CD Ripping - Improving encoding speed

[The Assassin]

So I've got another question:

I'm in the process of re-ripping my cd collection and the encoding is going VERY slow. Granted I'm running a high bit rate (320kps AAC/Mp4) but I'm only able to encode at about 7X which is driving me nuts. My system is older, but I used to be able to rip near 20X.


Couple other things about the setup:
-I have a plextor cd/dvd burner (IDE) that is 48X for CD's.
-I'm ripping to a separate drive than my OS harddrive
-I'm ripping in itunes

I don't know, do I need to consider a different optical drive or one that uses a sata interface? Or is my computer that's 4 years old just too old to work at a reasonable speed.

[larryhead]

Off the top of my head, it sounds like the higher bitrate and AAC encoder is the speed bottleneck. Unless the drive you're ripping to is a slow external our something.. but I'm guessing your ripping to an internal SATA drive though right? Maybe try a speed test comparison of re-ripping a CD at a lower bitrate, or to you local drive.

Slam is the resident CD ripping expert around here.. I think he uses LAME to encode in MP3 format though. He's always ripping on us iTunes encoders too.. :drumfingers:

[slam]

i haven't ripped anything in years. ripping implies i own the CD in the first place :>

but yes, i always used LAME back in the days. i'm really out of the loop on what's good these days. have you tried ripping the cd in one step, then converting to aac/whatever as a separate step? then you would know if the problem is with the drive, or just the conversion.

i would bet that those higher bitrates simply take longer to encode.

[The Assassin]

Thanks again for the response guys, but as always I just need to do a little more investigative work. My plextor drive has a pretty comprehensive (but archaic) toolset and looking through it I found a couple settings to push the speed closer to 20X again. The drive seems to have extensive error correction systems that are just too much for mp3/mp4 encoding. I think a lot of it is meant for more critical audio/video production.

BTW, I am getting amused talking about all this tech shit because my box is probably by far the shittiest setup of anyone on board to pieces that actually built there computer. Oh well, I just can't justify buying a new setup.

Unless slam is willing to sell me his old mobo/CPU when he upgrades....:coffee:

[slam]

Unless slam is willing to sell me his old mobo/CPU when he upgrades....:coffee:

laina already has dibs on it. we need to get her computer geared up for Sims 3 later this year :>

i have another couple of mobos and whatnot laying around, but they're all pretty old. whenever you do decide to upgrade that beast, let me know and i'll try to guide you a bit. you could pretty get an old core 2 duo chip, mobo, and ram for not much money these days...

[The Assassin]

laina already has dibs on it. we need to get her computer geared up for Sims 3 later this year :>

i have another couple of mobos and whatnot laying around, but they're all pretty old. whenever you do decide to upgrade that beast, let me know and i'll try to guide you a bit. you could pretty get an old core 2 duo chip, mobo, and ram for not much money these days...

No problem. While my computer is pretty old (5 years), it still does what I need it to do with a reasonable amount of proficiency. The main task it gets bogged down in is when I'm doing some manipulation to digital photos but I don't do that too often and the RAM upgrade (now 3GB) should alleviate some of that issue.

Maybe when Microsoft comes out with a viable OS since XP I'll consider a full upgrade.

[larryhead]

BTW, I am getting amused talking about all this tech shit because my box is probably by far the shittiest setup of anyone on board to pieces that actually built there computer. Oh well, I just can't justify buying a new setup.

I'm pretty sure that honor goes to me.. my rig at home is the one I built a few years ago.. Pention 4, 2.4GhZ.. AGP card... yeah. It's pretty much just used for surfing the net, ripping music, and writing some papers. It actually plays Half Life 2 / Orange Box OK, but I think I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and upgarde once I get back to the US.

[The Assassin]

I'm pretty sure that honor goes to me.. my rig at home is the one I built a few years ago.. Pention 4, 2.4GhZ.. AGP card... yeah. It's pretty much just used for surfing the net, ripping music, and writing some papers. It actually plays Half Life 2 / Orange Box OK, but I think I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and upgarde once I get back to the US.

Wow, you do beat me for the biggest p.o.s. computer, barely. At the end of the day I think they are both about the same. But honestly, if you aren't doing intense gaming or audio/video manipulation what's the fucking point of upgrading? As I mentioned before, until I reach a point where I need/want to upgrade my OS from XP to whatever doesn't suck there's no point unless you want to be a part of a nerd pissing contest.

I think whenever I upgrade my computer the one I currently have will finally become a HTPC. I mean, it's in a HTPC case and has a HTPC style motherboard for crying out loud. I just have never been able to actually use it as a HTPC until now since I recently bought a HDTV.

Actually.....I should hook it up to my HDTV...

[larryhead]

dood.. what type of hdtv did you get.. that's not an everyday purchase! :munchies: