[LMB] OT: AKICOTL Audible / I tunes onto CDs

[Mark Allums]

Meg Justus wrote:
>> Pretty much all cars will play CD-R, if the audio disc is properly
>> authored.
> 
> Mark, could you define properly authored in non-tech language?  So that I 
> can ensure I'm doing that when I burn the CD?
> 
> Does this include MP3 recordings on those CD-Rs?  Because for me that's the 
> whole point.
> 
> Megaera 
> 

Uh, well,

Software, such as Nero (Nero 8, ughhh) can write in a variety of 
formats, but there is only one audio CD standard format, and if the CD-R 
is written correctly in that format, it should play on virtually any but 
the oldest (20-yr old) players.

But I didn't understand before that you wanted MP3 CDs, and that is a 
different kettle of fish.

CD-RW is often written in UDF format, which can be written in spurts, is 
good for people saving data to discs, but which is only understood by 
computers that know about "packet-writing" to CDs. Not understood by 
nearly all CD players.

If the CD-RW is written as a CD-ROM, in ISO 9960 format (a standard for 
computer CD-ROMs) then most newer machines can read it.  But not all.

MP3 CDs are actually in ISO 9660 format, the MP3s are just files.  But 
the player needs to understand both how to read data format (computer 
format, ISO 9660) and how to play the MP3 file when it finds it.

Nero, and other software, can create an MP3 disc for you, and there is a 
convention for the organization of the files for MP3 discs that the 
software ought to know about.

I expect that any car CD player that can play commercial MP3 CDs can 
play CD-Rs.  But I wouldn't bet big money on it.

Still, it is worth a try.  It won't hurt your CD player (if it does, I 
will be *very* surprised.)  If it doesn't work, you are out the cost of 
a blank CD-R.

-- 
Mark Allums