Encoding CDs is dated, but has still has merit, falling into the preservation-of-formats category. The most recent encoded CD in my house was from August, 2009.
Taking a trip down memory lane, re-installing:
rip – A command-line based audio CD track ripper and MP3, FLAC, or Ogg Vorbis encoder
The installation is easy. Download the latest (today, it is 1.07 – 2003 vintage). The archive will extract into rip-1.07.
Opinions on how and where to install freeware vary, but for this post, I’ll say I put rip in /applications/rip-1.07/bin. Rip also include two perl modules to make CDDB and MP3 tagging possible: CDDB_get-1.66.tar.gz and MP3-Info-0.91.tar.gz. Extracting these two archives, and running the following in their respective directories sets things up properly:
perl Makefile.PL PREFIX=/applications/rip-1.07 make make install
Once installed, if you set PERL5LIB to /applications/rip-1.07/share/perl5, and add /applications/rip-1.07/bin to your PATH, you are ready to run rip.
My preference is to name MP3 files as [TRACK]_[SONG NAME].mp3 while encoding at 256 Kbps. Therefore, issuing this command completed the deal:
rip -c -b 256 -f “%N_%S”
More rip help:
$ rip -help USAGE: rip [option(s)] OPTIONS: -b --bitrate NUM set bitrate for encoding to NUM kbps -B --bladeenc use bladeenc for MP3 encoding -c --cddb use CDDB to rename output files (must be online) -C --comment add your comments to each track via file tagging -d --dev DEV force input to come from device DEV -D --debug leave debug info in the file /tmp/rip-stderr -e --eject eject CD tray after doing everything else -f --format FORMAT use FORMAT when naming the output file %A artist name %T title of album %S song name %N track number example: rip -f "%A - %T - %N - %S" example: rip -f "%A_-_%S" -F --flac use FLAC for lossless compression -g --generate DIR/NAME playlist NAME created in DIR (DIR may be omitted) -G --gogo use GOGO for MP3 encoding -h --help print this help to the screen -l --lazy uses -t, -c, -g, -b/q, -m, and -e implicitly, creates a playlist in $PWD in a common format, moves output audio files to $PWD/ArtistName/ -L --lame use LAME for MP3 encoding -m --move DIR place all of the ripped/encoded tracks in DIR -M --many rip many CDs one after the other (loop thru script) -n --nounderscore do NOT use an underscore '_' in filenames -N --notlame use notlame for MP3 encoding -O --oggenc use oggenc and encode to Ogg Vorbis files -p --paranoia use 160 kbps and do not accept skips on rip -P --play play finished files in XMMS during rip -q --quality NUM use variable bitrate encoding with quality NUM only works when LAME or oggenc is the encoder see that encoder's documentation when choosing NUM -Q --quiet rip and encode tracks without any visible output -r --rename ask for proper name of all tracks before ripping -s --speed NUM force CD-ROM device to read at speed NUM -S --superlazy same functionality as -l/--lazy except that all output is to $PWD/ArtistName/AlbumTitle/ instead -t --trayclose close CD tray before doing anything else -T --tag tag the output file with artist/song/album info -v --verbose print lots of info about what script is doing -V --version print rip's version information -w --wav rip CD tracks to WAV files and no further -Y --cdparanoia rip CDs using cdparanoia (this is the default) -Z --cdda2wav rip CDs using cdda2wav instead of cdparanoia EXAMPLES: rip 1 3-5 7 9-11 12 14 rip tracks 1 3 4 5 7 9 10 11 12 and 14 to MP3 rip 6 rip track 6 to MP3 using default encoder rip -c 6 rip track 6 and rename its MP3 file via CDDB rip -c -d /dev/dvd 6 rip using /dev/dvd as the input device rip -c -m ~/mp3 6 simliar: moves output MP3 files to dir ~/mp3 NORMAL USAGE: rip -P rip entire CD to MP3 and play tracks as we go rip -Pet similar: also closes and ejects CD tray rip -S laziness at its best IMHO (must be online) rip -S 1 3-5 7 12 superlazy rip specific tracks rip -TOPS similar: also tags, uses oggenc, and plays If you do not specify which track numbers to rip, then all tracks are ripped. You may now specify a subset of tracks to rip during a lazy rip The default output directory is the Present Working Directory ($PWD). Use -m/--move to alter/change the $PWD to a different directory, DIR. If the DIR you give -m/--move doesn't exists, rip will create it for you. If no specific encoder is flagged, rip uses the first encoder it finds. Encoders are searched in this order: gogo, lame, bladeenc, oggenc, flac, notlame. http://rip.sourceforge.net Copyright (C) 2003 by Gregory J. Smethells and licensed under the GPL
If you prefer loss-less audio files, then you should encode to FLAC, not MP3:
rip -c -F -f “%N_%S”