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Friday, October 9, 2009

Ripping Audio CDs in Linux

Ripping Audio CDs in Linux


Ripping is the process of saving tracks from a CD as separate digital files. The recording industry would tell you otherwise, but so long as the files are for personal use, ripping is legal in most countries unless a CD uses a copyright protection scheme that you have to overcome before ripping. GNU/Linux offers several tools for ripping, some specific to the GNOME or KDE desktops, and others more general.

Before you begin ripping, you need to know that ripping in GNU/Linux is complicated by the fact that many distributions do not install by default support for non-free file formats. Since one of these non-free formats is MP3, the most popular format for online music, that means you have to add the support yourself. The details for this task vary greatly depending on your distribution, but you should be able to find detailed instructions online without any problem, such as the ones provided by Ubuntu.

Alternatively, you may prefer to use free formats such as Ogg Vorbis (.OGG). The main drawback to such formats is that they are not supported by every music player. But an increasing number of players do support free formats, most notably the Sansa Clip and Fuze. If you want to use free formats with an iPod, you might consider installing Rockbox on it. But many people maintain that .OGG delivers superior sound quality to .MP3, so you may find that the occasional awkwardness of staying with it is well worth the effort.

Regardless of your preferences, decide what formats to use before you start ripping or open any applications. That way, you will minimize the chances of running into any further difficulties.

Read more...
http://www.linux.com/news/software/applications/114879-ripping-audio-cds-in-linux

Don

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