Getting A Handle On CD
Text
▪ Understanding CD
Text
In the past year there has been a noticeable increase in audio
clients who are creating their own Master CDs. While it seems most
of the audio clients have an understanding of what CD Text is,
there is still a lot of confusion about how to create CD Text and
where you can view it. This article was written to clear up some
of the confusion.
▪ What exactly is CD Text?
CD Text is a technology that is used on audio CDs which enables
low bit rate information such as the song name and the name of the
artist to be stored on the within the disc itself. If CD Text is
included on an audio CD, specific devices and applications that
are able to read and display this information will recognize this
information, retrieve it and, in turn, display it to the user.
▪ Is CD Text visible on all players and programs?
No - and this happens to cause a great deal of confusion and worry
for clients because the client often thinks there is something
wrong with their CDs because the CD Text isn't being displayed. A
notorious culprit is Windows Media Player - while it is one of the
most commonly used computer programs for playing music, it doesn't
display CD Text unless you install a plug-in.
▪ Creating CD Text
It's actually quite simple to create your audio Master for CD
duplication or CD replication, but you need to be using a disc
burning program (such as Toast or Nero) that allows you to enter
in the appropriate data.
▪ I've already made my CD Master - can I add CD Text to it?
No, it is not possible to add CD Text after you've already created
your audio Master. If you've already created your CD Master and
you want to add CD Text after-the-fact you will have to create a
new Master.
▪ Adding song info onto iTunes, Winamp, Yahoo, etc.
Some applications display artist and song title information
through connection with the Gracenote music recognition service
(originally known as CDDB). Visit Gracenote to learn how to submit
your song information to their database. Once your CD track
listings are in their database, anyone playing your CD with an
application connected with the Gracenote database will have your
songs recognized by the service.
Be aware that different software applications may use different
databases, so you may have to enter your CDs information into more
than one database if you want to get the broadest possible
coverage.
▪ What if I can't add CD Text onto my master?
CDwest.ca can help you if you can't add your CD Text data yourself
- but there is a fee involved. Please contact us if you require
assistance.
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