OT: CD Authoring/Burning Software

[anyhorizon]

Hi,

What do you recommend for Mac? Toast looks pretty good but it makes no mention of PQ editing which means it's still a toy. I've been dragged kicking and screaming from Masterlist CD because my final SCSI burner died and it's no longer supported. What's a serious "I'll decide where the PQs go on a 74 minute track" kind of software? I also need it to be SD2 file compatible.

Thanks,

Peter

[Casey_Pittman]

Wavelab 7 is a great tool. and has options for lighter versions in case you don't want to shill out the 499 for the full version. Also is now MAC compatible.

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/wavelab.html?et_cid=20&et_lid=58&et_sub=WaveLab

-Casey

[alfspanners]

Ok - I've never used this, but it's going to be a puchase in the near future

http://www.sonorissoftware.com/catalog/ddp-creator-p-47.html

One of the few things that does DDP files as well and a bit cheaper than wavelab. Don't know whether it does sound designer files though.

Mark

[Casey_Pittman]

If you go WL essentials instead of the full version its 99.00. A few less features.

http://www.steinberg.net/en/products/wavelab/wavelab_feature_comparison.html#c61312

and the support forum to kinda get a feel for what bugs and fixes are in play

https://www.steinberg.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=47

-Casey

[FrankH]

Before you shell out $99 for Wavelab Lite, I might suggest taking a look at Martin Hairer's "Amadeus Pro". It's one of those little-known treasures for the Mac. It will do Redbook CD's effortlessly as well an arsenal of incredibly useful tools. Best part is that it's $59. You can download a demo at:

http://www.hairersoft.com

Seriously, if it's CD assembly you need to do (and a lot more), you should check this nugget out.

[anyhorizon]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. WaveLab and Sonoris seem mighty heavy in the "I'll have to get a second mortgage" department. I'll definitely give Amadeus Pro a try. I dragged out a version of WaveBurner that I had and I was able to make it do the job at hand but it's pretty clumsy. I don't like that I need a USB key or whatever for WaveLab as a demo. It looks pretty neat though. Thanks again.

Peter

[csp]

I trust that I am not showing my complete ignorance.

With a number od DVD burning programmes, there is an option to undertake an "optimised" burn whereby the data on the DVD (irrespective of the data amount) is burnt to cover the entire DVD surface and as such you can not see the burn mark.

I would like to be able to achieve the same result for CDs, so that the burnt CD looks as if it has been pressed and if using a thermal CD the end result would look as good as any commercial release.

I have contacted a number of CD burning software manufacturers, but they either give no response or a negative one "sorry our XXX software will not do this".

Does anyone know of a piece of software that will effectively burn an audio CD in the equalivelant of the DVD optimised mode?

I would prefer Windows based than MAC as this is what I generally use.

David

[studiodaz]

I trust that I am not showing my complete ignorance.

With a number od DVD burning programmes, there is an option to undertake an "optimised" burn whereby the data on the DVD (irrespective of the data amount) is burnt to cover the entire DVD surface and as such you can not see the burn mark.

I would like to be able to achieve the same result for CDs, so that the burnt CD looks as if it has been pressed and if using a thermal CD the end result would look as good as any commercial release.

I have contacted a number of CD burning software manufacturers, but they either give no response or a negative one "sorry our XXX software will not do this".

Does anyone know of a piece of software that will effectively burn an audio CD in the equalivelant of the DVD optimised mode?

I would prefer Windows based than MAC as this is what I generally use.

David

I have never heard of that for CD, I guess you could add a silent track at the end if you want to fill the full disk.

[FrankH]

What's difference between a burned disc and a "store bought" disc?

"Hollywood" doesn't burn media. "Real" discs are pressed metal, mechanically made media. The presses are precise. Burning is a sloppy method to recreate the process, using dyes that can have pits and grooves "burned" into the chemical, making an illusion of how a "real" disc would look and work. If you compare a pressed media and a burned media under a microscope, you can see that the pressed media is fairly precise, while the burns are fairly erratic, and it's almost a miracle that burning works at all.

The above was gleaned from this article:

http://www.macx.dk/Media/

A very interesting read on the pretty much everything you ever wanted to know on the subject.

[anyhorizon]

My only question about that is that the original master has to be burnt anyway before the pressed ones are possible.

Peter