Copying music from CDs

Copying (ripping) tracks from CDs to Media Library is easy, and you can even listen to your CD while you are copying it. Variables such as the CD you are trying to copy and the speed of your CD-ROM drive can affect the quality of the copy. Although you are copying digital information from a CD, you may not get an exact copy. For example, you may notice some minor flaws in the playback, such as faint scratches or pops in the audio. This is normal and is caused by how your CD-ROM drive reads information from the CD. Windows Media Player attempts to correct this, if the error correction check box is selected, but you may still notice very minor flaws.

The tracks that you copy from a CD are protected, which means a license is required to play the track, if the Protect content check box is selected when you copy the tracks. The license allows playback of copied tracks on the computer, copying of tracks to a non-SDMI-compliant portable device, and copying of tracks to a CD. You should back up your licenses to a floppy disk periodically. If you reinstall or upgrade the operating system, your licenses could be lost.

If you want to listen to a CD while you are copying tracks, you must configure the Player to use digital copying. Depending on how your CD player is configured, there is still a chance you will not be able to listen to your CD while you are copying tracks, especially if you have analog speakers.

Note

• Your hardware (CD-ROM drive and speakers) determines whether you can copy and listen to tracks by using digital or analog audio. Select the settings that work best with your hardware.

This section covers:

• To copy tracks from an audio CD
• To change the folder where your audio files are stored
• To turn off content protection when copying CDs
• To use digital copying and error correction
• To specify the information that appears in a track file name
• Compressing copies of CD tracks to use less disk space

Related topics

• To use digital copying and error correction
• Setting options for copying CDs
• Understanding licensed files
• To change CD recorder drive settings