Writing mp3 files to data files

[Danarchy]

Some young and semingly computer savvy kids at two department stores, while I was looking for a boombox for work that would play my burned cd's, told me they write the mp3's to data files and are able to fit many more songs on a cd-r and play them on simple players just for cd's and cd-r's, not mp3 compatible players. Anybody know how to do this? Can it be done with iTunes?
Thanks Dan :confused:

[TallCool1]

Some young and semingly computer savvy kids at two department stores, while I was looking for a boombox for work that would play my burned cd's, told me they write the mp3's to data files and are able to fit many more songs on a cd-r and play them on simple players just for cd's and cd-r's, not mp3 compatible players. Anybody know how to do this? Can it be done with iTunes?

The short answer: no, it can't be done that way. Audio CD standards are such that a standard audio CD player can only play uncompressed audio files. MP3, OGG, AAC, and FLAC files can be written as data to a CD-R (and play back on a computer or compatible player), but a CD-audio-only player won't even see them, let alone play them. A music CD and a data CD have entirely different disc layouts; that's one of the reasons why there are special "music" CD-R discs for the dual-deck CD player/burners.

[Danarchy]

The short answer: no, it can't be done that way. Audio CD standards are such that a standard audio CD player can only play uncompressed audio files. MP3, OGG, AAC, and FLAC files can be written as data to a CD-R (and play back on a computer or compatible player), but a CD-audio-only player won't even see them, let alone play them. A music CD and a data CD have entirely different disc layouts; that's one of the reasons why there are special "music" CD-R discs for the dual-deck CD player/burners.

Thanks.
So does that mean I can write the mp3 files to data files and they can be played on CD-R and or CD-RW compatible players, so that I can get more songs on one CD-R or "music CD-R". Pardon my ignorance on this subject. At a 3rd store (Apple authorized) today they were saying I could fit many more songs than a typical cd by some means. But there wasn't time to really explain it. They said there were options to accomplish this in iTunes.

[kbennett]

The longer answer is this: all the various compressed music files (like MP3) take the CD-audio file and make it smaller. You can write those smaller MP3 files onto a CD-R disc with a CD burner, and you will fit many more songs onto a CD-R than if they were the original size.

The new CD can be played on a computer with an application like iTunes. Some CD players can also decode MP3 files, so you can play the new CD on them (some newer walkman and car audio CD players will do this). This MP-3 playing feature will be prominently displayed on the player or on the box.

If you use iTunes to import (rip) the music from your regular music CDs, you can then create new CDs with either regular music-CD tracks (with about an hour of music), or MP-3 tracks (with many hours of music but which will only play in select devices.) You can also download your MP3 files to an MP3 player like the iPod.

Does this clear anything up?
Ken

[Danarchy]

The longer answer is this: all the various compressed music files (like MP3) take the CD-audio file and make it smaller. You can write those smaller MP3 files onto a CD-R disc with a CD burner, and you will fit many more songs onto a CD-R than if they were the original size.

The new CD can be played on a computer with an application like iTunes. Some CD players can also decode MP3 files, so you can play the new CD on them (some newer walkman and car audio CD players will do this). This MP-3 playing feature will be prominently displayed on the player or on the box.

If you use iTunes to import (rip) the music from your regular music CDs, you can then create new CDs with either regular music-CD tracks (with about an hour of music), or MP-3 tracks (with many hours of music but which will only play in select devices.) You can also download your MP3 files to an MP3 player like the iPod.

Does this clear anything up?
Ken

Thanks Ken.
Sort of clears it up. But they say they are specifically writing the MP-3's to data files to accomplish well over one hundred songs on the CD. I'm probably just not understanding what each of you is saying. I'll try tracking them down for more, detailed info. Yes I use iTunes as well. Maybe they meant to write them to data CD's? These kids are PC users. Maybe that makes some difference?
Thanks so much for the reply to this tyro.
Dan

[AmberB]

Thanks Ken.
Sort of clears it up. But they say they are specifically writing the MP-3's to data files to accomplish well over one hundred songs on the CD. I'm probably just not understanding what each of you is saying. I'll try tracking them down for more, detailed info. Yes I use iTunes as well. Maybe they meant to write them to data CD's? These kids are PC users. Maybe that makes some difference?
Thanks so much for the reply to this tyro.
Dan

Dan,
Did you ever figure out how to do this? I know what you are talking about but I can't anywhere that will tell me how to do it.

Thanks,
Amber

[Danarchy]

Dan,
Did you ever figure out how to do this? I know what you are talking about but I can't anywhere that will tell me how to do it.

Thanks,
Amber

Hello Amber.

No, I never have figured this out. I recall, vividly, the teens telling me that it could be done, as they did it regularly. But I've basically forgotten about it as I found an MP3 player suitable for work. And it doesn't play all that I record anyway.
If you do find out the answer, please let me know.

Thanks for your question,
Dan

[AmberB]

Hello Amber.

No, I never have figured this out. I recall, vividly, the teens telling me that it could be done, as they did it regularly. But I've basically forgotten about it as I found an MP3 player suitable for work. And it doesn't play all that I record anyway.
If you do find out the answer, please let me know.

Thanks for your question,
Dan

Same to you. I have been searching all over the internet and cannot get anything. If you run into those teens again ask them to teach you. This would be amazing if we could figure it out. I would like to compress my cd collection.

Amber

[onekuledude]

Dan,
Did you ever figure out how to do this? I know what you are talking about but I can't anywhere that will tell me how to do it.

Thanks,
Amber

Hello guys,

I can compress down and fit 200 songs on one cd, but it only plays in stereos with mp3 compatability. So if those guys are saying that many songs than they have a mp3 player, or newer stereo that can play them.

[Danarchy]

Yes.
That's what they were talking about.
I did get a portable CD/MP3 player, but I'm ignorant on how to get that many tracks on a cd. What I did get on there didn't play well. Probably because I was too ignorant to know to make sure they were in MP3 format?
What format and or how do I compress them to fit.

Thanks for reviving this.
Dan

[John A]

>but I'm ignorant on how to get that many tracks on a cd.
Generally it's one large data track on the CD which although unplayable by a regular CD, is completely readable by an MP3 disc player.

>What format and or how do I compress them to fit.
Once they're in MP3 format, you can't compress them anymore. The key is to make sure they stay in this format instead of being decompressed to CD-Audio format.

The way I usually burn MP3s is like this:

1. I gather the MP3 files I intend to burn and place them in a folder.
2. Next, I insert a blank CD/DVD into the drive. A blank disk then appears on the desktop.
3. All that's left is to drag the files onto the disk.
4. To burn, double-click the icon, and from the Finder window that pops up, click the orange-disk button.

Hope that made sense.

[Danarchy]

Thanks Joe.
I may have left some of the tracks as AIFF or something else that was unreadable by the CD/MP3 player and or the player was not the best, as I got it for cheap at WalMart as an experiment.

Dan

[straggler13]

Yes, you can copy all mp3 as data files. I do it all the time. They give me about 180 songs per CD.
I can do it with any CD burner program I have used. Nero, Win, but my favorite is NCH Switch. {It is a free DL and they have a very comprehensive app for all CD problems including the very frustrating fact that Win refuses to let you see track info and replaces all the info with a cda file ...very frustrating! But NCH has the cure to that as well. BUT PLEASE DONATE!}

The mp3 data CD's play in my cheap radio/cd player and on my car's mp3 CD player.

To do it just copy the files using the CD Data copy function on your burner app, instead of your CD Audio app.
It's as easy as that. In fact I think it was the whole idea in the first place for mp3 format...you know...compression. Beware that your PC and probably your CD player as well will not read the file names ... but every one I have tried will play them. Whether the sound quality is as good: I don't know, and I am just trying to test: MP3's at 20-22 cuts per cd using audio copy/burn ( at VBR 64-320/Q1 ) vs. 180 cuts/cd using data copy/burn. If this post gets any replies, I shall return to tell you my results...But the subject post is so old I don't even know if my post is relevant or even necessary.

[Danarchy]

Straggler13,
Thanks for the info. Some still too technical for me as I've not used iTunes in a while. But I'll definitely check out NCH Switch and donate should it work for me. Last time I looked at my iTunes it seems there were no MP3s anymore. All changed to another format. AAC and such? I still have the CD/MP3 player so am still interested. Just switched to Snow Leopard so I have to find out how to bring back my iTunes library from my backups on Time Machine, Carbon Copy Cloner and or iBackup.

Will be interested in your outcome.

Thanks for the reply and info,
Danarchy

[Rogerbunny]

There are two main types of CD that you can create with CD burning software - an "audio CD" and a "data CD". An audio CD (officially "Compact Disc Digital Audio" or CDDA, or Red Book audio) will play on any standalone CD player, as well as as in your computer and in DVD players. A data CD (sometimes called an MP3 CD where the data it contains are MP3 files) will not normally play on standalone CD players. It will play on computers, most DVD players and in MP3 CD players. So if you want to play your CD on a standalone player, or give it to others and be sure they'll be able to play it, you'll need to burn an audio CD.

[rayfrank]

This is very simple thing.For that you have to use a proper burning or the writing software and the select a proper data for what you want to write and after you have to follow the steps which are very simple and easily understand by you.