.
In addition to supplying DVDs, the services will load your music onto a portable player if you send them one or copy the music to an external hard drive you send in or buy from them.
The only problem I have is finding the album I want to play, especially on the limited displays of the iPod and Roku.
The system of tags used to identify music is a mess for pop and rock and hopeless for classical and jazz.
Furthermore, the databases the services and music players use to supply the tags are full of errors and inconsistencies.
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