Convert cd audio track to mp3 format?

[LindaE]

I have some songs that say they are in 'cd audio track' format.

Can these be converted to mp3 format so I can use them in p2exe?

Or is there a way to get p2exe to accept other formats?

thanks!

[JRR]

Linda:

Welcome to the PTE Forum.

You have come to the right place for assistance, usually a number of people throw in their views and somewhere amongst the replies you will find a solution for your situation.

Sound issues come up lots of times, it ain't as easy as one would hope, but once you get the hang of it..... no problems.

When you say you have "cd audio track" format, I assume you mean you have an audio CD from which you want to use one of its tracks for a PTE AV show. (We won't talk about copyright issues here as that gets a whole 'nother discussion going ... again

What you need to do is to record, in your computer, the audio track which will turn it to a .wav file. I use MUSICMATCH JUKEBOX to do that. (used to be a free basic version, not sure if it is still there) I believe dBpowerAMP (http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm) can do it too (free). There is other software as well. (We really need a separate "pinned" posting that lists all these as questions come about on this frequently )

I suspect there is a built-in package in WinXP (I don't have XP) that will do it, but you end up, I think, with another file type that can, for current versions of PTE, cause problems (Igor is about to change that I think)

Anyway, once you have a .wav file, you can save it as a .mp3 (dBpowerAMP, or Acoustica, Cool Edit etc) Watch out for Acoustica, it can sometimes add a second of silence to the front end.

While PTE can work with a .WAV file, those files are quite large and can cause problems. So MP3 is better as it is compressed.

Hope that is somewhat clear.

Wiser people will come along and provide with help too

Good luck !

[Clive Timmons]

Hi Linda ,

welcome to the forum, using an mp3 file as a music track saves space without loosing quality for $20 you can get a CD ripper to convert your CD's to MP3's CD to MP3 is the one I use and can be downloaded as a limited trial version and is simple to use it can be found at www.yeware.com good luck with your shows

Regards Clive.

[LindaE]

thanks so much for the friendly welcome and helpful answers!

I was able to convert the audio file to a wav file using EasyCD Creator.

I guess I still need to convert it now to MP3 format..!??!

or do I only need to convert if space is an issue?

I have a portrait studio.. I'm just creating music/image shows with all the images from a session. I'm using PTE to create an

exe file to sell to my clients.

I do have some music I got a copyright release on.. so I don't have that issue.

But I would like some other options if you know of any FREE royalty free music!

cds, dvds, mp3, wav.. !?!??! this opens up all new issues I'm not sure I want to get into

any other tips are greatly appreciated

thanks!

[alrobin]

Hi, Linda,

You don't need to convert it if you have the space for it. However, mp3 format, being more condensed, is more manageable.

I have experienced a case where a friend couldn't run the ".wav" version of a show, but the mp3 version worked fine for some reason (probably due to the smaller file size of the mp3.)

[Ian]

MP3 is definately the way to go, though Igor has said that WMA files will be supported by the internal player in a forthcoming beta. There are several "MP3 Ripper" programs that allow you to save an MP3 file directly from an audio CD without having to save an intermediate wave file. Have a look at Audiograbber at Audiograbber The trial version lets you convert half of the tracks from any CD. It randomises the selection, so by ejecting and re-inserting the CD you'll eventually get the ones you need! When you get frd up with doing that, its quite cheap to register anyway (about $20 from memory). Another one is Direct Audio Copy, which is freeware, though the interface isn't as good as Audiograbber.

Ian