I started my sabbatical about 6 months ago. That included not doing much, attending a 10 day workshop of silent meditation, catching up on fiction reading, traveling a little, and spending time with my family in India. After our travels we are back to the states and I have much to share. We have a cool new place and we are almost unpacked. I am back to exercising and the normal life has started. No more staying out of the suitcases. Phew.
I am also doing this project which was on my to-do list for almost a decade. I want to get rid of all my CDs. I don't want to see them. I have been ripping them here and there but I always wanted a complete solution that did not require me to rip them again. Especially after the advent of the iPod, the iTunes, this was possible. Now with dropbox we never give anyone a physical CD anymore, so why have them occupying space at home. So, this is my solution. If you think there is a better solution, or if I have overlooked something, do let me know.
Requirements:
Current devices:
The solution:
I am also doing this project which was on my to-do list for almost a decade. I want to get rid of all my CDs. I don't want to see them. I have been ripping them here and there but I always wanted a complete solution that did not require me to rip them again. Especially after the advent of the iPod, the iTunes, this was possible. Now with dropbox we never give anyone a physical CD anymore, so why have them occupying space at home. So, this is my solution. If you think there is a better solution, or if I have overlooked something, do let me know.
Requirements:
- Music Archive files should be ripped in an open format and lossless from where I can import into any software/format in the future.
- iTunes running on all my computers should have access to high bit rate, may be not lossless, music so they can be played on good speakers with high quality.
- The iPhone should always sync from the laptop as it goes everywhere with me.
Current devices:
- A desktop pc, a macbook, a laptop pc and a 1 TB NAS
The solution:
- Rip the CDs in a lossless wav format using Windows media player and store it on the RAID
- Rip the CDs in mp3s at
256320 Kbps and copy the collection on all the computers
This will ensure that I always have access to the CD data in the wav format if needed. The iTunes running on all the computers will have access to good enough music which can be played in decent speakers whether attached to the desktop or the TV using Airplay on Apple TV. After 192 Kbps, the human ear cannot differentiate the improvement in quality but with space getting cheaper by the day, how much bigger would be the files at 256 320 Kbps anyway. It is a long laborious process but if I don't do this now, I will never do it. No more CDs!! I am storing the CDs in storage and getting rid of all the plastic covers.
