-=> Quoting Javier Colter to Rick Mcbroom <=-
 re: Cool Edit
 RM>>  Sure beats WavMaker, the OEM Compaq utility!
 JC> And sound recorder.. :))
 That goes without saying!  ;-)
 Compaq's (actually Voyetra) WavMaker /almost/ fills the bill.
 re: proof-listening to WAV files before burning
 JC>>> There's no need for this..
 RM>> I disagree. It depends on your specific system, really.
 RM>> And how much of a perfectionist you are, I suppose.
 JC> Well, different points of view.. :)
 If you were using my system, you just might share my POV. 
 JC> I hope you don't multitask while recording..
 No, I know better than that!
 JC> When I record I let the full machine to that application..
 No way around it. I don't think /any/ consumer system's fast enough to
 multitask while burning an audio CD.  If you had a multi-striped RAID
 system, you MIGHT get away with it...
 Packet writing data files, now that's another story.  I can copy data
 files to CD-R with a half-dozen open apps, and dl off the 'net all at
 the same time.   It slows the process down, certainly, but the CD-R
 turns out just fine.
 One caveat; do /not/ try to use a DOS app running under Windows to write
 data to a CD-R. It may work, and it may not. If you try to multitask while
 doing so, you stand a /very/ good chance of getting corrupted data on the
 CD-R. Stick with a Win32 app, and you'll be fine, though.
 RM>> if your discs /do/ play on a conventional audio CD player, then the
 RM>> mastering software must convert from .WAV to .CDR on the fly.
 JC> I think this is what i'm doing..
 I'd say there's no doubt of it. A .CDR file is the /only/ format that a
 conventional CD audio deck can interpret.
 RM>>  What brand/ version mastering software do you use?
 JC> Easy-Cd Pro 2.0
 Interesting. I will upgrade the HyCD OEM suite eventually, so it's good
 to know that EasyCD will eliminate that step.  However.. it's made by
 Adaptec, right?  I'm not real impressed with DirectCD, or Adaptec's
 support of that product.
 DirectCD is the driver suite that allows packet data writing to the CD-R,
 from Windows Explorer, etc.  It works fine now, but caused me no end of
 grief, at first. I was getting a random & intermittent conflict with my
 anti-virus program at bootup, which would hang the system maybe 1 time out
 of 10. I went a few rounds with Adaptec about it, and they kept insisting
 that it was the fault of the anti-virus program. This despite the fact that
 it happened with two DIFFERENT anti-virus apps! I was looking for a way to
 load DirectCD manually, AFTER bootup, and Adaptec support kept telling me
 that it couldn't be done; "DirectCD is designed to load at bootup, there
 is no other way to do it" I was told, flat out. To make a long story short,
 those guys don't know their ass from a hole in the ground. It CAN be done,
 though my hair got quite a bit thinner in figuring out how to do it... :-/
 RM>>  You burn at /4x/ with test-before-write off?! That's amazing.
 JC> Now I realize that you were talking about your IDE burner.. :-\
 JC> I'm using a SCSI one.. :)
 Well hell, that explains everything. I'm well aware that a SCSI system
 will outperform IDE by a wide margin.
 JC> I use a Quantum Fireball IDE UDMA2 (3.2 gb) The access time is
 JC> about 8-9 ms. I also use a Quantum Fireball SCSI-2 (2.0 gb).. I
 JC> dunno the access time..
 And do you use the SCSI Fireball exclusively when you burn CDs?
 JC> ..it seems that the IDE UDMA drive is FASTER than the SCSI-2 one..
 Average access times are extremely misleading, though.  An IDE drive
 with a 15ms SCSI drive
 in /sustained/throughput/.
 RM>> FWIW, I'm using a Compaq 4814 w/ 233 mhz Pentium II, 64 megs of
 RM>> RAM, a Quantum Bigfoot 6.4 gig IDE HD (<14 ms average seek time),
 RM>> my CD-R is a Philips OmniWriter IDE internal, and I use the HyCD
 RM>> mastering suite (OEM version).
 JC> I think your problems comes from the Bigfoot drive.. I been told
 JC> that those drivers are VERY SLOW to cd-recording..
 It's a contributing factor, I'm sure. I've considered upgrading to a
 Fireball IDE drive. However, the Bigfoot fits my needs otherwise, and
 I'm not convinced that any IDE drive would solve the problem. If I do
 upgrade, it'll be to an /all/ SCSI system; hard drive, CD-ROM, CD-R,
 and tape drive. But for now, I'll muddle along with what I have, I
 reckon. It's working fine.. as long as there's no hurry..  :-/
 RM>> ..you're having exceptional luck. ..Some are having bona-fide
 RM>> nightmares, with problems far exceeding those that I've had...
 JC> I didn't realize you were talking about *IDE* burners.. Sorry..
 's OK. I'm just relieved that you DO have SCSI drives. Otherwise, I'd
 feel even more like I've been ripped off on that OmniWriter..  
 Thanks for your input!
... NP:  X  _Los Angeles/Wild Gift_  "Soul Kitchen"          
--- GEcho 1.11+
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