CD-R mix track information

[HoosierDaddy]

On a few CD-R mixes that I borrowed from a friend, iTunes for the PC and Winamp 2.0 automatically read track information from the compilation. By contrast, my mp3 ripper program, CDEX, is not able to read the track info for the same CD-R. CDEX has manual menu commands to "Read Remote CDDB" and "Read CD-Text". Neither of these bring up the track information. Where exactly are iTunes and Winamp getting this track info?

[Toon Town Dave]

When creating an audio CD with most popular programs there is an option to burn disc at once or track at once. When burning disc at once there is an option to include CD-Text on the disc. This is probably where various CD players are getting the information from.

If your ripping software can read CD-Text, then that's how you can get the infromation that is actually on the CD.

CDDB is an external database on the internet with user contributed information. It does some sort of checksum on the CD or tracks to uniquely identify it. It's unlikely that mixes your friends make will be in CDDB. Most commercial CDs are in CDDB. I don't know how common CD-Text is on commercial CDs.

[dana]

CDDB ... does some sort of checksum on the CD or tracks to uniquely identify it.

Just the CD, as far as I can tell.

Of course, anyone who wants to can submit a new CD to CDDB or its generic clones - we added my boyfriend's brother's band last week. So if you were really keen, you could add the tracklist of every mix cd you make..

[Lawrence]

On a few CD-R mixes that I borrowed from a friend, iTunes for the PC and Winamp 2.0 automatically read track information from the compilation. By contrast, my mp3 ripper program, CDEX, is not able to read the track info for the same CD-R. CDEX has manual menu commands to "Read Remote CDDB" and "Read CD-Text". Neither of these bring up the track information. Where exactly are iTunes and Winamp getting this track info?

They are getting it from the CD-R, not an internet database. The CD-R has text for each track which (I think) is saved in the CD directory, not in the tracks, themselves. Selecting "read CD-text" is on the right track, but there is probably something else going on to mess things up. (Perhaps you are not burning the entire destination CD at once.)

Some CD players can read CD-Text and display it. (Eventually will be an industry standrad, most likely). My car stereo reads and displays the CD-text. Very few commercial CDs have CD-text: about one or two of the several hundred I have played on it. The CD-Text usually shows up only when I play my CD-Rs.