kbert;184173 Wrote: > When I started ripping I assumed that compression might degrade the > final result... so I ripped at 0 compression.
So, are the files WAVs or FLACs? > What's the consensus on compression setting, and what factors determine > the choice? I'm afraid there isn't a concesus. If you want maximum compression use the highest (-8) setting, but realize that the highest compression setting requires the most CPU power to both encode and decode. I just use the default compression level (-5) for my library. The difference in file size between the default and the highest level is only a couple percent, at the expense of a lot more CPU work. I know a number of people use -8, figuring that they may as well save the additional disk space and that it's an operation that only has to be done once. I haven't heard of anyone using less compression, unless they need to play the files on a portable player, where the player may not have the CPU power to decode the files in realtime. > How many Gb would I gain with compression of 500 CDs (is it worth the > effort?) > Is there an easy way to compress already ripped files, a batch process? > > What tool(s) should I be looking at? If they're completely uncompressed, I'd expect that they'll compress down to something like 55-65% of their current size. Depends at least as much on the type/complexity of the music as it does on the compression level selected. If you're talking about re-encoding Flac files, check out the following thread at HydrogenAudio. Someone there has written a fairly simple Windows batch file to reencode Flac files using the latest Flac encoder. You could use that and set your desired compression level. http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=50993 One thing I can't stress strongly enough, however: TEST, TEST, TEST and TEST AGAIN any batch method of reencoding before letting it loose on your entire music library. I would start by taking a couple of subfolders, say those of two or three artists in your library, and COPY the contents to another directory. Test the batch file on that folder. Test to be sure that the resulting files are OK. Then do a couple more tests before attacking the whole library. -- JJZolx Jim ------------------------------------------------------------------------ JJZolx's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33157 _______________________________________________ ripping mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/ripping
