How To Get Music On CD w/o Mixing Down to MP3?

[yungboss]

The title is self explanatory. When you buy a music CD from the store, the files on it are labeled as .CDA format. After research, I learned .CDA isnt actually a format, but rather just a label the computer recognizes each track on the disc as. This would mean that the files aren't MP3s since it would be labeled as such and it cant be WAV since WAV files are too large. So ultimately, how do "professional" artists get their music onto CD without mixing them down into a format?

Mixing down a session to a MP3 file destroys some of the quality so figuring out a way to burn audio onto a disc without a format can ultimately preserve the sound quality.

 

[Shonsteez]

Pretty sure most, if not all albums are finalized as either wav or aiff, usually wav though, and then burned to CD at 44.1/16 . I dont believe there is some elusive alternative format that engineers bounce to before pressing other then typically wav.

The reason your computer recognizes the CD's audio files as CDA's after being burned/pressed is becuase exactly what you mentioned - your computer simply recognizes those files as CDA at that point, that doesnt mean they didnt start as wavs though. The only way your computer would see those songs as wavs when inserting your disc is if the CD was burned as a "data" disc instead rather then an audio disc.

 

[yungboss]

How do they manage to burn 11-15 WAV files on a compact disc?

 

[Shonsteez]

Ahh, I see what your asking. Not sure, I would assume that what ever files they are burning to the master would still have to meet the disc's maximum size limitations whether it be by song length, or file size. Dunno if theres any other logical answer to that one?

 

[dacalion]

.cda is used as an index. When you record, basically it converts to .wav as it burns but then it saves it as whatever format you set - like mp3, wav, aiff, ogg... This article touches on what happens... http://www.wizbit.net/cd-dvd_production_faqs_what_format_are_audio_CD_files.htm

 

[thedreampolice]

It is basically a wave file and audio cds can handle 74 minutes of wave files. The standard for CD's is called redbook, because they wrote all the specs in this giant red book (seriously) It is also technically PCM audio, but it is basically 74 minutes of 16-bit 44.1k Audio wave files.

Does that make sense.

 

[yungboss]

Basically what I'm trying to get at is, how do I burn music and get it listed a .cda instead of .wav?

 

[thedreampolice]

Your cd burning software will do that automatically, that is something you never need to worry about.

 

[StressWon]

I used to open each song in soundforge and save as a wav file

 

[yungboss]

Your cd burning software will do that automatically, that is something you never need to worry about.

Nah it doesnt. When I burn my files it registers them as .wav. In either case it doesnt matter. Thanks for the info guys.

 

[thedreampolice]

You are burning a data cd not an audio CD

 

[dacalion]

Don't give up yungboss, I had the same problem until I found out the difference in data cd's and audio cd's. I thought it didn't matter but it does.

Check this short article...

http://www.freerip.com/frmmanual/tutorials/difference_between_audio_cd_and_data_cd.php

 

[lion-ucs]

Don't give up yungboss, I had the same problem until I found out the difference in data cd's and audio cd's. I thought it didn't matter but it does.

Same reason, albeit in reverse, why ppl can't figure out how to burn an mp3 cd for their mp3-cd player in their car.

 

[dacalion]

No doubt! Space is always an issue for me. I'll burn a mp3 cd for the ride in hot sec.