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The Radio 3 Boards > Collectors Resource > Computer Related - Music > Software Related. > Making audio CDs from FLAC files
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Author Topic: Making audio CDs from FLAC files  (Read 104 times)
time_is_now
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« on: 02:57:02, 16-11-2008 »
One of those things I've been meaning to get round to for ages ... taking advantage of some of the wonderful treasures available at the Avant-Garde Project (technical stuff about why they use FLACs is here).

I think what I need is a piece of software to convert the FLACs into WAV files. From there I assume I can burn to CD easily enough using Nero, which is the audio software I usually use for compiling audio projects. What software would people recommend for dealing with the FLACs? There seems to be some useful stuff here which I could probably make sense of for myself if I needed to, but I'd be interested to hear what others use. I'm on a PC, not a Mac, by the way, if that makes a difference.

Incidentally, could someone explain to me why the Avant-Garde Project say their new material is initially only available as a bit-torrent, then becomes a FLAC later? I'm not sure I've quite grasped this whole bit-torrent business ...
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Evan Johnson
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« Reply #1 on: 03:22:10, 16-11-2008 »
Quote from: time_is_now on 02:57:02, 16-11-2008
Incidentally, could someone explain to me why the Avant-Garde Project say their new material is initially only available as a bit-torrent, then becomes a FLAC later? I'm not sure I've quite grasped this whole bit-torrent business ...

Being a Mac person I can't help you with the FLAC issue, but in fact the AGP reissues are all FLACS; they start as bittorrents and then are eventually posted for direct download.  I assume it's to reduce traffic and bandwidth usage on the site, which is pretty bare-bones... bittorrents are a way of distributing bandwidth through peer-to-peer transmission along multiple channels at once.
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Mrs. Kerfoops
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« Reply #2 on: 03:28:20, 16-11-2008 »
To convert flac files to wavs we use dbPowerAmp Music Converter. It is absolutely free, very fast and reliable, and very well written. (The latest version even makes full use of multiple CPUs if you have them!)

Torrents are a way of obtaining data, not the data files themselves. The Avant-Garde site directs one to the Mininova site (among others), and there one sees for each collection in which one might be interested "Download this Torrent" (or even just a little green arrow). So one's first step is to click on that and download a little "key file" with a ".torrent" extension. This file is just a pointer; it does not contain the flacs you want.

Then - secondly - one runs a torrent programme (a "client" as it is called) such as "microtorrent" (utorrent with an upsilon actually), and tells that torrent programme where one's little .torrent file is. Specifically, one clicks on "Add Torrent" and gives it the name of the little .torrent file on your hard disc.

The torrent programme utorrent (or whatever) will then proceed to download for one one's actual data file (the flacs in your case). The process usually takes an hour or two, and at the end of it the flacs will be on one's hard disc in the directory in which one told utorrent (in its "preferences") to save them. Sometimes they are compressed into a single .rar or .zip file and one must use "winrar" "winzip" or the like to separate them out.

For much more information about utorrent (the best in our view, and again a free programme) see here.
« Last Edit: 03:50:04, 16-11-2008 by Mrs. Kerfoops » Logged
time_is_now
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« Reply #3 on: 04:05:50, 16-11-2008 »
Such informative replies, and at witching hour too!

I may sleep on this before taking further action, but many thanks to you both. (Incidentally, I was aware that a torrent was not the file format itself but decided to play innocent in the hope of receiving a better explanation of how torrents actually work and/or why they might be advantageous. Both of which I now have. Smiley)

It still seems a complicated alternative to the direct downloads, but I suppose Evan is right that it reduces traffic when files are at their newest and most in demand. Maybe this is also the reason why many of the AGP downloads are offered from the AGP site itself or from a mirror site, something else which puzzled me.
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The city is a process which always veers away from the form envisaged and desired, ... whose revenge upon its architects and planners undoes every dream of mastery. It is [also] one of the sites where Dasein is assigned the impossible task of putting right what can never be put right. - Rob Lapsley
Bryn
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« Reply #4 on: 08:39:17, 16-11-2008 »
t_i_n man, if you don't want to mess around with dBPoweramp, (and who in their right mind would if it was not necessary), you can do the job quite well enough with Winamp 5.51 & Nullsoft FLAC Decoder v2.3. Much more friendly than dBPoweramp for the uninitiated. You can also do the burning to CD-R with WlnAmp, but I prefer to use Nero Burning ROM for that part of the job.
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #5 on: 09:40:24, 16-11-2008 »
Quote from: Mrs. Kerfoops on 03:28:20, 16-11-2008
"microtorrent" (utorrent with an upsilon actually)
With a mu or as they now call it a mi but in any case a μ, surely?
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time_is_now
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« Reply #6 on: 11:44:55, 16-11-2008 »
Quote from: oliver sudden on 09:40:24, 16-11-2008
Quote from: Mrs. Kerfoops on 03:28:20, 16-11-2008
"microtorrent" (utorrent with an upsilon actually)
With a mu or as they now call it a mi but in any case a μ, surely?
How funny. Even though Mrs K. obviously wrote 'upsilon' and meant 'mu' I somehow managed to read 'upsilon' and understand it as 'mu'. Sometimes empathy exceeds the bounds of language!

And yes as Mr S. suggests 'upsilon' by a modern Greek is pronounced 'ipsilon' and 'mu' 'mi'.
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The city is a process which always veers away from the form envisaged and desired, ... whose revenge upon its architects and planners undoes every dream of mastery. It is [also] one of the sites where Dasein is assigned the impossible task of putting right what can never be put right. - Rob Lapsley
Kuhlau
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« Reply #7 on: 23:23:09, 17-11-2008 »
I use Winamp, MediaMonkey or the outstanding (and mind-bogglingly customisable) foobar2000 for handling FLAC files. The first two of these come equipped with all the bits you need to burn FLAC to CD-R/RW, while the last requires that you have the latest version of Nero installed.

FK
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Andy D
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« Reply #8 on: 00:40:39, 18-11-2008 »
Mediamonkey certainly does the biz vis-a-vis flac files going onto CDs. I also burn them on my Ubuntu laptop using K3b, but I don't expect anyone here, except possibly Kitty, will find that info very useful.
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