Hi everyone

First of all let me say that I used to be very good with computers back in the DOS and 5 1/4 inch days but as I've gotten older I've gotten quite lost.

What I am trying to do is to learn more about the best way to get my 500-odd cd and vinyl collection stored in the best way on my pc. I don't mind paying for proper software but when I ask these questions on yahoo answers I just get bloody advertising thrown at me.

Basically I have everything stored at the moment in mp3 format varying between 128 and 256. I have heard that this is a 'lossy' format and not really good enough to do justice to the music.

I also have recently been buying 5.1DTS stuff and have no idea how to get this in a decent quality on my pc.

Another thing I want to do is I have a large DVD collection of music videos I would like to store on my pc but the vob(?) files are just way too large.

I am using Media Player 11 and would ask for recommendations on library software too.

I have had similar issues with codecs.

Basically, I would ask that tech-savvy orgers in the know to recommend me the best way to store my stuff in a way that this is a project I can do once now and last for a long time. What library software, ripping software, formats etc do you think I should be using? I'm after high-quality, long-lasting and good organisation.

Yes I know I am asking too much. By as a perfectionist (maybe OCD? ) I really want to do this right.

I appreciate all and any help and suggestions.

Thank you very kindly in advance.

Go to your nearest computer geek store

luv4u said:

No offence but computer salespeople aren't really the people I'm after for advice. I was hoping that people would be able to tell me their setup and make recommendations.

I'm sure that people on this forum are lovers of music as much as I am.

If you want to rip DVDs, or VOB files, use Handbrake. I use it to rip to Apple TV (a Quicktime type) format that plays in iTunes, Quicktime, and on my AppleTV. VLC player will play almost anything, including the M4V files that Handbrake makes. It's pretty easy to use, even on the PC side. IT's made for Mac or PC, and is independent of Apple. VLC player is made for Mac and PC as well, is light weight and plays anything from a DVD, to an mp3, AVI, MPG, or almost whatever you can throw at it.

I use Delicious Library on my Mac to keep track of all my books, CDs, and DVDs. (If you have a Mac w/ an iSight camera, it'll actually scan the barcode and enter it for you, or you can just enter the UPC code). On the PC side, there are other library type systems that draw similar information from the web when you enter a UPC code. Just google "DVD Library PC" or something like that.

I ripped all my 300+ CDs in iTunes format (AAC), which is a slightly better format than MP3, and I ripped at the highest bitrate. It's less lossy than MP3, which IMO just sucks. But if you have a 128 MP3, you cannot rip UP. Once a file is compressed, the loss of quality is permanently embedded in the file. So if you re-rip a 128 mp3 to 256, it'll still sound like 128, and just use more space on your computer. iTunes is good for keeping things organized. You can add cover art to any set of songs (like an album), or a movie you've ripped, and add any other information in the ID3 tag.

How much money do you have?

I ask, because MDI makes a Network Attached Storage unit where you insert a CD or DVD, and it automatically makes a copy of it on your PC and stores it.

I know people are making appliances like this that are compatible with HDTVs also. Mediagate jumps to mind.

rip cd's to FLAC (lossless audio format)

http://flac.sourceforge.net/

using Winamp http://www.winamp.com/

(or drag and drop files in the FLAC box)



[Edited 6/17/09 8:41am]

Dewrede said:

That takes up a LOT of space, and you're stuck with Winamp and maybe one other player as your media player.

connorhawke said:

Then keep it as is. You got the best quality in the orignals, and if you want to keep copies on your PC, you either lose quality (mp3, i.e. lossy) but with decent filesizes, or go for high quality (lossless format, google is your friend) but expect huge filesizes.

That goes for either audio or video. You can rip DVDs to lesser quality or keep it original; and yes vob's are big.

I would only digitize the video's (VCR i take it?). But you need decent hardware and a lot of time&patience to convert it from analogue to digital. There are services who can do it for you. Usefull read

ernestsewell said:

the person that started this thread asked for a lossless adio converter

FLAC is the way to go nowadays !

besides HD's nowadays are quite cheap (i recently bought a 1 TB (1024 GB's) HD
for 110$)


oh and WMP plays FLAC too
[Edited 6/17/09 8:25am]

FLAC files aren't that big btw

I ripped Lotusflower to both WAV. and FLAC (to compare)
WAV. ; 491 MB
FLAC ; 323 MB
[Edited 6/17/09 8:49am]

For hands on work, I have

Audio ripping: Foobar2000 for ripping to FLAC (lossless), APE (lossless), or MP3 lame (lossy)

Media Monkey for library.

Video Ripping: MagicISO for making a duplication of and hosting DVD ISO files.


For that many CDs and DVDs, you're going to need to have a fair amount of disk space. Start with 1TB to be safe.

For all those who gave their suggestions, thank you so much.

Although I didn't respond for ages (I apologise!) I was actually taking all the suggestions made here into account.

In the end I've gone with FLAC files (am completely sold) because of one clinching factor - I was able to keep the DTS 5.1 surround sound from my dualdiscs

Going to stick with VOB files for now for video until I can think of something better.

For an audio player I settled on Songbird....just because it did what I wanted it to, can't (yet) do video (therefore I can procrastinate a little longer) and is free and constantly worked on. That and I use Firefox so it's a pair

Again, thank you everyone!!!! Very very much appreciated and very helpful!!!