Copy-Protected CD's From '89 and '96? 19
Don Symes asks: "In ripping my CD library (MP3c -> cdparanoia -> bladeenc), I've run across a couple of CDs that, when played as MP3s, produce a white noise "fet-fet-fet-fet" at about 2 to 3 pulses a second. The CDs in question are Ani DiFranco, _Ani DiFranco_, Righteous Babe Records, 1989; and Israel Philharmonic, _60th Anniversary Gala_, RCA, 1996. Are these early examples of copy protected CDs, or an encoding artifact/settings issue?" Has anyone else found rip-proof CDs in there collection that exhibit this behavior? Has anyone successfully ripped any of the problem CDs listed, either here or in the comments (if so, what did you have to do)?
Is it you? (Score:3, Funny)
In fact every Ani CD says right on it "Unauthorized duplication, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing." Which while not an allowance for ripping, certaining doesn't sound like an RIAA lock-down.
*shrug*
Re:Is it you? (Score:1)
bad CDs (Score:5, Informative)
Re:bad CDs (Score:2)
Doubt it (Score:5, Informative)
It is highly unlikely that these CDs would be part of any CD-based copy control scheme.
Bit-rot and bad CDs. (Score:5, Interesting)
In my own collection, for example, I have a copy of Enya's The Celts, from 1987. The errors may span more than one track, but you can hear the "skipping" type sound very clearly in the track "I Want Tomorrow", which is unfortunately amplified in the ripping process (I use paranoia).
This has been a hot topic in the Enya newsgroups in the past, and I'm not sure if it was ever decided whether it was a pressing problem or a mastering problem.
Fortunately, that album was re-mastered and re-released in the mid-to-late 90's, sans the aforementioned flaws. If any other Enya geeks actaully have the 2 to compare side-by-side, please comment on the quality, as I haven't bought the newer release (and I love "I Want Tomorrow"!).
Also, I think the age of the CD has something to do with it. I have an import copy of Queen's Greatest Hits, and the surface is visually perfect, yet I simply cannot get good rips on about 4 or 5 songs. If I use paranoia's -z (--never-skip) option, it never gets through the entire CD. I picked this album up in Germany around 1992.
Bladeenc is l4m3r than Lame (Score:1)
Try this (Score:1, Informative)
It may not be copy protection (Score:1, Informative)
Bad news.
Your CD is out of whack (Score:3, Interesting)
One thing I'd try is to find a good old Panasonic-Matsushita 24x cdrom drive and try ripping it on that. Why the Panasonic ? Because it is quite probably the best drive for ripping that I've ever used. It will automatically slow down when it encounters an error and retry until it gets the bits out of there, unlike today's cdroms that just run right past it and say "Did we just hit something ?".
I've managed to save many badly damaged cd's with that drive, taking a seriously beaten up disc that constantly skips and burning the ripped data onto a new disc where you could barely hear the aforementioned fet-fet noise in the worst areas. It was also quite fast for its generation, ripping at a good constant 10-12x.
it might be the drive.... (Score:3, Interesting)
Error correction ripping software? (Score:3, Informative)
Make sure to try CD-ripping software with error correction.
I can't speak much for Linux (I only know of grip), but under Winblows try Exact Audio Copy (EAC) [exactaudiocopy.de]. It's got great error correction settings and you can rip in essentially a paranoid mode if necessary.
If that doesn't help, try a different encoder. LAME [sulaco.org] comes highly recommended both from professional trials and from personal experience. Use the latest beta -- it's better than the "stable" release.
Lame is king (Score:1)
Don't believe me? Try the latest Lame!