HOW TO FIX TRACK-AT-ONCE
The greatest sin among bootleg CDR traders, second only to ripping someone off and not sending their stuff at all, is sending live discs recorded in Track-At-Once mode.
I have made this page as a basic instructional guide to fixing Track-At-Once discs before sending them out into the trading pool.
I have tried to keep the language simple so that anyone who is not totally computer literate may benefit.
If you have any suggestions, comments, extra information or know of good software please email me at dioncohen@hotmail.com.
WHAT IS TRACK-AT-ONCE?
Track-At-Once, or TAO, is a CDR recording mode which automatically places 2 second silent gaps between each track. TAO is fine when listening to a studio recording where there are supposed to be gaps between the tracks, but not with a live recording where continuity is important. TAO is a problem because firstly, the recording is annoying to listen to, and secondly, the disc is untradable unless it is fixed. This results in recipient having to use extra blank CDRs to fix the discs up.
WHAT IS NEEDED TO FIX A TAO DISC?
You will need sound editing software which can:
- A) rip the tracks from the CD into wav mode. I use Roxio Creator Classic to rip the files. It is a CD creator program. Exact Audio Copy is another popular ripping program.
- B) edit individual wav files. I use Roxio Sound Editor to edit the individual wav files.
- You will also need spare blank CDRs.
HOW TO FIX THE TAO DISC
- Step 1 - Create a folder on your hard drive for the TAO CD to be ripped to.
- Step 2 - Using the ripping software, convert all tracks to wav format to minimize loss of quality.
- Step 3 - Once all the tracks have been ripped to the hard drive, use the sound editor to open each track.
- Step 4 - Remove the silences from both the beginning and end of the track. The silences are shown as very straight lines.
- Step 5 - Save the new track as a wav file. Be sure to name it something like "New Track 1.wav" to avoid confusion.
- Step 6 - Once you have done this with every track go back and test play the new tracks. Make sure there are no abnormal sounds at the beginning. Not sure why but sometimes the software puts unusual distorted sounds at the start. If you find any, go back and remove them again using the sound editor.
- Step 7 - Once all the new tracks have been tested, use you CD creator to create and burn a new disc. Before burning click the 'Options' button and make sure the 'Disc-At-Once' option is selected.
- Step 8 - Hit the 'Start' button to begin burning. Always burn at the slowest speed to minimise loss of quality.
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