Audio Encoding Tips

If you're somewhat new to the world of using music in your photo slideshows or videos - the following tips should help you get rolling.

Generally speaking - the two most popular audio formats for slideshows/videos are:

• WAV: This is the file format most commonly used for CD-Quality files and the preferred format if you're planning to present your slideshow or video on a CD/DVD. These files are quite large at around 40 megs for a 4 minute song - they contain all the original audio data from the CD track.
  
• MP3: This is a more 'compressed' file format and best utlilized when your slideshow or video is being presented on the internet. MP3 files are much smaller than WAV files at about 4 megs for a 4 minute song. (This is when you encode the MP3 at a "128" data rate)

To extract audio from any CD - you can use the programs already on your Mac or Windows computer. If you need to edit the length of a song, try using a free program such as "Audacity", available at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

WINDOWS XP or VISTA:

Step One: Put the audio CD into your computer

Step Two: Open 'Windows Media Player'

Step Three: Click the arrow underneath the 'Rip' Tab and select 'More Options'

Step Four: From the options window, you can select the location where you save audio files from the CD (for instance, you can create a folder called 'Triple Scoop' where you place your music files.) You can also use the 'rip settings' drop-down to select the file format you want to use, either WAV or MP3.

Once you've set your file output location and preferred file format, click 'OK'

Step Five: To start 'ripping' your files to your computer, press the RIP button

MACINTOSH (or iTunes users):

Step One: Put the audio CD into your computer

Step Two: Open 'iTunes'

Step Three: Under the iTunes Menu select 'Preferences'

Step Four: Select the "Advanced" area and click on the 'IMPORTING' tab. From here you can choose either the WAV Encoder or the MP3 encoder.

When using the WAV encoder - choose the CUSTOM setting:

Use the following settings to extract CD-quality audio files:

Step Five: Now you're ready to convert the CD - just drag songs from the CD into your iTunes program. You might want to create a special 'Triple Scoop Music' folder. After you've imported the songs, you can press the CTRL key and click the song name to find the WAV or MP3 file on your computer.