Media Class: Rip and Burn CDs

This class will give you the skills to convert an audio CD into digital media format, and to make an audio CD using digital media files.

We will be using the program k3b to rip and burn our CDs. Their website is found here: http://k3b.plainblack.com/ and is installed easily in Ubuntu or Debian using Synaptic (search for k3b) or by typing "sudo apt-get install k3b" into a terminal.

k3b makes it easy to copy, rip and burn a CD. It is one of many options available to Linux users, chosen for it's dependability, configurability and well-designed GUI.

To Rip an Audio CD:

1) Insert the audio CD and wait for the system to recognize it.

2) Open k3b (ensure no other CD burning programs are open)
- Found under Sound/Video in the Applications menu
- Alt-F2 to run application "k3b"

3) Select "Further Actions..." on k3b's initial screen and find "Rip Audio CD"

4) Identify the CD's track information via CDDB (will likely occur automatically)

5) Click "Start Ripping" found above track information

6) Select file type
- mp3 encoding loses audio fidelity (referred to as "lossy" for the lost information) but remains most commonly supported portable media player format. k3b is not legally entitled to create audio CDs using mp3 files so for our class this file format is best avoided due to the copyright restrictions.
- WAV encoding captures the entire audio range (the standard encoding on audio cds, lossless) but saves using big file sizes
- FLAC encoding captures the entire audio range but compresses the data (lossless) resulting in smaller files without compromising fidelity
- Ogg-Vorbis uses variable-bitrate tech to capture as much audio as the file needs (less-lossy) and compresses the data to comparable sizes to mp3

7) Select Target Folder
- This is where your digital files will be saved.

8) File naming tab
- Use "wildcards" to automatically title your digital files
- i.e. %a for track artist, %A for album artist, %n for track number and %T for album title
- Built-in help found by clicking "See special strings"

9) Click "Start Ripping" and watch the progress bar fill up

To Burn an Audio CD:

1) Open k3b

2) Select "New Audio Cd Project"

3) Find the audio files you want to use in the browser on top and drag them into the track list below.

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