MP3 and iPod software

foobar · 26 Jan 2006 at 07:27

A friend of mine is taking on the challenge of turning their 3000 odd CD collection into MP3's to store on a large hard drive. They're bought a computer and now want the required software to:

1. read CD's to convert into MP3's
2. catalogue all the MP3's

This guy isn't an expert so it's very important that the programs are user friendly. I'm guessing that the first program will be easier to find because Google is full of results but I'm unsure on what the best software is for cataloging the music is... he wants to be able to sort into albums, customised generes, customised playlists, maybe an option to scan album cover, write user comments, etc. Any suggestions on this are welcomed.

In addition, he is later planning to get an iPod so compatibility with this is required. Is iTunes software worth looking at?

Thanks in advance.

SiHH · 26 Jan 2006 at 09:29

You should find this site useful:

http://www.audioutilities.com/

Amp34 · 26 Jan 2006 at 16:39

WMP 10, works fine, you wont even have to write all the names in as it'll collect them for you.

SouthYorkieLad · 26 Jan 2006 at 17:20

Yup I also have done this via Winamp, Its Good as Amp says it connects to the internet and donwloads all the artist and song titles for you , so it auto catalogues.

MarcLister · 27 Jan 2006 at 00:45

Another vote for Winamp. The free version is very good but the paid for version allows for unlimited speed CD ripping, which is a godsend if you've got 3000+ tracks to convert. Winamp then plays the mp3s back and can catalogue them.

You can define genre & ratings for each track as well as have Winamp provide a playlist for each album or make your own playlists.

If you Google for Winamp +album +cover OR art, you'll find plenty of info that tells you how to get the album art your friend requires. There seem to be two options: have a jpg or similar image in each folder or keep them separately so that Winamp just looks up the correct image from the image folder.