I would like to ask about researching the best quality reproduction on disk CD/DVD that I can expect for a tight budget.

I have been reading the post at "MLP burn to DVD-Audio" and Hugh Robjohn's answers which gave some indication of some of the things I need to consider although my question is slightly different.

I need to produce better quality disks than I currently do as they are pretty poor. But where are we with CD's and DVD's is it possible to at least be up with the curve. If someone should want buy a disc what should they expect. So which format for what purpose and which software. At the moment I just want to pass them to friends for feedback. Later maybe submit them in a more serious capacity.

So far I have been using Wavelab 6 (to gain some experience of mastering) and to produce montages to burn disks. A dedicated software encoder for burning would seem be the right move? I see mentioned diskwelder, Dolby products as well as DTS products. How much do I need to change about what I am doing to make an improvement?

I currently use Ableton Live 8 for recording as it works well for the creative process for me (ok just a simple songwriter). I have little knowledge of other DAW's, I assume that the same issue would arise with Pro Tools?

I am also aware that poor cd quality can be down to bad tracking,mixing,mastering and am still learning here of course. That bottle-neck with 16 bit 1.44 kHz gets me somehow I think. I wonder what sort of analysis tools would be most appropriate for auditioning a mix? A slightly different approach I guess than using the Sonnox Fraunhofer Pro-Codec plug-in for MP3's.


Hope you can help and look forward to your responses,

Busuku

Carillion AC2 Core 2
Core i7 CPU
870@ 2.93GHz
4 GB
1TB/500GB
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
Edirol M-16DX
Ableton Live 8 Suite

What exactly are you asking? From what I gather, your engineering knowledge is seriously lacking, so there is no quick answer to what I suspect you are asking, which is "How do I make my mixes sound better?"

You also allude to "That bottle-neck with 16 bit 1.44 kHz" The misinformation in that statement alone suggests that the inherent sound quality of the c.d. format is not an obstacle for you, nor will it be at any time soon.

I'm not trying to sound harsh. It's just that you have to put the horse before the cart. Make sure the song is well written, well produced, and well performed.

And while it is reassuring to see that you are aware that "poor cd quality can be down to bad tracking,mixing,mastering..." I'm not sure if you realize it is ALL about the engineering, once the writing, production and performance are top notch. The c.d. format itself is not your problem.

MMD

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Gear list: If you can't find it, grind it

Edited by MadManDan (17/05/11 09:59 PM)

I think you are worrying a little too much about things that are irrelevant.

If you want to produce CD's that people can play then you are stuck with 16 bit 44.1kHz audio CD's. The other thread was about fairly esoteric high resolution surround sound that almost no-one would be able to play which is why I suggested using DVD-Video discs in my replies which would be slightly more acceptable to a wider range of people but nothing like as acceptable as an audio CD.

If your CD's don't sound good then you need to hone your recording and mixing skills - or hire an engineer or studio to help. If your mixes sound good but your CD's don't then there is a mastering or burning issue. It would help if you told us a little more about what is wrong with your CD's.

James.

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JRP Music - Audio Mastering and Restoration.
http://www.jrpmusic.net