What file format to send to cd pressing plant?

[[email protected][_2_]]

I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
before sending them to the cd pressing plant?

If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?

Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

[Swanny[_2_]]

On 9/11/2010 7:49 AM, wrote:
> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
> before sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>
> If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
> I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
> the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?
>
> Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
> the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

Whenever I've sent things to the pressing plant directly (when there was
no budget for a separate mastering engineer) it's always been an audio
CD master (ie 16bit/44.1kHz) with the tracks exactly as they are to be
replicated. I usually make two, run the plextools error checking over
them and send one (unplayed) to the CD plant and play the other to check
that everything is OK.

The artwork files are usually included on a CD-ROM ready for reproduction.

A page of documentation detailing what is on the discs and what is
required from the plant is also very helpful.

[Scott Dorsey]

> wrote:
>I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
>them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
>before sending them to the cd pressing plant?

You send those files to the mastering engineer. The mastering engineer
makes a PMCD or a 1630 tape that goes to the plant.

>If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
>I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
>the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?

If the plant has a mastering engineer in house, they can handle that.

>Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
>the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

That's something else the mastering engineer does.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

[LAB]

>> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit before
sending them to the cd pressing plant?

The problem is: why a 48kHz recording? Is it made also for a DVD?
Converting from 48 to 44.1 is similar to a digital/analog/digital
conversion... (except for the noise)

--
Gianluca

[Anahata]

On Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:09:28 +0100, LAB wrote:

>>> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit before
> sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>
> The problem is: why a 48kHz recording? Is it made also for a DVD?
> Converting from 48 to 44.1 is similar to a digital/analog/digital
> conversion... (except for the noise)

Actually, as the original mixes are 24 bit, a properly executed SR
conversion on the 24 bit data should add noise only at levels below the
resolution of the 16 bit final output, so the effect will be minimal.

SR conversion should be done before word lengh reduction, of course.

--
Anahata
--/-- http://www.treewind.co.uk
+44 (0)1638 720444

[geoff]

wrote:
> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
> before sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>
> If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
> I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
> the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?
>
> Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
> the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

You do the bit-depth and sample-rate reduction and you have control over the
fiinal quality.

Send a Disc-At-Once burned CD-R burned around 8x or 12x, with Burn-Proof
turned off. You also get to fade/crossfade/tweak levels, and tweak gaps to
your own satisfaction.

Or all the media etc in a DDP project file on CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.

geoff

[hank alrich]

> wrote:

> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
> before sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>
> If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
> I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
> the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?
>
> Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
> the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

Doc, your recording needs premastering. If you knew what that means
you'd not be asking these questons. If this is a low budget deal, find
somebody cheap near you who has done this. That's not the best way to
get good work, but neither is attempting premastering using the engineer
and montiroing system on which stuff was tracked and/or mixed.

You're cruising for an ego and monetary bruising. The ways in which you
could **** this up are many.

For starters, many mastering folks use an analog chain for the tweaking.
Hence, getting from 48 KHz to 44.1 KHz sampling rate for the CD format
is trivial. One plays the audio into the chain and at the receiving
records it as 44.1/16.

Note that if you're doing the complete job in the box, it can make sense
to track at 44.1/24 and dither at the end for the final reduction to 16
bit.

Look around and see who is a real mastering engineer in your area.

You could also send the mixes to Oasis/Discmakers, who offer mastering
services as well as replication. I mainly use Jerry Tubb at Terrra Nova
Digital in Austin TX. He can take in audio over the 'net and return it
the same way, so if you're not in his neighborhood he can still provide
the service.

And last but not least, what are these guys gonna do with two thousand
CD's? Do they have a following large enough to warrant that pressing?
They could buy proper mastering for the cost of that second thousand
discs and probably have a much better sounding product.

--
shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/
http://armadillomusicproductions.com/who'slistening.html
http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidriAlrichwithDougHarman

[alex]

Il 09/11/2010 15.38, anahata ha scritto:
> On Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:09:28 +0100, LAB wrote:
>
>>>> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
>> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit before
>> sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>>
>> The problem is: why a 48kHz recording? Is it made also for a DVD?
>> Converting from 48 to 44.1 is similar to a digital/analog/digital
>> conversion... (except for the noise)
>
> Actually, as the original mixes are 24 bit, a properly executed SR
> conversion on the 24 bit data should add noise only at levels below the
> resolution of the 16 bit final output, so the effect will be minimal.
>
> SR conversion should be done before word lengh reduction, of course.
>
SR conversion is still a critical step to be avoided. In the ALL DIGITAL
production, ideally the SR of the final work is to be adopted from the
very beginning stage. The CD is 44100.
Not an issue if you plan to insert DA - AD conversion between stages of
the production, for sample if you plan to mix in the analog domain a
bunch of digital recorded tracks and then switch to digital again. In
this case the last AD conversion should be at the SR of the final work,
while the previous steps may be greater.

here is a comparation of different software converters.
http://src.infinitewave.ca/

[RD Jones]

On Nov 8, 2:49*pm, " > wrote:
> I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
> before sending them to the cd pressing plant?
>
> If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
> I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
> the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?
>
> Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
> the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?

You need to provide the pressing plant what they say they will accept.
HINT: anything other than a replication-ready 44.1/16 master will cost
you extra.

rd

[hank alrich]

RD Jones > wrote:

> On Nov 8, 2:49 pm, " > wrote:
> > I have some songs mixed down to 24/48 wav. files. Should I convert
> > them to another file type, or at least crunch them down to 16 bit
> > before sending them to the cd pressing plant?
> >
> > If I don't have to crunch it down and can send uncompressed as-is, can
> > I put them on a dvd as a data disc so they'll fit? Or does that mean
> > the pressing plant will make 2,000 data discs?
> >
> > Lastly, the band wants 3 seconds in between each song. Can I just tell
> > the plant to insert that time? Or do I have to do it before hand?
>
> You need to provide the pressing plant what they say they will accept.
> HINT: anything other than a replication-ready 44.1/16 master will cost
> you extra.
>
> rd

Right, Oasis isn't going to master it for free, but that mastering might
cost less than the second two thousand units they plan to order. It
generally takes one long enough to sell/distribute a thousand discs that
one can reorder easily and not be without stock. Proper mastering might
even improve the band's chances of selling the first thousand units.

--
shut up and play your guitar * http://hankalrich.com/
http://armadillomusicproductions.com/who'slistening.html
http://www.sonicbids.com/HankandShaidriAlrichwithDougHarman

[Peter Larsen[_3_]]

The answer to the header's question appears to be: call the pressing plant
and ask what is best for your project, what is cheapest and what they
recommend as cost efficient compromise.

alex wrote:

> SR conversion is still a critical step to be avoided. In the ALL
> DIGITAL production, ideally the SR of the final work is to be adopted
> from the very beginning stage.

That may not be possible nor in all cases the optimal choice. The variables
are the initial converter and the sample rate conversion quality.

> The CD is 44100

And the dvd 48 or 96. So what mote be best, recording at 44 and releasing at
96 later or the other way around? - I don't *think* the AES recommendation
of letting the cd get the sr-converted stuff rather than the dvd has been
retracted, but someone may know this better than I.

> here is a comparation of different software converters.
> http://src.infinitewave.ca/

Interesting to see what is how lousy compared to what I happen to have
already, and certainly makes the point that sample rate conversion and
cnvrsion are different between audio implements, thank you, most
interesting.

Kind regards

Peter Larsen