Downloading Music off the Internet

[Warren Peters]

Is there a better option than Napster for downloading music off the internet?

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

Is there a better option than Napster for downloading music off the internet?

I don't know if there is anything better, because of the DRM in all of them.

You can download from Walmart or iTunes, too. I don't download from anywhere, but if I did, I would download to a CD-RW, right from the site. You can then rip the music to your hard drive as a .wav file or mp3 file. You use programs like Roxio's Creator Classic to do it, and the files can be used for anything you want. No more DRM.

If you download from iTunes, etc., directly to your hard drive, in some cases, you have limited use of that file. Also, WMP 10 and 11 can be a problem with DRM.

[Warren Peters]

Bruce, what is "DRM"?

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

Bruce, what is "DRM"?

Digital Rights Management. For the most part, it can mean that you can only play that downloaded music on your computer. You can't import it into slide shows, like I do, and if you can burn the music to a CD, you can only do it a very limited number of times.

That is why I say to download it to a CD-RW right from the site. You can then rip it to your hard drive, and it basically strips the DRM, doing it that way.

[Warren Peters]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wallace

Digital Rights Management. For the most part, it can mean that you can only play that downloaded music on your computer. You can't import it into slide shows, like I do, and if you can burn the music to a CD, you can only do it a very limited number of times.

That is why I say to download it to a CD-RW right from the site. You can then rip it to your hard drive, and it basically strips the DRM, doing it that way.

Aha, thanks Bruce!

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

Aha, thanks Bruce!

You're welcome.

[Bruce Darby]

But you burn through a BUNCH of CD's too. LOL

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Bruce Darby

But you burn through a BUNCH of CD's too. LOL

Nah. You burn to an RW disk and erase it each time, after you dump it to the hard drive.

[Warren Peters]

Is there a difference between "ripping" and just copying?

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

Is there a difference between "ripping" and just copying?

When you rip, you actually change the format of the file that you want to put on the hard drive. The term ripping usually refers to making wav files out of CDA files from a music CD, but the term is loosely used for changing the format too, when you do it from a downloaded music on a CD.

Point of interest: There is no real file that is a CDA file. That is why you see 0 Kb when you check the properties of one, on a CD. The CDA is actually a pointer to a .wav file on the CD that you can't actually get to.

[Warren Peters]

Once you have d/l'd a song direct to a CD, what program do you use to "rip" it to your HD?

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

Once you have d/l'd a song direct to a CD, what program do you use to "rip" it to your HD?

I use Roxio or Nero. I prefer Roxio, but there are others that work. I currently have EMC 9.0.

[Warren Peters]

Originally Posted by Bruce Wallace

I use Roxio or Nero. I prefer Roxio, but there are others that work. I currently have EMC 9.0.

I have Roxio's AudioCentralPlayer v1.0, and Nero 6.

[Bruce Darby]

Nero works like a champ, Warren.

[Bruce Wallace]

Originally Posted by Warren Peters

I have Roxio's AudioCentralPlayer v1.0, and Nero 6.

Nero 6 will work for you. I have done a lot of video work, and Nero is severly limited when it comes to that kind of work, but for burning music and data files, it works very well.

[Warren Peters]

Not sure I have the same version as you. My version doesn't have any options for copying from cd-to-hd, only from hd-to-cd.