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[Greyhound]

Hi,
 i am a newbie, but i can't seem to find an answer to this question.
How can i store and or rip music files on/to both discs and have Media Center access both normally.
I am ripping now. So far about 250-300 cds (in .wav) .(.ape does not sound as good. I have tested it )
I have 400-450 more to go .
What is my best method for using both drives ,especially when one becomes full ,or 3/4 full ?
I guess i can change the location of where it should rip the files to . I could change it to the E: drive ,when c: becomes too full.
If i do that will JRiver look in both places ? Do i have to import after that from E:?
I want all disks to be available all of the time without having to import new library and discard the other ?
I have tried to merge the disks, (that ain't happening, I tried even when they were empty without an OS.)seems i can  only merge partitions

I did get it set to "extended partition"
Does this mean that it will be available to C: ,once it gets full ??
Thanks,
Dennis

[Vocalpoint]

How can i store and or rip music files on/to both discs and have Media Center access both normally.

Media Center does not care where your media is - but you do need to "add" every track into the "library" before MC can play it.

Look under Tools->Options-Library & Folders and then click Configure Auto-Import. It's here that you tell MC where to look and what to "place" within it's current loaded library. You can have a collection of folders on each drive - just "point" MC in the right directionand it will read them all in.

Watch for dupes tho - I did not quite understand your statement about ripping to both discs and so on. If it were me - I would designate a specific folder for ripping - and another for your actual "collection" and keep the work files (ripped stuff that might need tagging) in one place and then use MC to "move" them to the main library.

I would also strongly recommend you far away from WAV as your format as well and consider a lossless format like FLAC to ensure all your metadata will remain intact if you should decide to use a different application in the future. Your wavs (and displayed metadata) will work fine as long as you use MC (like forever) but it's almost guarantee that your tags will be severely compromised if you take your files to another player at some point.

VP

[Greyhound]

Thanks for the Reply,
Well i CAN tell a difference in sound on compressed or lossless formats.
So , for now I'll keep them in that format . There are many programs that will convert them if i need to in the future.
MC does a really good job of tagging . I have only had 1 or 2 that it did not find .
I was talking about ripping to the other drive E: , when C: gets close to full . I was going to change the Rip path to a folder named Music on E:
Then i could have the tagging done during the rip.. or right after if i have to edit ,add info.
Then ,what would i do to get them into the library and keep what i have there already.
I know you just posted it . And i haven't tried that before responding back.
I wish the system here would show your message as i am responding back...that would be nice .
Thank you very much

[Vocalpoint]

Well i CAN tell a difference in sound on compressed or lossless formats.
So , for now I'll keep them in that format . There are many programs that will convert them if i need to in the future.

Note: Lossless is lossless - it's mathematically impossible for there to be any differences - but if you are hearing something - that's your ears I guess

With respect to "converting"...just remember that "those" programs may not treat your tags with any respect in the future. For me the metadata is critical and I would never trust WAV format to handle any of that with any accuracy. That's your call of course - don't say I didn't warn you if you have to re-rip and retag your entire library someday.

I was talking about ripping to the other drive E: , when C: gets close to full . I was going to change the Rip path to a folder named Music on E: Then i could have the tagging done during the rip.. or right after if i have to edit ,add info.

Firstly - I would advise against ripping ANYTHING to c:\ - like EVER. C should be reserved for the OS and that's it. If your C drive dies suddenly - with all your music on it - well you get the picture.....and it's not a matter of if it fails - it's when. All media should be ripped/stored anywhere but the C:\ drive. Again - your call.

To the question - using the Library & Folders item I mentioned - you can have MC add stuff to the library from anywhere on your local machine or network. Just a matter of telling it where to look under Library & Folders as needed. Make note - this would be a manual change if you fill C up (Which I would strongly recommend against)

VP

[Greyhound]

Thanks Again.
Dennis

[Greyhound]

Oh BTW
I originally started using the pc  Dell T5400 with windows xp .Originally i had ripped some 40-50 cds and i changed the rip format initially to .wav ,  when i decided to use win 7 instead. I purchased windows 7 loaded it and began ripping ...and listening . The default format  for MC is .ape (lossless).
I have a Musical fidelity V-link2 from usb to Optical to the Musical fidelity M1 clic (DAc) Then analog out to the pre-amp.
After installing Windows 7 and starting over, I had ripped for a couple of hours and i kept saying to myself . wow it sounds kinda sharp and a little harsh.
I didn't notice until a little later that it was ripping in .ape not .wav. I deleted all the files and started over in .WAV format.
It sounds much better. i am sorry to say and i know people will say i am wrong but it DOES.
Maybe it has to do with decompressing I really don't know ?

[Listener]

Oh BTW
I originally started using the pc  Dell T5400 with windows xp .Originally i had ripped some 40-50 cds and i changed the rip format initially to .wav ,  when i decided to use win 7 instead. I purchased windows 7 loaded it and began ripping ...and listening . The default format  for MC is .ape (lossless).
I have a Musical fidelity V-link2 from usb to Optical to the Musical fidelity M1 clic (DAc) Then analog out to the pre-amp.
After installing Windows 7 and starting over, I had ripped for a couple of hours and i kept saying to myself . wow it sounds kinda sharp and a little harsh.
I didn't notice until a little later that it was ripping in .ape not .wav. I deleted all the files and started over in .WAV format.
It sounds much better. i am sorry to say and i know people will say i am wrong but it DOES.
Maybe it has to do with decompressing I really don't know ?

You appear to have compared what you heard on XP to what you heard on a new W7 system.  There could have been differences in JRiver settings or Windows settings that affected sound output.  In particular, you may have used a different output method on XP from the method you used in W7.

JRiver can store tag values in WAV files if you have set a few options.  Since there isn't a widely used standard for tags in WAV files, other programs may or may not be able to read and use those tags. 

If you have not set JRiver to store tags in the WAV files you create, you may find that you have to start all over tagging lossless files when you do a batch conversion to a different format.

Vocalpoint has urged caution in ripping your files to WAV format.  I agree.  You can rip to ape format or Flac format (both lossless) and convert to WAV later when you really understand the issues.

[glynor]

You appear to have compared what you heard on XP to what you heard on a new W7 system.  There could have been differences in JRiver settings or Windows settings that affected sound output.  In particular, you may have used a different output method on XP from the method you used in W7.

Probably.  Or it could be a purely placebo effect.

FLAC and APE both decode, mathematically and provably, bit-for-bit identical to WAV files.  You can test it (people have, even here on this forum), and it works.  And, MC uses an intelligent buffering system to prevent any possible decode performance impact (with anything remotely approaching a modern PC), and if you go the full tinfoil hat mode, you can even set MC to pre-buffer the files to PCM in RAM before playback.  Use FLAC or APE and you get:

* A modern, well-supported file format.
* 1.3-1.5x the storage capacity.
* Identical audio.

But...

Whatever.  If it makes you happy, and you want to pay for the extra hard drive space it will require to store uncompressed audio in an ancient file format, then you can.  MC will include tags for you (I would enable this if I were you -- MC can read them, so it is a good backup).  Or you can turn that off and just trust the database, if you're a little on the loopy side.  Make sure you store Library backups to a cloud backup service or multiple drives or something, and go beserk with your bad self.

MC doesn't care, and treats WAV as a full-class citizen.

[astropuppy]

I'm a bit confused, I thought WAV was a lossless format?

Also can MC rip my WAV's to FLAC's?

[MrC]

WAV is lossless; but it is uncompressed.  Compressed formats can be lossy or lossless.  FLAC is an example of a compressed, but lossless format.

MC can convert WAV to FLAC and other formats.  See the Library Tools > Conversion tools and options.

[astromo]

I'm a bit confused, I thought WAV was a lossless format?

Also can MC rip my WAV's to FLAC's?

Wiki, Wiki, Wiki? Where for art thought, Wiki?
http://wiki.jriver.com/index.php/Lossless_Compression
You'll also find that Interact has plenty to offer on the subject.

Furthermore, I've posted this link before a couple of times:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/309-computer-audiophile-cd-ripping-strategy-and-methodology/
I personally got good value out of it when I first digitised my collection, especially when selecting the codec format to rip to. Invaluable.

This is another commonly posted link by myself that I recommend and has been useful for my understanding of lossless, lossy and practical playback and listening limits:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/blogs/mitchco/flac-vs-wav-vs-mp3-vs-m4a-experiment-94/
mitchco has posted a number of entries along the similar lines. Look him up.

As a final thought, I checked Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_audio_formats
So, there's plenty of options to choose from.