New Logo

Thanks to the brilliant graphic brain and creativity of the logoglo.com who’ve done a great job for us. Here it is -



Hope you like it.

CD Ripping all over the world

Just been looking at the website stats Google collates for us, some great detail and a few odd ball insights into what goes on in the world of the web.

I know we’ve had CD ripping clients in mainland Europe. We have ripped CDs for clients in Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and France plus a few others. However it seems from Google that we have potential CD ripping clients in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

It seems we have interest in some of the technical terms used on this site, the most popular being terms relating to compression in music and CD bitrates. This has provoked interest in a raft of countries that my lapses in geographic knowledge just think of as the former Soviet Union, along with Chile and Mexico.

When I registered our service on the web I understood that having a .com rather than a .co.uk or .eu would tip interest more towards the USA and sure, we have a fair number of visitors from North America. Of course we have most hits from the UK but USA is out ranked by Germany comparing each country. If you add the smaller European nations they out hit the States, as do the combined -stan nations (with a chunk of help from Saudi Arabia).

If you’re reading this from any of those more remote nations, yes, we’d be happy to rip your CDs for you. I’d be thrilled to get our first client from Uruguay or from the Philipines.

Sonos and Lion

We rip CDs, and we listen to music, just like you. Except a few of our clients who have Sonos systems and upgraded to a new Mac with the Lion operating system.

They hit the sound of silence as the vital Sonos Controller software didn’t work with Apple’s Lion. Until, today. earlier I received an email saying that a new version of Controller is now available for Lion. Good news, roar of approval.

Can I have my CDs back?

When I designed this site originally I tried to cover all the options, including a FAQS (frequently asked questions) page to address the details of our CD ripping service. It’s not modest but I thought I’d done a pretty good job.

Then we got clients ringing to ask the questions they thought were obvious but I had just not thought of, hence many additions by way of FAQs or free standing web pages. We got to the point where I think 99.99% of what you need is here on the site. Until yesterday ..... Two questions.

First, do you send my CDs back? Yes, of course. It had seemed so obvious to me that I hadn’t thought it necessary to say so. To make it completely clear I’ve added a FAQ entry to say so and I repeat it here. Yes, we do send your CDs back to you.

Second, how much can I save? Are you really that much cheaper than the opposition? Yes, we really are. We recently quoted for a major CD ripping project of over 3,000 CDs. Our clients secretary rang to ask if we could confirm by email what we would charge. Our nearest competitor had quoted 70p per CD and she just wanted to be certain. So I was more than happy to send her an email to confirm, yes, it really is just 50p per CD and that she was saving her boss £600.

MP3 - How many MP3 tracks on a CD?

Our focus as a CD ripping service is getting digital music from a CD and into a data file format. It’s helpful to be reminded from time to time how useful it is to go the other way. It can be very useful, say for an in car sound system. One of our clients asked a simple question - how many MP3s can I get on a CD?

OK, a standard CD with music, such as you used to buy in HMV, stores just over an hour, say 70 minutes. However in data terms that’s around 750 Mb.

MP3 music is in data file format so the roundabout answer is as much music as will take up 750 Mb. As a CD ripping service we rip at 256 kbps into AAC format, the equivalent in MP3 would be 320 kbps. In our format you’d get much more music in digital format, around 7 CDs worth. As MP3 files the answer would be around 5 CDs worth. Roughly.

You could get more if you dropped the quality setting, so the music files are more compressed. The quality is worse, but that may not be a problem if the in car sound system is less than top notch. You could go down to 128 kbps for music and the sound might be acceptable.

If you were recording spoken voice (such as audio books) you can drop as low as 64 kbps and the quality will be acceptable, there just isn’t so much data in a speech compared to a symphony.

So, how many MP3s can you get on a CD? This CD ripping service says 5,7 music CDs or 12 CDs worth of spoken voice.

How do you burn an MP3 CD? It can easily be done using iTunes.

Music M8

I like to think CD ripping is a simple business, you send, we rip, you get the music. But this week has been chaotic.

First, we had two clients who underestimated the number of CDs they had. So we were expecting 500 and then 400, we actually got 1800 in total. Not a major problem but it did put us behind, and we had to dip into the overtime budget.

Then client number two, with 800 CDs rang to ask if we could copy his music onto his new Xiva Music M8. OK, but my little heart sinks at the thought. I have dabbled with this machine before and I have to say it isn’t my favourite. I unplugged the ethernet connected Iomega drive we’ve been using and replaced it with the Xiva. So off I go trying to copy the files from one of our drives to a shiny new Xiva box. The instructions say you should just type musicm8 into the address bar in your browser.

Failed. Safari seems determined to hop off to the internet and finds that some clever ISP in Holland has grabbed the domain as a .com. Couldn’t get at the box that way so tried the other local variant Xiva suggest. No luck there either, nor via the SMB command from Apple’s Finder.

Then I remembered an issue we’d had years ago with another project that involved CD ripping to a NAS drive and I swapped the ethernet cable installed already for the cable that came with the Xiva box. Bingo! Still couldn’t get there with musicm8 but the SMB route in Finder worked fine. At last the data is flowing from our simple USB drive across the LAN and into the Xiva Music M8.

AAC and Apple Lossless

OK, you win - from today you can have either MP3 or AAC or Apple Lossless digital music files.

Why? Because so many people have asked for this simple enhancement of our service. As a service driven operation we’re keen to deliver what you, the client, want and need. So there it is - just 50p to rip a CD into the digital music file format of your choice.

Album Art

For several years we’ve had great service from the software that finds and installs album art into the MP3 tracks we rip. iAlbum Art was a great find and a solid servant, but ....

The developer is ending support. That’s no problem just now but at some point the various sources of cover art images will alter their interfaces and this little gem will turn to dust. Fear not, we’re testing replacements now and an understudy is already in place.

Sonos, Apple and Airplay

This week Apple let loose with their cute little function called Airplay. If you haven’t come across this it lets you instantly stream content (movies, photos, video, MP3) from your iPhone, iPad or Touch to a compatible device. What excites me is the compatible device strategy.

Demos and comments I’ve seen show streaming from one Apple device to Apple TV, but other manufacturers are getting involved, including Bowers & Wilkins. If Airplay becomes widely adopted this could be a highly effective challenger to Sonos.

MP3 on USB

At the moment our “standard” method of returning MP3 music files is on DVD. They provide a safe long term archive and are a proven, reliable means of data transfer. We’ve never had anyone who couldn’t load their music from the DVDs we’ve sent.

For larger volumes of data DVDs have one major shortcoming. You need to load each disc, and if you’ve got a lot of music that in itself is time consuming, a chore many people could do without. Loading instead to a USB hard drive has become more popular, either a unit supplied by the client or one we source locally.

However an effective alternative is emerging in the shape of USB pen or stick drives. As capacities increase they become an option. 8, 16 and 32 Gb USB sticks are available in modest outlets such as WH Smith, the largest capacity I’ve come across is a 64 Gb drive I was able to get via eBay. That has the capacity to be attractive in many settings but it’s incredibly slow. The benefit of all these devices, even if they are slow, is that it avoids the tiresome necessity of slotting 2, 4, 8 or 16 DVDs into and out of your PC. Convenience is what MP3 by Mail is all about.

Download Woes

Ever wondered why the music industry is in the doldrums? Apparently in the last six months (in the USA) just three artists have accounted for 50% of all downloaded music.

Wonder how the rest make a living?

iPad Fatigue

Just love technology but I had to sympathise with the caller who’d had enough of all the hype surrounding Apple’s recently launched iPad device. Does it have to be Apple, is there an alternative?

I did some digging and came across a name I’d almost forgotten about, with a range of video players, music systems and web platforms - Archos. They offer several units, down to a very modest price too, quite a relief compared with Apple’s sky high pricing.

Then later on the TV news Samsung’s new device was covered. This is based on Google’s Android. No price details yet but it seems that Android is going to be a strong challenger to Apple’s unit.

Wireless Woes

Spent most of today on a clients premises, we’ve ripped a large batch of CDs which we loaded onto a NAS drive. Since then two things have happened, the NAS is installed and the client found some more CDs he wanted ripped. So we ripped the CDs and delivered the digital files, ready to copy them into their music library.

Client has a laptop, connected via a wireless network to his router. The NAS is hard wired to the router. Here’s your question - you have 20GB of data files to load to the NAS. How long will it take?

Gee did I get the answer wrong. The answer turned out to be four hours. Very, very slow and a strain to make small talk all afternoon. At the back of my mind was the question, why? Well, the biggest problem is transmission over the network. The PC has to read the data, get it across the network to the drive; which writes the chunk of the MP3 file to its disk, then returns a message to say send the next chunk of data. Just looking at raw network data rates is misleading, far too optimistic. And a solemn warning for anyone planning to load music files across wireless connections.

Invest in a bit of cable.

CD Ripping - Neighbours

CD ripping was on hold yesterday. The weather was good so I reluctantly turned my attention to garden chores I’ve been neglecting. I hardly noticed the sound of my mobile ringing.

Then I could hardly hear who was calling, the noise at the other end was so loud. Not helped by one of the neighbours here arriving and switching on their radio. We ended up having a phone conversation by shouts, a couple of miles closer and we wouldn’t have needed the phones.

So just a small, personal, plea. Sound carries in the summer and as much as I like the Beach Boys turn it down.

CD Ripping - Neighbours

CD ripping was on hold yesterday. The weather was good so I reluctantly turned my attention to garden chores I’ve been neglecting. I hardly noticed the sound of my mobile ringing.

Then I could hardly hear who was calling, the noise at the other end was so loud. Not helped by one of the neighbours here arriving and switching on their radio. We ended up having a phone conversation by shouts, a couple of miles closer and we wouldn’t have needed the phones.

So just a small, personal, plea. Sound carries in the summer and as much as I like the Beach Boys turn it down.

CD Ripping - Which Program?

CD ripping at home? OK, maybe you’ve go time or just dipping your toe in the water. Do a Google search for CD ripping or CD ripping software and you’ll get a bewildering array of options. Which software should you go for?

First, forget about the more lavish claims made for MP3 CD ripping software. Speed - you’re unlikely to notice any significant difference between any of the options on offer. Hardware features such CPU, CD unit, RAM etc make a bigger contribution to ripping speed. Second, quality - the biggest impact on quality is compression rate. Quite simply the less you compress your digital music files the better the sound.

Our recommendation would be to go with the offerings of the mainstream players, Apple and Microsoft. So if I were ripping music on a Mac I’d opt for iTunes. On a Windows PC you can go for iTunes or Windows Media Player.

CD Ripping - Which Program?

CD ripping at home? OK, maybe you’ve go time or just dipping your toe in the water. Do a Google search for CD ripping or CD ripping software and you’ll get a bewildering array of options. Which software should you go for?

First, forget about the more lavish claims made for MP3 CD ripping software. Speed - you’re unlikely to notice any significant difference between any of the options on offer. Hardware features such CPU, CD unit, RAM etc make a bigger contribution to ripping speed. Second, quality - the biggest impact on quality is compression rate. Quite simply the less you compress your digital music files the better the sound.

Our recommendation would be to go with the offerings of the mainstream players, Apple and Microsoft. So if I were ripping music on a Mac I’d opt for iTunes. On a Windows PC you can go for iTunes or Windows Media Player.

CD Ripping - Future Proof

Heated discussion yesterday. OK, the world of CD ripping doesn’t get very animated so this was unusual.

I was called by an installer who advocated ripping to AAC format for his client. I had previously spoken to his client and said in his circumstances I’d go with MP3. The client is an international person - born in Lebanon, educated in London and Boston, worked in every major financial city, now living in Dubai. He wanted a music format that would travel the world and play now and in the future. For me, that says MP3.

Technically, the installer is right. AAC does carry more data at a given compression rate. In terms of pure sound quality 128 kbps AAC is superior to 128 kbps MP3. Yes, it is possible to convert from AAC to MP3 should the need ever arise. My argument was that this client could put even his 600 CD music collection onto a portable drive so space isn’t the issue. We are talking 320 kbps so sound quality differences are theoretical rather than real, and converting around 10,000 tracks from AAC to MP3 is not a trivial task.

Anyway the client is always right (even when he’s wrong) - MP3 it is.

CD Ripping - Future Proof

Heated discussion yesterday. OK, the world of CD ripping doesn’t get very animated so this was unusual.

I was called by an installer who advocated ripping to AAC format for his client. I had previously spoken to his client and said in his circumstances I’d go with MP3. The client is an international person - born in Lebanon, educated in London and Boston, worked in every major financial city, now living in Dubai. He wanted a music format that would travel the world and play now and in the future. For me, that says MP3.

Technically, the installer is right. AAC does carry more data at a given compression rate. In terms of pure sound quality 128 kbps AAC is superior to 128 kbps MP3. Yes, it is possible to convert from AAC to MP3 should the need ever arise. My argument was that this client could put even his 600 CD music collection onto a portable drive so space isn’t the issue. We are talking 320 kbps so sound quality differences are theoretical rather than real, and converting around 10,000 tracks from AAC to MP3 is not a trivial task.

Anyway the client is always right (even when he’s wrong) - MP3 it is.