ImgBrn or CD burner? Distorted discs

[bellbrass]

Hello,

 

This is my 1st post to the forum, although I have been using Image Burn for over a year now. Just in the last few weeks, when I go to burn an image (make an audio CD), the CD has come out with very distorted-sounding audio. This is after the software goes through the verify mode and says no errors. It's also random; I burned a CD last night, and it sounded fine. I'm usually going from CUE files. Again, this all worked flawlessly for the last year - so I'm wondering if my CD burner may be the problem. It's over 6 years old. Thanks in advance for your help.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Open one of the problem source mp3 files in GraphEdit and see which filters your machine is loading.

 

Chances are, one of them is buggy and not doing a very good job of converting the audio the correct format for burning as a proper CDDA track.

[bellbrass]

Open one of the problem source mp3 files in GraphEdit and see which filters your machine is loading.

 

Chances are, one of them is buggy and not doing a very good job of converting the audio the correct format for burning as a proper CDDA track.

 

Thanks for the tip, but I'm not sure how to do that. The files are all flac files, with a cue sheet created by Image Burn. I usually just create a (or use the existing) cue sheet and burn from flac. Let me know how to use Graphedit - not familiar with that.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Open it.

 

Click the 'File' menu

 

Select 'Render Media File...'

 

Locate and select a flac file that sounded distorted when it was written to CD. (I assume you've tried it in multiple players... even the PC itself?)

 

Get a screenshot of what you see.

 

EDIT: You can even just open it and drag+drop one of the problem flac files into the window.

[bellbrass]

I will try that. Although, all of the tracks on the CD sound identically flawed / distorted. As well, this has happened over the last couple of weeks with different flac files. This hasn't happened until now, and I haven't changed any of the default settings in Image Burn. So, it's not one track - it's and entire CD. In fact, I tried to burn two different CDs today, and the same thing happened all the way across both. It sounds low-volume and totally clipped out - every song. Also - when I play the flac files on Windows Media Player, or Media Player Classic, they sound just fine. It's only when going to CD that this happens.

Edited July 9, 2010 by bellbrass

[LIGHTNING UK!]

ImgBurn doesn't decode your files, DirectShow does. I simply tell it the file I want converted and specify the output format. It then pulls in whichever filters it wants to in order to do the job.

 

So you don't need to have changed anything in ImgBurn for something to suddenly be different - in fact, there's nothing TO change!

 

Playing a file isn't always the same as ensuring it's in CD-DA standard format and ready for burning.

[bellbrass]

Thanks again - I guess I'm such a newbie at this that I am still confused as to how to fix the problem. I tried to open a file and use "render media file," but can't see where to do it. By the way, I obtained a redbook version of the same audio tracks, and they burned fine. So maybe there is an issue with the flac files. If you could guide me towards what I might need to do next,I'd sure appreciate it.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Can't see where to do what?!

 

Like I said, click the 'File' menu, select 'Render Media File...' and point it at one of your flac file. That pretty easy, isn't it?!

 

The one thing you may have to do is change the file types drop down box from 'All Media Files' to 'All Files', then the flac files will show up.

 

 

Or, as I also said before, just drag and drop a flac file in the graphedit window.

 

It should then add some purple coloured boxes to the screen. That's bit I need to see.

[bellbrass]

OK, I didn't have GraphEdit; only Image Burn. That was the issue. So now that I have the software and rendered the flac file, what am I looking for specifically? When I rendered, it took the flac file and put it into the AC3 filter, then into the Default Direct Sound Device. What next?

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Right click the left most purple box and hit properties, does anything come up?

[bellbrass]

Yes - it shows two tabs, one is called "Audio Renderer," and it displays info such as wFormat Tag, nSamples per sec, etc. They all have values. The "advanced" tab looks blank.

[bellbrass]

It just did it again with an entirely different set of files - another CD that sounds like chicken scratch, every song.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Does it mention the name of the filter being used? Sorry, I probably just should have said right from the start that was the info I was after.

 

Basically it looks like source flac filter is just doing a bad job. As per the Audio CD guide, the tried and tested filter (by me anyway) is the madFlac one. I don't know what you're using but I'm guessing it's not that one (my properties box isn't like yours).

 

It would also help if ac3filter wasn't being pulled into the graph. It's just something else to potentially change the output from what it should be. (seeing as how flac is lossless and all that)

[bellbrass]

Thanks again for the help.

 

I downloaded the DirectShow package from Microsoft, so I could have the GraphEdit. I dowloaded the AC3 Filter previously per the recommendation of someone on an audiophile CD burning forum (ditto for Image Burn). So - I'm still new to filters, so maybe I have too much software going on? Maybe I need to configure Image Burn differently? I recently uninstalled Divx; might this be the source of my current problems? If there is a better way to go from lossless flac to Image Burn to an audio CD, let me know.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

*cough*

 

Does it mention the name of the filter being used? Sorry, I probably just should have said right from the start that was the info I was after.

 

I was talking about the left most purple box within GraphEdit there - as in when you bring up properties on it.

 

Take a look in the Audio CD guide in the Guides forum and find the link for the madFlac filter. That's the recommened one for Flac files.

[bellbrass]

Thanks - I downloaded the madflac files, but I'm still having the same problem burning discs. Is there an install I need to do with madflac? When I hit the exe file in the download, it gives me an error.

[bellbrass]

I tried burning audio CDs from files which previously burned good copies; now they are distorted as well - so I am now completely incapable of making any useful audio CDs with Image Burn. Please advise; thanks.

[LIGHTNING UK!]

Try reading the readme file that's also in the rar archive.

 

You still haven't answered me about the filter. You must have installed something for the job. I dunno, maybe it was part of a massive package of filters? (k-lite or whatever it's called) Flac files are not supported on a clean OS install so you have a filter installed that claims to be able to do the job, it just can't do it very well.

 

IF you don't answer me then don't expect me to help you.

[eSkRo]

you can download Sherlock - The Codec Detective! 2.0

 

The Codec Detective helps to determine the codecs installed on computer

and check to see if any of the codecs are broken....

[bellbrass]

Maybe I need to take a step back and ask: do I need to even be using flac files to burn audio CDs? I know at some point, they have to be converted to .wav or MP3 to burn an audio CD. Is the problem likely when Image Burn performs the conversion prior to a burn? I'm guessing the default filter used for that step may be faulty, since this happens with multiple flac files from different sources, and the whole CD sounds evenly defective, as opposed to just one song. I have the AC3 filter package and the K-lite package on my PC; no other that I know of. I've tried to attach a screenshot of the audio rendering.

GraphPad1.pdf

[mmalves]

I have the AC3 filter package and the K-lite package on my PC

Then you know what's screwing things up. Codec packs are rubbish, only install the codecs you need.

[bellbrass]

I'm not sure what you mean - I thought the software searched for specific codecs automatically.

[mmalves]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DirectShow#Codec_hell

[bigsleep]

I know at some point, they have to be converted to .wav or MP3 to burn an audio CD.

 

Why would they need to be converted, they are decoded to raw audio and burned to disc, that's what the codec does (converting to another format would require using two codecs).

I'm wondering if there's too much gain in the files, or maybe AC3Filter is adding gain? I don't know why AC3Filter would be used for flac, perhaps if you open AC3Filter config and under system change the filter merit.

[bellbrass]

I know at some point, they have to be converted to .wav or MP3 to burn an audio CD.

 

Why would they need to be converted, they are decoded to raw audio and burned to disc, that's what the codec does (converting to another format would require using two codecs).

I'm wondering if there's too much gain in the files, or maybe AC3Filter is adding gain? I don't know why AC3Filter would be used for flac, perhaps if you open AC3Filter config and under system change the filter merit.

 

You may be on to something; it does sound like the gain is way to high. At any rate, I'm not sure what the software is or isn't doing, or what changed from a month ago, when I was getting great CDs from ImgBurn. BTW; I've been using Express Burn, and the CDs have sounded fine with that software. Maybe ImgBurn got fouled up somewhere?