File Format Dilemma

[paulsolo]

I have an AVC-A1HDA Denon amp, Buffalo Terastation and a 160 GB iPod Classic.

I have been trying to work which is the best file format to use to record my CD collection onto the Terastation and to sync my iPod.

The problem is WAV files do not store file information and artwork, iTunes does not support FLAC and the Denon does not support AIFF or Apple Lossless,

With the Terastation's large storage capacity, I could make copies of both FLAC and AIFF/Apple lossless files, although this is obviously not the most efficient option.

Any ideas?

 

[John Duncan]

I'd probably either a) use apple lossless and create a separate 320k AAC library for streaming to the Denon (since it says it handles AAC), or b) eschew the network functionality of the Denon altogether and add a simple streamer like AE or Squeezebox into the DAC of the Denon.

I'd got with a) since you can do it within iTunes and the quality will be pretty reasonable - depends on whether ultimate SQ is essential in this particular setup.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

paulsolo:
I have an AVC-A1HDA Denon amp, Buffalo Terastation and a 160 GB iPod Classic.

I have been trying to work which is the best file format to use to record my CD collection onto the Terastation and to sync my iPod.

The problem is WAV files do not store file information and artwork, iTunes does not support FLAC and the Denon does not support AIFF or Apple Lossless,

With the Terastation's large storage capacity, I could make copies of both FLAC and AIFF/Apple lossless files, although this is obviously not the most efficient option.

Any ideas?

Do you have to use ITunes? I use Windows Media Center and rip to WMA Lossless using WMP. Information and artwork is automatic.

 

[John Duncan]

Pesky iPod requires itunes.......

 

[Anonymous]

Rip to Apple Lossless.

Install Twonky or similar on the NAS, to transcode to WAV or FLAC on-the-fly.

 

[paulsolo]

Ultimate SQ is the main aim for both the Denon and the iPod

 

[professorhat]

Depends on how IT literate you are with the Twonky route, but the simplest solution is JD's Airport Express / Squeezebox suggestion IMO.

 

[John Duncan]

You could actually rip to WAV and have iTunes store the metadata in the iTunes library (it just won't be in the files themselves)? Not exactly space-saving though.......

 

[paulsolo]

I had it set up previously as per John Duncan's description. Problem was harddrive
had to be replaced and iTunes lost all the WAV metadata, so now I have
a whole stack of WAV files that I can't sort/assign according to album
because all I have are song numbers are full or partial track names.
(let's not go down that rather painful road)

I am not overly concerned with space constraints, what with the 1TB Terastation being quite a monster and only wanting to record a approx 50% of my CD collection.

Assuming I want to try maintain the best quality recordings, I could go AIFF for iTunes (which would work well for the iPod) and then WAV in Windows Media Player (which would work best with the Denon)

iTunes and Windows Media Player handle WAV files quite differently. I used to record using WAV in iTunes, but the metadata was stored in a way that the Denon couldn't read it as the Denon runs using Windows Media Player.

Does that sound workable (albeit a little mad working with 2 large sized copies of the same album)?

 

[JoelSim]

Stating the obvious somewhat.

But you could play CDs instead and save yourself weeks' worth of hassle.

ÿ

 

[Alec]

JoelSim:

Stating the obvious somewhat.

But you could play CDs instead and save yourself weeks' worth of hassle.

Ooh, you are a card.

 

[paulsolo]

I hear you, except for the 'getting the music onto the iPod' part!

 

[Anonymous]

Is it not posible to rip in wma lossless onto media player for the denon. Then add the folder into iTunes. Have the import preference set to Apple lossless. Select the file, then get iTunes to create a lossless version. Delete the wma from the library but keep the file?

I know it might be a bit long winded butyou could rip the next cd whilst iTunes converts the previous.

I must admit that I've never tried to see if iTunes can covert wma to an aac format.

 

[Gozaradio]

I have looked into similar a similar situation myself; I already have a fairly hefty library in ALAC and when I was considering a PS3, I was trying to find a way of playing my library over the network to the PS3. As far as I could tell, Twonkymedia didn't transcode from ALAC to wav or any other format on the fly. Not sure if this has changed, but if not, there are two simple-ish options that I can think of.

The easiest but least disk efficient way to do what you want is to rip everything in as ALAC for your iTunes library and then use dBPowerAmp to convert the lot to FLAC in a separate folder which your Denon can then read and playback.

Another easy solution is to forget using your Denon's network capabilities and go for a Squeezebox or Sonos setup. This is my preferred route to using an AV receiver to navigate a music library especially if it's pretty big. However, you may feel that you're wasting the network features of your expensive receiver.

There is another possible solution but not very simple - You could use TVersity as your media server. This doesn't transcode ALAC out of the box but some clever person has seemingly created a directshow filter which does ALAC playback, potentially allowing you to transcode ALAC on the fly. However, it may get a little complicated with your Terastation as you will have to do a little tweaking even once you get it working - it all depends on how confident you are with these things.

Hope something there helps.