PC Hardware Annoyances

BURNING SOFTWARE ANNOYANCES

ELIMINATING MUSIC GAPS

The Annoyance:

I want to burn some music, but I hate the gaps between each track. How can I get rid of those aggravating gaps?

The Fix:

So you want to run one song into another, right? Well, okay. To reduce or eliminate the inter-track gap, insert a fresh CD, open your burning software (such as Nero 6), and then open your project (your selected songs will appear in the compilation window). Highlight each song where you want to eliminate the pause. Right-click in the compilation window and choose Properties. Enter “0” as the new pause length (or enter a small number to keep a brief pause). Now click OK to save your changes and burn the new CD.

HANDLING PARAMETER ERRORS WHILE BURNING

The Annoyance:

I get parameter errors when I try to burn audio CDs using MP3 files. What should I do?

The Fix:

Parameter errors often occur because the burning program (e.g., Easy CD Creator) can’t convert MP3 files into Red Book audio (CD-DA) data. Most burning software requires an MP3 data bit rate of at least 128Kb/s. Check the characteristics of your source MP3 files-if the bit rate (quality) is too low, the burner can’t recreate accurate CD audio data. Remember that music CDs use a bit rate of 192Kb/s, so rip your CD-quality MP3s at 192Kb/s.

You may also need to acquire better quality MP3 files. In other cases, the source MP3 file may not contain enough information for proper validation. Again, try a good-quality MP3 file. As a rule, use the burning software’s ...