A Great Blog

Windows XP - RIP? Well, sort of ...

2012-04-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

As of tomorrow, we will no longer have any Windows XP computers in The Hutch. The last one has been replaced meaning we now run under a glorious assembly of Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Apple's Mac OS X. In practical terms it will mean nothing for most of our clients but as I've just tried to explain in a FAQs post, if we return your music on a USB hard drive, and you have classical tracks, under XP it may appear that you have "lost" some tracks compared to the count we have here.

There's a bit of a workround but we need to know in advance if our lovingly crafted digital files are going to reside under the umbrella of Windows XP.

European Progress

2012-03-18T10:17:00.000-07:00

We are often asked if we can rip CDs for clients in Europe, yes, we can. Already this year we've undertaken CD ripping projects for clients in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Spain.

All you need do is mail us the CDs, we don't need the jewel cases (which reduces the weight). After we've ripped your music we'll return everything to you. We can source locally a USB hard drive if you need one and add that to the bill. We've been using Parcelforce and City Link as courier services to get CDs back and that's been working well. Transport can take two or three days compared with next day in the UK.

Some clients have been able to transfer payment direct from their bank account to ours, with others we've used PayPal and they've used their credit cards.

New Sonos Controller App Coming "Soon"

2012-03-15T14:17:00.000-07:00

More news here.

End of MP3? Not Yet

2012-03-07T23:56:00.000-08:00

Just checked the launch of the iPad 3 yesterday. I'd been expecting something about a better codec for music to replace MP3 and Apple's own AAC format. No, nothing so far. I'd also expected Apple TV to offer BBC iPlayer support here in the UK but that didn't happen either.

So today we'll carry on ripping into MP3 as before - or Apple Lossless, or FLAC, as required.

CD Ripping - Carpe Diem

2012-02-28T00:08:00.000-08:00

From time to time we send clients packing material so they can get their CDs over to us. Normally we send a box of CD spindles and a few days later the box boomerangs back, complete with a batch of CDs to rip. One box didn't, funny I thought. Win some, lose some.

Yesterday the missing box came back, empty, save for a covering note.

"Apologies for the delay in getting these back to you. Alas they are empty as I am no longer able to proceed with the ripping service due to the fact I no longer possess my CD collection".

Why? Your guess is as good as mine. My money is on Burglar Bill. I can assure you this is one person who wishes he'd moved more quickly and had all his music safely backed up. So, if CD ripping is on your mind - carpe diem. Quickly.

Whither MP3?

2012-02-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

Neil Young - remember him? If you're around my age he's that bloke with the winning stage persona and a rather reedy voice. Made some great tracks on his early albums (70s, 80s) and then, well so-so and he got very political.

Recently the news broke that he (sometime singer) was collaborating with Steve Jobs on a new music format. Just let that sink in - the technical genius at the head of one of the world's biggest IT companies, the man who gave the kiss of life to the whole portable music thing, is turning to a singer for tech advice. Young's argument rests on the "fact" that when Jobs went home he listened the vinyl. Rather a shaky foundation on which to build an easily rebutted argument but then SJ is dead.

Did anyone say MP3 was top quality? CD ripping has been about liberating music at a compromise setting that works well for most purposes. You get compressed music files so you can take them around with you, so you can store them on a hard drive, so you can make backup copies, so you can buy and download new tracks. So you can sort and access music in ways vinyl never allowed.

Recently we've added two music file format options to our ripping option - Apple Lossless and FLAC. These are becoming better received given the availability of small USB hard drives, believe me the upgrade in quality is worthwhile. But if you want to get every last ounce out of that iPod, MP3 or AAC is the way to go.

Hard Luck With Hard Drives

2012-02-03T08:09:00.000-08:00

This week we have three jobs in, each client would like their files returned on USB hard drives. CD ripping is pretty much complete so I've just been to our local computer store to buy three discs.

We use Argos. OK, it's not the Apple Store but for several years we've been sourcing standard computer peripherals from them, particularly after losing the alternative which was Dixons. Today, no luck.

I could have a drive (not three, just one) at around £120 (compared to the £55 we've been paying). That was the best they could offer and I've just checked online where stock isn't more plentiful. I had a similar experience just before Christmas but was told in PC World that supplies would be back to normal by February. It seems not. What is to be done? I hope not a trip to Lakeside.

Packing Material

2012-01-19T00:54:00.000-08:00

There are two great ways to ship CDs.

First, take your discs out of their jewel cases and put them into a CD wallet. You can get these in a range of capacities and they're just great for shipping and long term storage. Cost is modest, very cheap on eBay.

Second, again this is the discs only, just use those spindles / tubs on which blank CDs and DVDs are sold. This relies on a heavy usage of blank discs, or a lot of friends, and some foresight but it is a safe way to mail CDs. If you look at each disc you'll see a small ridge on the back. When stacked on top of each other on the spindles this ensures their faces don't rub against each other. Clever.

If you need packing let us know, we'll mail some to you.

New Logo

2011-11-24T14:46:00.001-08:00

Thanks to the brilliant graphic brain and creativity of the logoglo.com who’ve done a great job for us. Here it is -

Hope you like it.

CD Ripping all over the world

2011-10-18T00:19:00.001-07:00

Just been looking at the website stats Google collates for us, some great detail and a few odd ball insights into what goes on in the world of the web.

I know we’ve had CD ripping clients in mainland Europe. We have ripped CDs for clients in Ireland, Germany, Switzerland and France plus a few others. However it seems from Google that we have potential CD ripping clients in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

It seems we have interest in some of the technical terms used on this site, the most popular being terms relating to compression in music and CD bitrates. This has provoked interest in a raft of countries that my lapses in geographic knowledge just think of as the former Soviet Union, along with Chile and Mexico.

When I registered our service on the web I understood that having a .com rather than a .co.uk or .eu would tip interest more towards the USA and sure, we have a fair number of visitors from North America. Of course we have most hits from the UK but USA is out ranked by Germany comparing each country. If you add the smaller European nations they out hit the States, as do the combined -stan nations (with a chunk of help from Saudi Arabia).

If you’re reading this from any of those more remote nations, yes, we’d be happy to rip your CDs for you. I’d be thrilled to get our first client from Uruguay or from the Philipines.

Sonos and Lion

2011-09-06T11:47:00.001-07:00

We rip CDs, and we listen to music, just like you. Except a few of our clients who have Sonos systems and upgraded to a new Mac with the Lion operating system.

They hit the sound of silence as the vital Sonos Controller software didn’t work with Apple’s Lion. Until, today. earlier I received an email saying that a new version of Controller is now available for Lion. Good news, roar of approval.

Can I have my CDs back?

2011-08-31T01:35:00.001-07:00

When I designed this site originally I tried to cover all the options, including a FAQS (frequently asked questions) page to address the details of our CD ripping service. It’s not modest but I thought I’d done a pretty good job.

Then we got clients ringing to ask the questions they thought were obvious but I had just not thought of, hence many additions by way of FAQs or free standing web pages. We got to the point where I think 99.99% of what you need is here on the site. Until yesterday ..... Two questions.

First, do you send my CDs back? Yes, of course. It had seemed so obvious to me that I hadn’t thought it necessary to say so. To make it completely clear I’ve added a FAQ entry to say so and I repeat it here. Yes, we do send your CDs back to you.

Second, how much can I save? Are you really that much cheaper than the opposition? Yes, we really are. We recently quoted for a major CD ripping project of over 3,000 CDs. Our clients secretary rang to ask if we could confirm by email what we would charge. Our nearest competitor had quoted 70p per CD and she just wanted to be certain. So I was more than happy to send her an email to confirm, yes, it really is just 50p per CD and that she was saving her boss £600.

Big, Big, Big CD Ripping Project

2011-08-31T01:02:00.000-07:00

I'm waiting for a courier. Yesterday we had a motorcycle courier visit us but that was with just 110 CDs. Today is different.

I am waiting for our biggest ever CD ripping service order - a little over 3,000 CDs. It takes us into a new league as well as keeping us busy for a good few days.

Ripping CDs on this scale is really very little different to ripping smaller collections. We work to get the best sound, best album data and album art. However there are some things which are different. When we knew we had got the order we scratched our heads and came up with a special workflow process to incorporate extra steps to make sure we get it right first time.

First, Data Grooming is critical. Being able to find the music you want is essential when you're dealing with such a large music library. With a hundred or two CDs you might be content to scroll through a chunk to find the album, artist or track you want - with 3,000? Impossible. Albums need to come together so handling multi-album sets is vital as done badly the final CD could be hundreds of entries away. Nightmare.

Similarly we need to smooth out composer names, just a little confusion over Mozart, Mozart WA or WA Mozart will make an enormous mess.

In terms of data volumes we're into a different league. We've had to upgrade one of our PCs so we're certain to have enough space to finally merge all the work from our six computers when we finally bring it all together. Along the way we need to control precisely which CDs have been ripped, which drives the data is stored on, and make sure it's all backed up safely at the end of each day. Just think how you'd feel getting to 2,900+ and finding a hard drive failure wiped out all those hours and hours of work.

When it's all ripped and Data Grooming is complete we just have one final but not small step to take. It all has to be put onto a network connected hard drive. To make this as easy as possible we've upgraded our router and I've earmarked this task to be overseen by our new Mac Mini. Even so I think we'll be lucky to get this lot across in under 72 hours. But that stage seems an awful lot of CDs away.

MP3 - How many MP3 tracks on a CD?

2011-08-17T10:19:00.001-07:00

Our focus as a CD ripping service is getting digital music from a CD and into a data file format. It’s helpful to be reminded from time to time how useful it is to go the other way. It can be very useful, say for an in car sound system. One of our clients asked a simple question - how many MP3s can I get on a CD?

OK, a standard CD with music, such as you used to buy in HMV, stores just over an hour, say 70 minutes. However in data terms that’s around 750 Mb.

MP3 music is in data file format so the roundabout answer is as much music as will take up 750 Mb. As a CD ripping service we rip at 256 kbps into AAC format, the equivalent in MP3 would be 320 kbps. In our format you’d get much more music in digital format, around 7 CDs worth. As MP3 files the answer would be around 5 CDs worth. Roughly.

You could get more if you dropped the quality setting, so the music files are more compressed. The quality is worse, but that may not be a problem if the in car sound system is less than top notch. You could go down to 128 kbps for music and the sound might be acceptable.

If you were recording spoken voice (such as audio books) you can drop as low as 64 kbps and the quality will be acceptable, there just isn’t so much data in a speech compared to a symphony.

So, how many MP3s can you get on a CD? This CD ripping service says 5,7 music CDs or 12 CDs worth of spoken voice.

How do you burn an MP3 CD? It can easily be done using iTunes.

Insurance?

2011-08-06T04:47:00.000-07:00

I've had never even thought of it. As a CD ripping service we get asked many questions, but this has never crossed my mind nor popped into the heads of the people who ring us.

If you lose your music files, can you claim on your house insurance? Well, according to today's Times it's highly unlikely that you'd get your money back and it would only be for tracks you'd bought from iTunes Music Store.

For security you'll need a comprehensive online backup service.

Apple Scupper CD Ripping

2011-07-22T06:07:00.000-07:00

We run a CD ripping service so you might think we'd be celebrating. Instead I have mixed feelings.

Apple - our favourite IT company - have announced two new computers. Neither have built-in CD drives which means that without sourcing an accessory, the typical Mac user will no longer be able to rip their CDs. Part of me hopes this will result in an increase of clients for us, but I also feel sorry for those people who have invested in CDs and with the advent of this new computer will no longer be able to extract digital value from their investment.

Shipping Music

2011-07-16T03:33:00.000-07:00

Our CD ripping service offers great value for money, and it enables us as a London area based business to reach out across the whole of the UK. So one of our music frequent conversations covers how clients can get their CDs to us.

First, we only need the CDs, the discs themselves, not the jewel cases they were supplied in. Immediately that reduces the bulk and weight of what needs to be shipped. And the variable nature of unit size.

Second, the best way is to put the discs into the plastic drums you get when you buy blank CDs in bulk. If you need some let us know, we'll send them to you. We've also had clients who've cut bits of wooden dowel and some who have tightly wrapped handfuls of CDs in clingfilm. Both work well, you just need to stop the discs moving too much in transit.

Each CD has a small ridge on the back. This stops CDs rubbing against each other when they're stacked so don't be tempted to "top and tail" the discs, doesn't help at all.

Third put your CDs into a decent padded envelope or box, with something like bubble wrap or crushed paper to aid steadiness. Some people like to split shipments into chunks as they worry about the risk of loss in transit.

Which method of post? Many clients use courier companies often as they have a business link with one already. If you don't you can find them easily enough online or through your local paper. I wouldn't ignore the post service, we've had brilliant service from Royal Mail and Parcelforce over many years. Both offer fully tracked services with signed-for delivery. Royal Mail Special Delivery is top of the range, with guaranteed delivery by 13:00 next day but Parcelforce offer similar services over longer periods (24 and 48 hours) and are often a lot cheaper.

Music M8

2011-07-09T09:25:00.001-07:00

I like to think CD ripping is a simple business, you send, we rip, you get the music. But this week has been chaotic.

First, we had two clients who underestimated the number of CDs they had. So we were expecting 500 and then 400, we actually got 1800 in total. Not a major problem but it did put us behind, and we had to dip into the overtime budget.

Then client number two, with 800 CDs rang to ask if we could copy his music onto his new Xiva Music M8. OK, but my little heart sinks at the thought. I have dabbled with this machine before and I have to say it isn’t my favourite. I unplugged the ethernet connected Iomega drive we’ve been using and replaced it with the Xiva. So off I go trying to copy the files from one of our drives to a shiny new Xiva box. The instructions say you should just type musicm8 into the address bar in your browser.

Failed. Safari seems determined to hop off to the internet and finds that some clever ISP in Holland has grabbed the domain as a .com. Couldn’t get at the box that way so tried the other local variant Xiva suggest. No luck there either, nor via the SMB command from Apple’s Finder.

Then I remembered an issue we’d had years ago with another project that involved CD ripping to a NAS drive and I swapped the ethernet cable installed already for the cable that came with the Xiva box. Bingo! Still couldn’t get there with musicm8 but the SMB route in Finder worked fine. At last the data is flowing from our simple USB drive across the LAN and into the Xiva Music M8.

Cloud Music from Amazon

2011-03-29T14:36:00.000-07:00

You may have seen news that Amazon is launching a cloud based music storage and streaming service called CloudDrive. As a CD ripping service we're looking closely at this and hope to integrate with this as soon as its generally available.

What Now for Zune?

2011-03-16T03:47:00.000-07:00

Rumours are circulating that Microsoft will be dropping Zune as a range of free standing portable music players. Instead they will focus on Windows 7 mobile phones as the player for their music. Farewell, it seems, to Zune. And what for those with these players who maybe don't want a Nokia phone?

The only game in town seems to be Apple's iPod range. One question we've been asked by our CD ripping clients is what do they need to do to load their music onto an iPod, and is it even possible?

Yes, it is. First you need to download iTunes from Apple.com. Then simply go to File and Import Folder - navigate to the folder containing your Zune music and away you go. If your music was in MP3 format that's all you need to. Just plug in your new iPod and sync away. If your music was ripped to WMA format you'd be advised to convert it to either Apple Lossless or AAC, but both can be done within iTunes.

MP3 and More

2011-02-28T00:23:00.000-08:00

Today we add the " and more" to our music CD ripping service, mp3bymail.com.

We're now offering, for the same price of 50p per CD, a choice of not just MP3 but also AAC or Apple Lossless. Why? Simply because that's what our clients have been asking for, and as a service business we want to keep our clients happy; and of course we hope to win even more clients.

Technically we offer AAC at 256 Kbps.

AAC and Apple Lossless

2011-02-28T00:00:00.001-08:00

OK, you win - from today you can have either MP3 or AAC or Apple Lossless digital music files.

Why? Because so many people have asked for this simple enhancement of our service. As a service driven operation we’re keen to deliver what you, the client, want and need. So there it is - just 50p to rip a CD into the digital music file format of your choice.

Album Art

2011-01-03T14:16:00.001-08:00

For several years we’ve had great service from the software that finds and installs album art into the MP3 tracks we rip. iAlbum Art was a great find and a solid servant, but ....

The developer is ending support. That’s no problem just now but at some point the various sources of cover art images will alter their interfaces and this little gem will turn to dust. Fear not, we’re testing replacements now and an understudy is already in place.

Sonos, Apple and Airplay

2010-11-27T04:09:00.001-08:00

This week Apple let loose with their cute little function called Airplay. If you haven’t come across this it lets you instantly stream content (movies, photos, video, MP3) from your iPhone, iPad or Touch to a compatible device. What excites me is the compatible device strategy.

Demos and comments I’ve seen show streaming from one Apple device to Apple TV, but other manufacturers are getting involved, including Bowers & Wilkins. If Airplay becomes widely adopted this could be a highly effective challenger to Sonos.

MP3 on USB

2010-10-16T03:20:00.001-07:00

At the moment our “standard” method of returning MP3 music files is on DVD. They provide a safe long term archive and are a proven, reliable means of data transfer. We’ve never had anyone who couldn’t load their music from the DVDs we’ve sent.

For larger volumes of data DVDs have one major shortcoming. You need to load each disc, and if you’ve got a lot of music that in itself is time consuming, a chore many people could do without. Loading instead to a USB hard drive has become more popular, either a unit supplied by the client or one we source locally.

However an effective alternative is emerging in the shape of USB pen or stick drives. As capacities increase they become an option. 8, 16 and 32 Gb USB sticks are available in modest outlets such as WH Smith, the largest capacity I’ve come across is a 64 Gb drive I was able to get via eBay. That has the capacity to be attractive in many settings but it’s incredibly slow. The benefit of all these devices, even if they are slow, is that it avoids the tiresome necessity of slotting 2, 4, 8 or 16 DVDs into and out of your PC. Convenience is what MP3 by Mail is all about.