wmp CD convert to MP3 audio

[myzone1958]

    Are there any open free sources on line to convert   wmp CD music to mp3 audio ?

     Thank You,
                      Greg

[Dick Rector]

I have been using 'Audacity' to do that.

[myzone1958]

Dick I tried using Audacity to convert does not work for some reason.

[overover]

    Are there any open free sources on line to convert   wmp CD music to mp3 audio ? ...

Hi Greg,

what is the exact CD format (type) you're talking about here (burned with "Windows Media Player" / WMP):

normal Audio CD (can be played in any CD player, comparable to purchased, commerical Audio CDs)

  or

Data CD (can only be played on computers or on special CD players that can read this format) ?

In case of Data CDs: What is the exact format of the audio files burned on it? (maybe .aac or .wma ?)


Best regards,
Chris

[myzone1958]

Chris it says  type of file  CD audio track (. cda)

[overover]

Chris it says  type of file  CD audio track (. cda)

Hi Greg,

then it is a "normal" Audio CD. These .cda files (which are displayed when you have a look to the CD drive in Windows Explorer) are NOT audio files itself, but only LINKS to the (hidden) audio files on the CD.

You can NOT simply COPY those .cda files to get the corresponding audio files, but you have to "rip" the CD (to "grab" the audio content) with a special program.

I recommend to use the PC (Windows) program "Audiograbber" for easy "grabbing" of Audio CDs. Please download the following two files and unzip it on your PC:

Audiograbber 1.83 SE Setup
https://www.win-tipps-tweaks.de/download/audio_video/agsetup183se.zip

Audiograbber MP3 Plugin Setup
https://www.win-tipps-tweaks.de/download/audio_video/ag_mp3_plugin_setup.zip


1. Double-click the extracted file "agsetup183se.exe" to install the "Audiograbber" program. Important: REMOVE the checkmark "Install Quickstores Toolbar" during installation (see first attached picture)!

2. Then double-click the extracted file "ag_mp3_plugin_setup.exe" to install the "Audiograbber MP3 Plugin". Important: Click on the option "No. Thanks" during installation (see second attached picture)!

3. Double-click on the symbol "Audiograbber" on your Windows desktop to start the program.

4. Click on "Settings" symbol to see in which directory the finally resulting MP3 files will be stored (or set your own directory here). You can also specify here what the file names of the MP3s should look like (I recommend: "Track Name - Artist").

5. Insert an Audio CD into the CD drive of the PC.

6. When using a commercial Audio CD, in many cases the Track names are displayed automatically. (You can also click on "Freedb" button to manually contact the CD database in the Internet.)

7. If NO Track names appear, you can type in them yourself. Type in also the Artist and Album name. (Tick the "Compilation Disk" checkbox if there are tracks of multiple ARTISTS on the CD.)

8. Now click on the "Grab" button and wait until all the audio tracks from the CD are "grabbed" and stored as MP3 files in the target directory.


P.S. To change the MP3 format settings (if needed) click on "MP3" button.

Hope this helps!


Best regards.
Chris





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[myzone1958]

 Thank You Chris I will give it a try. 

[myzone1958]

Chris I was able to transfer the songs from the CD to the flash drive but it reads as a wav . There is a setting in the program to change the songs  to mp3 but it did not work ?  is there something I'm doing wrong ?

[Dick Rector]

You can use Audacity to transfer WAV to MP3 EASY!

[overover]

Chris I was able to transfer the songs from the CD to the flash drive but it reads as a wav . There is a setting in the program to change the songs  to mp3 but it did not work ?  is there something I'm doing wrong ?

Hi Greg,

did you install the "MP3 Plugin"? (first install the Audiograbber PROGRAM, and in a second step run the "MP3 Plugin Setup")

By doing this, normally the Audiograbber is automatically configured to save the grabbed files as MP3 only (the temporary generated WAV files are deleted automatically).

Please click on "MP3" button to open the "MP3 Settings" window. At "Grab to:" the third option "MP3 file via intermediate wav file. Delete the wav file." should be selected (see attached picture).

IF you also need the original WAV files later, select the second option "... Keep the wav file."

IF the first option "Wav file" is selected, you will get WAV files ONLY (no MP3).

IF you can select this first option ONLY, the MP3 Plugin is probably not installed properly. In this case, I recommend to re-install the MP3 Plugin.


Best regards,
Chris

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[myzone1958]

  I did the setting tab there where it says to delete wave but it did not work so perhaps I will have to try later and reinstall.

     Thanks !

[myzone1958]

  Hi Chris I was able to get the program to work but I was  wondering when I start to do the converting I see it says Microsoft PCM converter  16 Bit. Im a wondering if the 16 Bit rate will reduce sound quality when turning it to an mp3 ?  Can that be changed to a 24 bit rate or 32 ?

  Regards,
              Greg

[overover]

  Hi Chris I was able to get the program to work but I was  wondering when I start to do the converting I see it says Microsoft PCM converter  16 Bit. Im a wondering if the 16 Bit rate will reduce sound quality when turning it to an mp3 ?  Can that be changed to a 24 bit rate or 32 ?...

Hi Greg,

the (hidden) WAV data on a "normal" Audio CD (that plays in any CD player) is always 16-bit resolution and 44.1 kHz sampling rate. It doesn't make sense to convert those 16-bit data to a higher resolution like 24-bit or 32-bit.

The (sound) quality of MP3s mainly depends on the BIT-RATE, specified in kBits per second (kBits/s). The sampling frequency of MP3s is mostly 44.1 kHz OR 48 kHz. It also will make no sense to change the sampling frequency of 16-bit/44.1 kHz WAV data to 48 kHz when converting to MP3.

When the MP3 plug-in of "Audiograbber" is installed, the target (MP3) format is automatically set to VARIABLE bit-rate and to produce a relatively good sound quality with a relatively small file size at the same time.

IF  you have any problems with those "variable bit-rate MP3s" (some MP3 players could not play them) you can change the setting to FIXED BIT-RATE. For most cases, 192 kBits/s should be the right choice. 320 kBits/s would be even better, but this will also increase the file size.

Anyway,  converting PCM Audio Data (WAVE / AIFF) to MP3 is NOT lossless. There is ALWAYS some audio information LOST, compared to the original PCM data.


Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Chris