OT Paging the DigitalMusicisti

I've long been considering getting my music collection onto a hard drive
and have decided that now's the time to start. Thing is, I've got
quite a few (>250) CDs and want to make sure I only need to do this
once. So the first question is; which format? Quality is more important
than size and longevity is vital. I'm thinking ogg but would welcome
alternatives.

The second question is which software? I know iTunes and am fairly happy
with it and I generally like Mac stuff even though this in an
exclusively XP house.

Third question is, I'd like a small, SILENT PC inthe living room with a
tiny screen just for playing music, something based on Shuttle maybe,
but what else to consider?

Finally, have I missed anything obvious?

N

 

I use ogg for most stuff and FLAC for proper music. As I'm a Linux
pervert, I use Amarok for my music organiser so flip wibble.

Dunno.

 

192kbps AAC?

I wouldn't use anything other than iTunes - mainly because it does a
bloody good job of getting album covers tracklists and organising
stuff.

Mac Mini. Smaller and quieter than any generic PC box, plus the latest
Core Duo machines can run XP / Vista if you really want to.

 

Acer L100/L130?

 

Seriously - have you seen how small a Mac Mini actually is? - I didn't
believe they were that small until I'd actually seen one in John Lewis.

I'd be very interested if there's a 'PC' out there of the same kind of
size which operates in total silence, though.

 

Yes, much better than most MP3 for sure, probably the best of the
compressed formats there is. Obviously AIFF or WAV would be best, but
you will increase space requirements by about ten fold.

Yup, not much to compete with it as far as that goes. And you get a link
to the iTunes music store. Even if you never buy anything, you get a
free download track every week (some aren't bad either), and you can
check it out for the sound of the tracks too (30s preview).

I was thinking that too. Or better still

http://www.apple.com/uk/appletv/

I'm so tempted. However, I found that a small laptop (in my case a 14"
iBook) was better, as it gave me the option to take a computer out and
about too.

 

Balls to that.

Either a Roku Soundbridge and a cheapo home NAS setup (Linksys NSLU2 + USB
hard drive) - or Apple TV + Airport basestation (which comes with USB NAS
built in)

If you can get a big enough hard disk I'd be tempted to use lossless
compression, either FLAC or Apple Lossless if you're using iTunes.

If you start to run out of space you can always recompress these files down
using something lossy, in which case pick the codec that matches any portable
player you might have (WMA for Creative; AAC for iPod).

 

Getting them off CD onto HDD is pretty painful, so you're right in only
wanting to do that once. However converting between formats once
they're on HDD is a lot easier. I did all mine as MP3 alt.preset.insane
which gives sound quality on a par with the original CD, whilst
maintaining the 'benefit' of MP3 over other formats (i.e. they'll work
on anything).

CDEX for ripping, WinAmp for organisation/playback.

A proper MP3 stereo. I've got the Philips WACS700 which has a HDD to
store the tracks, plus a CD player & radio. Built-in wireless for
loading/maintaining tracks from software running on a PC, plus up to
four wireless satellite stations so you can broadcast music throughout
the house or set it to 'follow me' to whichever room you're in. Best of
all it looks damn sexy hanging on the wall - like Bang & Olufsen but
for a fraction of the price.


--
Krusty
www.MuddyStuff.co.uk
Off-Road Classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger 955i '96 Tiger '79 Fantic Hiro 250

 

I'm tempted to look for a Raid 5 solution but then the cost escalates.

 

how much for? The cheapest I've seen one for is about £320, and an
NSLU2 + 2 x 500GB USB drives is a bit cheaper than that.

 

So then. Do you rate the NSLU2 setup?

 

£310 but the seller is charging VAT on top now. Also with the NSLU
solution you don't get Raid 5 and I'm NOT digitising my whole collection
more than once.

 

I don't own one, but they're a very cheap way to build a NAS,
especially as you can get 500GB USB drives for around a ton these
days.

Kenyon rates them.