Number 232 - August 2002

Make A Music CD To Play In Car
Question Answered by Nino S. Ramos1, HAL-PC
Q. How Do I Make A Music CD That I Can Play In My Car?     A. Making audio CDs nowadays is almost completely idiot proof. Now one doesn't even have to convert his or her MP3's into WAV files before burning. All of the latest burning software will convert on the fly. There are some cautions. Converting MP3's to WAV's requires processor time, and sometimes audio "artifacts" (e.g., noise) do occur in the conversion process. However, if you leave your computer alone and your computer is fairly decent, you shouldn't have a problem. Remember to close all other active programs that may be running in the background. Virus Scanners are a key culprit of failed CDs and a large "producer" of "coasters"! Scheduled tasks can also mess up CDs.	If you have a CD burner that supports Burn-PROOF, then you don't have to worry. However, the speed of the burn will be affected if you don't turn these background programs off. It's sound practice to close background tasks. Keep in mind that when you convert MP3s to CDA (format playable on your car's or home CD player), you won't get the same fidelity since MP3 is already compressed and has lost some of its own fidelity .Also, there is usually a maximum number of CDA files you can burn onto a CD - not so with MP3 or WAV files - the max amount of CD space can be used to copy MP3 or WAV files.     1 Nino S. Ramos is a HAL-PC member and Aggie student who can be contacted at dark master cronus@hotmail.com.
Number 232 - August 2002