Reading text in CDs

[carlmart]

Lately I have had to author and burn CDs with separate song files.

Like probably most people, I am burning this with a DVD recorder, as I don't have a CD specific burner anymore. The text is used to identify the song, the disc and the artist. In CD players that used to show on the display. I would like to have that when I play those CDs on my DVD players too.

But I think I thound out that:

1) Many DVD players do not read CD text. Is that so? Many or none of them?

2) That might be a DVD burner problem too?

[AlanHK]

That might be a DVD burner problem too?

I don't think so. A DVD burner can do everything a CD burner can; plus of course burn DVDs.

[carlmart]

Maybe it's the handling.

I have been using a very good program, called Exact Audio Copy, to burn CDs. For me it's like ImgBurn for burning DVDs: you can't go wrong with it.

EAC identifies what the CD or DVD burner can do or not do. Then uses that information to burn the CDs.

Until now I had been burning CDs with it, paying no special attention to how things were recorded. My main concern was that the player could stop at every song. It's now that I perceived this text question.

[piano632]

Did you click on the "Options..." button next to the drive name in EAC then put a check in the box that says "Drive is able to write CD-Text"?

You don't say what burner you are using, but there certainly are DVD burners that support CD-Text. The problem is that EAC doesn't support every burner fully. You can try other apps like Burrrn or Feurio (not updated any more because the author now works for Nero, but still one of the best audio CD burning apps out there). Also, ImgBurn now supports writing audio CD's with text, but you have to use a CUE sheet or make one.

[hech54]

Not all burners can write CDText.....not all software can write CDText. Both burner and software need to be "correct" for lack of a better word right now. All 3 of my LG drives(old and new) can burn CDText. If I need CDText I make sure I burn with Prassi Ones. I have not tried ImgBurn's CDText abilities/option yet.

[carlmart]

Did you click on the "Options..." button next to the drive name in EAC then put a check in the box that says "Drive is able to write CD-Text"?

I did better than that. I asked EAC to identify drive's features. In fact it didn't detect writing CD text capability in either of my two burners.

You don't say what burner you are using, but there certainly are DVD burners that support CD-Text.

Plextor PX-880SA and LG GP08NU20. They are very good burners. I wasn't aware they might not support CD-Text.

The problem is that EAC doesn't support every burner fully. You can try other apps like Burrrn or Feurio (not updated any more because the author now works for Nero, but still one of the best audio CD burning apps out there). Also, ImgBurn now supports writing audio CD's with text, but you have to use a CUE sheet or make one.

Where can I get some guides on how to use ImgBurn to burn CDs? I already have a cue-sheet, but I can't find where to open it in IB, only how to write it.

[jman98]

Making audio CDs with CD-Text is one of the rare things that Nero is actually good at.

[piano632]

I did better than that. I asked EAC to identify drive's features. In fact it didn't detect writing CD text capability in either of my two burners.

I don't think CD-Text writing capability is something that can be automatically detected. You have to set it manually.

Where can I get some guides on how to use ImgBurn to burn CDs? I already have a cue-sheet, but I can't find where to open it in IB, only how to write it.

If you have one of the newer versions of ImgBurn installed, you should be able to just right-click on the CUE file and select Open with... > ImgBurn then click on the little icons in ImgBurn to see how the cue layout looks.

[carlmart]

I don't think CD-Text writing capability is something that can be automatically detected. You have to set it manually.

I did both in EAC. But if you don't order it to detect it and just tick the boxes, you will get a TOC error when trying to write the disc.

If you have one of the newer versions of ImgBurn installed, you should be able to just right-click on the CUE file and select Open with... > ImgBurn then click on the little icons in ImgBurn to see how the cue layout looks.

Well, I could open the cue file in IB, but I can't seem to find "the little icons" to see how the layout looks. After I burnt the disc I still keep not getting the text I want. Fortunately I am using an RW disc for these tests.

[hech54]

It appears your LG drive does NOT support CDText. Below are two sourses that say it does not support CDText:
No CDText:
http://reviews.cnet.com/other-removable-media-drives/lg-gp08nu20-super-multi/4507-6407...-33680387.html

http://www.lg.com/au/it-products/optical-storage-devices/LG-external-drive-GP08NU20.AYBE10B.jsp

Here are the specs for my LG H58N drive where it says it supports CDText:
CDText
http://reviews.cnet.com/dvd-drives/lg-gsa-h58n-super/1707-3212_7-32969655.html

As stated earlier...it's not just the software. It is a combination of drive and software that determines
whether or not you can burn CDText. "It takes two to tango" so to speak.
The only other drives that listed CDText in their spec sheets was Pioneer.

[carlmart]

OK. I went have a look at the other burner, the Plextor, and it does seem to support CD text:

http://www.plextor-digital.com/index.php/en/Internal-DVD+/-RW/px-880sa/Specifications.html

But it's not acknowledged as such by EAC. Or by ImgBurn either, as it didn't seem to see the cue sheet text on writing or reading.

Maybe it's the program then, so which one DOES accept CD text info to be written on the disc?

[hech54]

Try the 30 Day Demo version of Prassi Ones. It also has a function that shows both of my LG drives as being CDText ready:
http://ww1.tx-software.com/boutique_us/liste_produits.cfm?code_lg=lg_us&type=7

[carlmart]

Prassi Ones is installed. Just now I tried to load the cue sheet file I have, and it's asking for a bin file that should be with it.

How do I get that bin file? Or should I proceed in a different way?

According to this program both drives are CD text capable.

[johns0]

You get the bin file from where ever you d/l,ripped or copied the files from,all a cue file is just a text based file that tells the program how to burn the bin file.

[hech54]

Why are people so hung up on bin files?

[johns0]

Why are people so hung up on bin files?

You need cue/bin files to burn audio cds.

[carlmart]

You get the bin file from where ever you d/l,ripped or copied the files from,all a cue file is just a text based file that tells the program how to burn the bin file.

These songs were not ripped from any CD, just captured from analog or digital sources. So there are no bin files.

Can you write a bin file? What do you put in it?

The cue file I wrote on EAC, filling in the Cd name, artist and each song name.

[hech54]

Just load the "files" into Prassi Ones "Audio Compilation" mode, type in all the artist, track name info and burn the damn disc. I'm sorry but I don't see what is so hard about this. I think this is the problem with people being "sold" the idea that EAC is the program to use when ripping and burning CDs....and to be honest I never knew that EAC burned CDs....I had no idea because even the ripping aspect of EAC(which it is mostly known for) is completely ridiculous to me. Bin files, Cue files....all nonsense and foreign to me. Sure my favorite CD burning programs (like Ones) creates these Bin and Cue files in the background somewhere then deletes them....but to me there is no need to worry about that stuff. Just load the WAV files and burn the damn disc.....holy crap.

[carlmart]

What I'm tired of is doing this several times and never getting what I want. I alredy wrote this cue-sheet the way you describe in EAC, and now I have to write it again. That's what is so hard about this.

Why the program does not simply import the existing cue file and proceed from then on?

People were "sold" on EAC because the program delivers. But I won't go into that.

[hech54]

People were "sold" on EAC because the program delivers.

How's that workin' out so far?

I never suggested doing ANYTHING in EAC.

[hech54]

Put the damn "music files/WAV files" into Ones and burn away.....simple.

[carlmart]

Put the damn "music files/WAV files" into Ones and burn away.....simple.

But I did that to see how it worked. It came out with no names at all. So it's not simple.

[carlmart]

I never suggested doing ANYTHING in EAC.

No, What I'm saying is that I do not agree with you. Maybe this is a bug in EAC that may or may not be cured. I did take this problem to the EAC forum first.

Most people that went to EAC did that because they were not getting good quality results from what was available back then. Maybe that's changed now.

[hech54]

I burned this CD a few months ago with Prassi Ones(CDText enabled) with one of my LG burners....ripped the songs with CDex.

Top screenshot...the burned/final CD as viewed in ISOBuster
Bottom screenshot...the burned/final CD as viewed in Prassi Ones (audio ripping mode).
As you can see....CDText is present and accounted for.
No need for Bin files, Cue sheets....nothing. Just added some fine-tuning renaming the artist name
portion of some of the songs since some are songs from the artist's band...and some are from his solo material
after I loaded the WAV files that I ripped from the CDs with CDex.
Simple.

[hech54]

Put the damn "music files/WAV files" into Ones and burn away.....simple.

But I did that to see how it worked. It came out with no names at all. So it's not simple.

Did you bother to fill in the artist name and song title IN PRASSI ONES before you burned WITH PRASSI ONES?

[carlmart]

I hadn't done any fill in on the first burn test. Now I did. Same thing: no Cd name, no song name.

Neither my main BD/DVD player, or my PC DVD burner reads any CD text on the fresh disc.

I went one by one on the Prassi with the songs, filling in the CD songs, then the CD artist and CD name. Nothing showed.

[El Heggunte]

Have you tried that new Audio-CD in a CD-text--capable software player

[hech54]

Have you tried that new Audio-CD in a CD-text--capable software player

Exactly. Players that display CDText are more rare than burners that burn CDText.

Open that CD up in Prassi Ones again(audio ripping mode) and see if the text shows up.
I believe Prassi can also save that text/info to your cd.ini file so every time you open that disc
in your computer from now on it will display the text.

[hech54]

CDex has the option to "save to cdplayer.ini"....not Prassi Ones. WMP still won't read either CDtext or from the ini file. I hate Windows Media Player.....no wonder I never open it.

[carlmart]

Well, in fact when I open the CD in Prassi the text shows up.

At last that's a variable I wanted to put away, even if for now my BD/DVD player does not show any characters.

So I believe this settles it. Thanks!