Guides To Converting A Downloaded Audio Torrent To
A Playable CD
For Mac Users
Special Thanks to Weesam for
providing screencaps for Mac software and modifications to the Guide for
Mac users!
Guide One - Using commercialware
software (Toast)
Guide Two - Using freeware software
(LiquidCD)
Guide One - Using commercialware software (Toast) Guide Two Top
For this guide we will be using:
'Pavement - KDVS Radio Broadcast, Stockton, CA 14th
December 1989'
The software used is:
Mac OS X
xACT
Toast
xACT
is freeware, Toast is commercialware that
is bundled with Mac computers.
Please see HERE
for recommendations regarding freeware software versions.
We recommend that you close your BT client prior to
converting FLAC files to .wav or .aiff 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 or .aiff files.
Ideally the tracks would be named 'Track01', 'Track02',
'Track03' etc., which are the default names xACT
will give ripped CD tracks.
Also included in the Torrent is the info text file which gives detail about the Torrent;
Step 2 - Open xACT;
and click the 'decode' panel
at the top, then drag the FLAC files to the main xACT
window.
It doesn't matter if you choose AIFF or WAV as the 'Output
Format'. Here we are choosing AIFF.
NOTE: Ensure that the 'decode
through errors' and 'Delete original files after decode'
checkboxes are unchecked.
It is strongly recommended that you keep the FLAC files
so that;
a) you can work with them again if something goes wrong
in 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 - Click the 'Decode' button. You will be asked to choose a folder to save the decoded files in. Choose a suitable folder or create a new folder. Here, we have created a new folder on the desktop;
When you have selected a location to save your files in, click 'choose';
xACT will decode the FLACs to the folder.
Once Decoding is complete you are finished with xACT. Your output folder will now look like this;
Step 4 - Burning
the .aiff files to disc.
Open Toast.
Click the 'Audio' panel at the top of the Toast
window, and if the side panel is not open click the blue arrow in the top
left to make it visible.
Click 'Audio CD'.
Drag the .aiff files to the main Toast
window;
IMPORTANT - If the
recording is gapless (ie, a live or classical recording) select all the
tracks
except Track One, click the 'pause' option and
set the pause to 0 seconds.
Track One must have a pause of 2 seconds!
If your disc is made from various performances, you may
want to add gaps between the tracks. Remember, the gap will be at the beginning
of the track.
Optional
- Some CD players have the
ability to display the title of a CD and the song names.
If you want, you can edit the names of the songs. Check
the 'CD-TEXT' checkbox, then click on the title of each song and change
it. You can also create a title for the CD - by default it will be called
'My CD'.
Click the big red button and use the following dialogue box to make final decisions about how you want to burn your disc.
The 'Basic' options are self-explanatory - Write speed is the SLOWEST of either the burn speed of your CD writer OR the burn speed of the CD-R media you are using. We recommend burning at the slowest speed the media and/or drive will allow. However, you will notice that the media supports 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.
Click 'Advanced' and use the settings suggested by the screencap below;
Now click 'Record'
Toast will record the CD. When Toast is finished it will ping (like a toaster) and mount your new disc on the desktop.
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 / .aiff files from your harddrive.
We mention again that 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 using Mac OS X Finder
or Toast.
Guide Two - using freeware (LiquidCD) Guide One Top
For this guide we will be using:
'Pavement - Shepherd's Bush Empire 4th November 1997'
The software used is:
Mac OS X
xACT
LiquidCD
xACT
and LiquidCD
are freeware.
Please see HERE
for recommendations regarding freeware software versions.
We recommend that you close your BT client prior to
converting FLAC files to .wav or .aiff 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 the song names.
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 or .aiff files.
Ideally the tracks would be named 'Track01', 'Track02',
'Track03' etc., which are the default names xACT
will give ripped CD tracks.
Also included in the Torrent is the info text file which gives detail about the Torrent;
Step 2 - Open xACT;
and click the 'decode' panel
at the top, then drag the FLAC files to the main xACT
window.
It doesn't matter if you choose AIFF or WAV as the 'Output
Format'. Here we are choosing AIFF.
NOTE: Ensure that the 'decode
through errors' and 'Delete original files after decode'
checkboxes are unchecked.
It is strongly recommended that you keep the FLAC files
so that;
a) you can work with them again if something goes wrong
in 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 - Click the 'Decode' button. You will be asked to choose a folder to save the decoded files in. Choose a suitable folder or create a new folder. Here, we have created a new folder on the desktop.
When you have selected a location to save your files in, click 'choose';
xACT will decode the FLACs to the folder.
Once Decoding is complete you are finished with xACT. Your output folder will now look like this;
Step 4 - Burning
the .aiff files to disc.
Open LiquidCD.
Click the Audio panel at the top of the window and drag
the .aiff files to the main LiquidCD window.
IMPORTANT - If the
recording is gapless (ie., a live or classical recording) select all the
tracks,
click the little triangle to the left of the track name
and set the pregap to 0 seconds.
If your disc is made from various performances, you may
want to add a gap between them. Remember, the gap is at the beginning
of the track.
Optional:
Some CD players have the ability to display the title
of a CD and the song names. If you want, you can edit these details by
selecting a song and then clicking the info button to modify album and
song details.
Step 5 - Click
the 'Burn' button at the top right-hand-side of the main window.
Insert a blank CD. Tick the 'Verify data after burn'
box.
Also tick the 'Include Track Names (CD-Text)' if you
want your CD player to display the CD text.
'Speed' is the SLOWEST of either the speed of your CD writer OR the burn speed of the recordable CDs you are using. We recommend burning at the slowest speed the disc will allow. However, you will notice that the disc supports 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.
Now click 'Burn'
LiquidCD will record and verify the CD. When finished it will mount your new disc on the desktop.
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 .aiff files from your harddrive.
We mention again that 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 using Mac OS X Finder.
Special Thanks to Weesam for
providing screencaps for Mac software and modifications to this Guide for
Mac users!