Ripping a CD is copying music to a computer, allowing for various listening options. Music can be stored in a personal library, used to make new CDs, or transferred to MP3 players. Popular software for ripping and burning can be free or paid, with different format options available. .WAV files offer better fidelity than .MP3 files, but take up more space.
Ripping a CD is simply copying music from a compact disc (CD) to a computer. There are various software tools that will allow a user to copy a CD in minutes. Once the music is on your computer in the form of a file, the format can be changed to suit anything from building a personal ‘jukebox’ list, to creating compilations, to transferring files to portable MP3 players.
Many people who rip music from CDs store the files in a personal library on their hard drive. Over time, your music library grows. Storing music in an archive gives you flexibility for more listening options. Soft jukeboxes, or software designed to play music, can play your favorite songs while you work or play on your computer.
Another great reason to rip a CD is to make a new CD using only the songs the listener likes. When digital music files are copied to a disc, it is referred to as burning a CD. In the ripping process, the computer user can choose to rip only certain songs, or he can rip the entire CD, then leave the songs he doesn’t want when burning the new CD. You can easily create compilation CDs that contain only the best songs from multiple artists in the order the person making the CD wants them.
There are several popular programs for ripping and burning, and some are free. Both types of programs often come bundled with standard software included with new computers, and both shareware and freeware software can be downloaded from the Internet. If a computer user wants a more advanced program that allows editing and converting files into a wider variety of formats, a paid version may be required.
Usually, when a person rips a CD, they can choose which file format they want for the resulting music files, although some software offers only a limited number of format options. Many people find the .WAV file format to be a better archive format than the .MP3 format, since .WAS files are uncompressed, giving better fidelity. If the user intends to burn his music library to CD later, it may be better to use .WAV files or an equal or better quality format when ripping CDs.
Someone who only requires .MP3 files can save a lot of hard drive space by storing their music files in this compressed format, but they will be sacrificing quality. Many CD players recognize discs with .MP3 files, but the loss of sound due to compression becomes noticeable on a good stereo system as opposed to a small portable MP3 player. People who aren’t audiophiles might not notice, but if something seems to be missing, they might try copying to a .WAV file, then burning it to CD.
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