Once you’ve got your CD assembled, click on Check Speed in the
bottom. As we mentioned in the Jam burning process, it is wise to try
a test burn to get a feel for the performance of your computer. If your
system is having trouble keeping up with the CDR drive, read the
“Troubleshooting Underruns” section at the end of this Guide.
Once the test has successfully been completed, go ahead and click
on Write Disc. You will get a screen that gives you the option of Write
Session or Write Disc.
Write Session means you will go
ahead and burn a disc, but you
do not close it off. Toast will still
be able to write data information
in another Session behind it.
Write Disc means the disc is
closed off, and no further
sessions can be recorded.
Once you’ve clicked on your option, the CD will start recording.
When it’s finished, you’ve recorded your CD!
AudioCatalyst Tutorial
What is MP3?
MP3 has created quite a buzz, but what is it really? MP3 is a
compression format for storing audio with excellent fidelity, yet only
taking approximately 9% of the data space. MP3 is short for MPEG
(Moving Picture Expert Group) type 1, layer 3. If you’re curious about
other types of MPEG compression, you can find their web site at:
http://drogo.cselt.stet.it/mpeg/
What MP3 offers is a way to distribute your music much easier.
Currently, the main uses for MP3 are for personal players (walkman-
type units) and for internet distribution of audio. You can use MP3 to
put a clip of your band on the internet, or even to exchange musical
ideas with someone else via email.
AudioCatalyst is an MP3 encoder/player. It can encode regular WAV
files to MP3. If you already burned your audio to a CD, you can also
use AudioCatalyst to encode files directly from the audio CD.
Encoding Options
There are a good deal of options when creating MP3 files. There are
different data rates, CBR vs VBR, and mono vs stereo. For your first
time, try doing 128kbps, CBR and stereo. That is the typical layout,
and the most compatible. For reference, the terms are defined
below.
data rate - Data rate simply defines how much throughput the MP3
file will take. The data rate most people use is 128kbps (kilobits per
second), but it can vary from 32kbps up to 320kbps. The higher the
data rate, the higher the quality.
CBR vs VBR - In order to capture different sounds with true clarity,
some sounds can take less space... other sounds are more
demanding. CBR (Constant Bit Rate) was the original spec designed
for MP3, and is compatible with virtually all MP3 players. VBR
