Wing Commander Audio CD's!!!

If his soundcard has a digital out, and he's using digital hardware, wouldn't that make it entirely digital?
 
Originally posted by Wedge009
I don't know much about audio mastering, RFBurns, but wouldn't using your method be a DAD recording as opposed to a DDD recording?

If you got a sound card with the I-Drive, you can have the optical output put out a digital signal in which ever format you want it to. Say your playing back a midi file, and you want the output to go thru the optical port, you can set that port on the I-Drive to output a 44.1Khz digital signal in the ISSO 9660 format, which would be a digital signal that all digital recorders would recognize as the standard it would need to do a recording. The key is setting it up so the recorder sees that standard signal. So the input from the file source would not matter. Some lower end cards with the I-Drive cannot do this, but high end cards that most recording studios use on their computer sound systems do. One source for those type of cards is a company called Sonic Solutions, which was the first company to develop high end pro software for audio back in 87 when recording studios first started using the open reel digital recorders. The end result by setting up the optical port would in fact be a DDD process, since there is no analog conversion. The cards software does the conversions in digital form, so the output at the optical or coaxial port would be a digital signal. If you input an analog signal and have the card output thru the optical or coaxial port, it would then become an ADD process, since the input signal would need to be converted to the digital world. But even that process thru a high end card and software, you can get some real amazing results in sound quality. There is a process called "mix-minus" where they inject some pink noise at a set level that matches the noise floor from the analog source, thus canceling the noise from the analog source and leaving the audio in tact. That is how they can take early analog tape recordings and re master it to digital form with all that noise removed and keep the audio sound as crisp as possible! To see an example of that process, find a oldies CD that has some recordings from way back then, rip one of the tracks from the CD using any CD ripper that makes a .WAV file, then look at the .WAV file in a wav editor. You can see the 0db reference line and the slight rise at the begining and end of the actual recording. That slight rise is the "mix-minus" which nulls out the source noise! Neat eh! :D

RFBurns
 
Um, yeah. Clearly you know plenty more. :) But since I've got the WCP music as original as possible, you can't get any more original or any more 'digital' than that. :)
 
Very true Wedge! If you extracted from the tre file structure you have the pure digital music form. The way I described it below is just another way to do it if some are having problems with extracting the music, it also gives you a way to sort of "wash" the music files to re-master them with extra frequency response using some external equipment. Some equalizers and processors can input digital formats and work them in the digital realm keeping the whole process digital. Sometimes I go to the extremes with audio, depending on what the music is and what its for. The process I described may be a long way around the park, but the end results are well worth it! I realize not everyone has access to high end pro recording equipment like I do since I have a recording studio equipped with all digital equipment. But there are ways to keep the signals in the digital realm even with lower end hardware. In a few days I should have my WCP/SO music CD remastered and I will send the complete CD-XA disc to the CIC so they can post it on their system for everyone to access and enjoy. The cd will contain both red book CDA and the MP3 counterparts. I am about 2/3 way thru the project! I had to stop to record a band on Saturday, a big project! I will keep everyone informed. :)

RFBurns
 
Back
Top