     Compact  disc  _r_i_p_p_i_n_g (extracting tracks from an audio
cd into hard disk soundfiles) can be performed  easily  with
the graphical SGI _c_d_p_l_a_y_e_r application. See section 5 of the
_E_C_M_C _U_S_E_R_S_' _G_U_I_D_E for a summary on using _c_d_p_l_a_y_e_r_.

     On the Linux systems cd ripping is best performed  with
the  command  line  program _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a.  The current crop of
Linux GUI rippers are optimized for ripping songs from  com
mercial  pop  cds,  downloading  title/artist information on
these tracks from an internet _c_d_d_b database and then  encod
ing  them  into _m_p_3 files. While it is _p_o_s_s_i_b_l_e to use these
GUIs to extract audio from cds, I think you will  find  them
to be more trouble than they are worth.

UUssiinngg ccddppaarraannooiiaa

     The  syntax  for  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a  (which can be abbreviated
_c_d_p_a_r on ECMC Linux systems) is:
         _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _[_f_l_a_g_s_]  _s_p_a_n  _[_o_u_t_p_u_t_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_]
If the optional _o_u_t_p_u_t_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e argument  is  not  specified,
the  samples will be written to a soundfile called _c_d_d_a_._w_a_v_,
_c_d_d_a_._a_i_f_f or perhaps _c_d_d_a_._r_a_w, depending upon the  specified
output  format.  The default format is WAVE.  If you extract
two or more tracks into separate  soundfiles,  these  sound
files  will  be named  _t_r_a_c_k_0_1_._o_u_t_p_u_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e_, _t_r_a_c_k_0_2_._o_u_t_p_u_
_f_i_l_e_n_a_m_e, etc., or else (if you don't  specify  an  "output
filename") _t_r_a_c_k_0_1_._c_d_d_a_._w_a_v_, _t_r_a_c_k_0_2_._c_d_d_a_._w_a_v, etc.

_F_l_a_g  _o_p_t_i_o_n_s:  For  a  complete list and description of all
flag options consult the _m_a_n page for the program. The  fol
lowing  flags  are generally the most important for our pur
poses. As with many Linux programs, these flags have both  a
"short" form and an alternative, mneomic "longer" form:

tab(%);  l  l  l.   _s_h_o_r_t_%_l_o_n_g_%_r_e_s_u_l_t -w%--output-wav%output
soundfiles will be in WAVE format (the default) -f%--output-
aiff%output    soundfiles    will    be   in   AIFF   format
-B%--batch%split the output into separate soundfiles at  the
track  boundaries of %%the input cd ; normally you will want
to include this flag when extracting %%more than one  track;
otherwise  the  individual input tracks will be %%written to
one continuous soundfile (with 2 second pauses between %%the
original  input tracks) -Q%--query%display the TOC (table of
contents) of the cd and any error  messages  %%in  accessing
the cd-rom drive and disc -v%--verbose%verbose option, occa
sionally useful for debugging problems


     The _s_p_a_n _a_r_g_u_m_e_n_t (which should be enclosed  in  double
quotes  to  guard  against  misinterpretation  by the shell)
specifies a beginning and/or an end point on the  cd for the
extraction.  If no span argument is given the entire cd will
be extracted.  The span argument has the format:

     (starting point for extraction) - (ending point for extraction)
"Track[hours:minutes:seconds.sectors]-Track[hours:minutes:seconds.sectors]"

Note that the _s_e_c_t_o_r_s argument (which specifys times smaller
than  1  second)  is  preceded by a dot (..) rather than by a
colon (::).  Audio compact disks are written with 75  sectors
per second, so 25 sectors indicates 1/3 of a second, 38 sec
tors indicates about 1/2 second, and so on.
Zero fields (e.g. 0 hours, 0 minutes, etc.) can  be  omitted
from the span argument.  See the examples below.

     _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a  can only read from the cd-rom drives on the
ECMC Linux systems, not from _c_d_r_w or _c_d_r drives. (It  _s_h_o_u_l_d
be  possible to read from a disc loaded into the Plextor cd-
rw drive on _m_a_d_k_i_n_g, but I have not been able  to  configure
this  to  work.)   While _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a is extracting audio into
soundfiles, it will display _o_u_t_p_u_t  _s_m_i_l_i_e_s  which  indicate
whether  or  not  it is having any trouble reading the disc.
Hopefully you will see
      ::--))  All is well -- little or no jitter is evident  in
     reading the data
The  symbol   ::--||  means that considerable jitter is evident
but retries seem to be providing  accurate  reads.   Consult
the  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a  _m_a_n  page  if  you see other symbols, which
indicate read problems  that  may  result  in  artifacts  or
glitches   in   the  output  soundfile.   For  example,  one
"frownie" you don't want to see is
      ;-(   cdparanoia has given up trying to perform a cor
     rection

_E_x_a_m_p_l_e _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _c_o_m_m_a_n_d _l_i_n_e_s_:
     (1)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a
With no arguments, _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a prints a usage summary.
     (2)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _-_Q
Result: Displays the TOC of the disc and exits.
     (3)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _-_B
Result:  Extracts  then  entire  cd, writing each track to a
separate WAVE  soundfile.  The  output  soundfiles  will  be
called _t_r_a_c_k_0_1_._c_d_d_a_._w_a_v_, _t_r_a_c_k_0_2_._c_d_d_a_._w_a_v, etc.
     (4)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _-_f _"_2_-_3_" _t_r_a_c_k_s_2_-_3_._a_i_f
Result:  Extracts  tracks  2 and 3 into a single, continuous
AIFF soundfile named _t_r_a_c_k_s_2_-_3_._a_i_f
     (5)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _"_1_[_:_:_5_]_-_1_[_:_:_1_5_._6_0_]_" _e_x_c_e_r_p_t_._w_a_v  or
          _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _"_1_[_5_._0_]_-_1_[_1_5_._6_0_]_"  _e_x_c_e_r_p_t_._w_a_v
Result: Extracts a 10.8 second segment from track 1,  begin
ning  at time 5 seconds and ending at time 15.8 seconds into
the track, and writes the samples  into  a  soundfile  named
_e_x_c_e_r_p_t_._w_a_v  (Note  that  60  sectors  = .8 seconds.  Open a
desktop calculator if necessary to make such  sector-to-sec
ond conversions.)
     (6)  _c_d_p_a_r_a_n_o_i_a _"_2_[_1_:_1_]_-_2_[_1_:_1_0_._3_8_]_" _m_a_s_t_e_r_p_i_e_c_e
Result:  Rips  a  9  and a half second excerpt from track 2,
beginning at time 1 minute, 1 second and ending at  time  10
and  a half seconds (38 sectors = approximately 1/2 second).
The samples are written to a soundfile called _m_a_s_t_e_r_p_i_e_c_e.


_U_s_i_n_g _G_R_I_P _f_o_r _c_d _r_i_p_p_i_n_g

     As of this writing no Linux GUI exists with the simple,
reliable  functionality  of the SGI _c_d_p_l_a_y_e_r application for
ripping audio compact discs. In  the  FWIW  (for  what  it's
worth")  category,  for those who _r_e_a_l_l_y want to use a Linux
GUI for ripping, here is a brief  usage  summary  for  _g_r_i_p,
currently  the best of a sorry lot. You can open this appli
cation by typing _g_r_i_p in a shell window, or by  clicking  on
its icon in  _/_u_s_r_/_b_i_n.  A _m_a_n page is available.

     _g_r_i_p  includes  a  built-in cd player (which the author
calls _g_c_d) that appears at the bottom of the main window and
can  be  used to plays cds. Of the five main tabs at the top
of the window (_T_r_a_c_k_s_-_R_i_p_-_C_o_n_f_i_g_-_H_e_l_p_-_A_b_o_u_t) only the _T_r_a_c_k_s
and  _R_i_p  tabs open useful windows.  Although the _C_o_n_f_i_g tab
provides several sub-menus that can  be  configured,  it  is
unlikely  you  will  want to bother fiddling with any of the
default settings, with one exception. In  the  _C_D_D_B  window,
uncheck  "Perform  CDDB  lookup  automatically."  If you are
using a cd that is not in the cddb  database,  _g_r_i_p  may  go
into  an  unusable error state, indicated by flashing tracks
within   the   _T_r_a_c_k   _W_i_n_d_o_w,   because   it   can't   find
"artist/title" information about your cd. Sigh...

Click  the  _T_r_a_c_k_s tab and in this window select one or more
tracks to be ripped by right clicking on the desired tracks.
Then  click the _R_i_p tab.  If you want to extract only a por
tion of a track, click in the _R_i_p _p_a_r_t_i_a_l _t_r_a_c_k box and then
fill  in values in the _S_t_a_r_t _s_e_c_t_o_r and/or _E_n_d _s_e_c_t_o_r boxes.
(Remember, 75 sectors = 1 second of audio. Where's my calcu
lator?)

Example:  With _S_t_a_r_t _s_e_c_t_o_r set to  2250 and  _E_n_d _s_e_c_t_o_r set
to  5000, ripping will start at  30  seconds  (2250  sectors
divided by 75 sectors/second) and will end at  66.67 seconds
(5000/75). The duration will be about 36.67 seconds.

When you are ready, click on _R_i_p _o_n_l_y (so that the extracted
audio will not be converted to _m_p_3 format).

     The  most  obnoxious  feature of the current version of
_g_r_i_p is that it will extract all tracks to the directory
               /home/UID/mp3/ARTIST/DISKTITLE
where _A_R_T_I_S_T and _D_I_S_K_T_I_T_L_E are intended to be derived from a
_c_d_d_b  database  lookup.  That cd you made of your own sound
files will not be in this database, so the  tracks  will  be
written to
            /home/UID/mp3/noartist/unknown_disc
and the soundfiles will have names such as _t_r_a_c_k___2_._w_a_v

Note that this directory branches from your home -U-n-i-x-direc
tory, rather than from your current working soundfile direc
tory, so it is easy to fill up the relative small _/_h_o_m_e disk
partition very quickly. MMaakkee ssuurree yyoouu ddoo nnoott ddoo tthhiiss!!  Imme
diately, you will need to move these soundfiles to your cur
rent working soundfile directory:
     _c_d _/_h_o_m_e_/_U_I_D_/_m_p_3_/_n_o_a_r_t_i_s_t_/_u_n_k_n_o_w_n___d_i_s_c
     _m_v _t_r_a_c_k_*  _$_S_F_D_I_R
When you are done, you probably will want to delete the  _m_p_3
subdirectories from your home Unix directory:
                      _c_d _; _r_m _-_r_f _m_p_3
(Alas,  the   _/_h_o_m_e_/_U_I_D_/_m_p_3_/_n_o_a_r_t_i_s_t_/_u_n_k_n_o_w_n___d_i_s_c  path will
be  recreated if you use _g_r_i_p again.)  Stinks, huh?

   Last updated August 2001

















































