www.mindwarppavilion.org
Stefan / GoblinKing / freestate @ Mind-Warp PaVilion (v2.0 March 2007)
A Guide To Converting A Downloaded Audio Torrent To
A Playable CD
For PC Users
A Guide To Converting A Downloaded Audio Torrent To
A Playable CD
For PC Users
For this guide we will be using: Joni Mitchell - Carnegie Hall 23rd February 1972 1xCD
The software used is:
Windows XP Professional
FLAC
Frontend
Goldwave v4.26 Audio Editor
Nero Express 6
FLAC
Frontend is freeware,
Goldwave and Nero
are commercialware.
Please see HERE
for recommendations regarding freeware software versions.
We recommend that you close your BT client prior to
converting FLAC files to .wav files.
Sometimes a BT Client 'hangs on' to files and you may
get a 'file in use' error if the client is still open.
We also recommend that, during the burning process, you
don't have any other programs running that might be using substantial computer
resources.
Step 1 - The folder structure for the Torrent you have downloaded is dictated by the .torrent file created by the original uploader. For an 1xCD Audio Torrent download it is likely to look like this:
In this Torrent the uploader has given the FLAC files
unique names indicating Artist, Performance Date and Track Number.
This is not a necessary step and we recommend that, if
creating a Torrent of your own, you do not rename tracks
after ripping your disc(s) to .wav files.
Ideally the tracks would be named 'Track01', 'Track02',
'Track03' etc., which are the default names EAC
will give ripped CD tracks.
Also included in the Torrent is the info text file which gives detail about the Torrent;
Step 2 - Open FLAC Frontend, select 'Add Files', browse to the folder that your FLAC files are in and select all of them:
NOTE: Uncheck 'Delete input files'
in the General Options Box.
It is strongly recommended that you keep the FLAC files
so that;
a) you can work with them again if something goes wrong
during the conversion process, and/or
b) you can archive the original FLAC files should you
choose to continue seeding the download after you've created your CD and/or
wish to reseed the Torrent to the same or another Tracker at a later date.
Step 3 - Browse to the Output directory you want to save the converted FLAC files to. In this example we have chosen the same folder as the FLAC files, although any folder will do as long as you give it a unique name so that you can find it again.
Click 'Decode' and FLAC Frontend will convert the FLAC files to .wav files;
A note about the FLAC engine
version shown in the above screencap:
You will notice that when this guide was written we were
using v1.1.0 of the FLAC engine. This software has since been updated and
we recommend you do the same. See HERE
for details.
Once Decoding is complete, press any key and then close FLAC Frontend.
Your Output folder will now look like this;
At this stage we recommend that you create a new sub-folder to keep the FLAC files and the info text file in. This avoids confusion and keeps the FLAC files safe for the reasons we have stated above;
Step 4 - Editing.
Because the vast majority of Audio Torrents are live recordings it's important
to avoid any gaps that might appear at the beginning or end of each track.
This is not a normal occurrence with FLAC files but it can happen during
the ripping, encoding or decoding of the tracks. Use an audio editor to
have a look at the .wav files and delete any gaps that you might find.
For this example we are using Goldwave
4.6.
Examples:
Wave Form of beginning of Track 2 with a 4.5 second window
Wave Form of end of Track 2 with a 4.5 second window
These Wave Forms indicate that there are no gaps at the beginning or end of this track. However, it's often useful to zoom in to ensure that there are no 10ths or 100ths of a second gaps;
Wave Form of end of Track 2 zoomed in to 1:100
Repeat this process for all the tracks.
It is also useful to listen to the tracks on your computer while they are still .wav files to pick up any errors you might be able to fix by editing.
A Note About Editing:
Keep in mind that any editing you
do to Torrent files you have downloaded is for your own benefit.
As far as the FLAC files in the Torrent are concerned
they should be left 'as is'. If you modify any aspect of the .wave files
and then recode to FLAC you will not be able to rejoin the existing seed
because the .torrent file will no longer match your new FLAC files.
Step 5 - Defragment
the harddrive your files are on to put any non-contiguous files back together.
This reduces the risk of errors during burning.
Step 6 - Burning
the .wav files to disc.
Open Nero Express and choose
the drive to which you want to burn;
Then choose Music -> Audio CD
In the next window click on the 'Add' button...
...and browse to the folder your .wav files are in;
Select all files by left-clicking on the first file, holding down <Shift> and left-clicking on the last file;
Then click 'Add' and 'Finished'
IMPORTANT - ensure
the 'No pause between tracks' check box is ticked otherwise you
will have 2 second gaps between each track when the CD
is burned.
Click 'Next' and use the following dialogue box to make final decisions about how you want to burn your disc.
Before making any changes in this dialogue box insert your blank disc into the drive. Nero will determine from the disc which speeds it can be burned at from the drop-down 'Writing speed' menu;
We recommend burning at the slowest speed the disc will allow - in this case 8x. However, you will notice that the disc supports six different speeds and it's up to you which you choose. Obviously, the higher the burn speed the quicker the burn but, on the other hand, the higher the burn speed the greater the risk of burn errors, though these are rare with today's CD/DVD drives.
Optional:
In this dialogue box you can also give your disc Artist
and Title labels. This is only advantageous if you have a CD player that
supports CD Text.
You can also ask Nero to
verify the data on the disc after burning.
When you have finished selecting the variables in this dialogue box click 'Burn';
When burning to disc is complete you will see this dialogue box;
Click the 'OK' button and Nero will return to the following dialogue box;
Click 'Next', Nero will eject the disc and return you to the main menu;
Click 'Exit' unless you want to continue using Nero for something else. You will be asked if you want to save the project. Choose 'No' unless you want to save the current project for further use.
Finished! Play the disc in your computer drive or CD player to check that no errors occurred and that there are no gaps between the tracks. If everything is ok you can delete the .wav files from your harddrive.
We mention again that keeping and archiving the original
FLAC files and any other files that accompanied them in the downloaded
Torrent, such as the info text file, is a good idea. You can archive them
to a harddrive (though space quickly becomes a premium if you choose this
method) or burn them to CD or DVD disc as data - this process is similar
to making an audio CD as described above, you just choose 'data' in the
initial Nero window.