[HM] How to copy a CD with iTunes

[Duane Murphy]

--- At Wed, 5 Nov 2003 11:24:42 -0500, Carl Smedberg wrote:

>It's a 2 step process.  Import to iTunes, export to a CD, rather than a
>single step copy process.
>
>Open iTunes.
>
>Under preferences/importing/import using -> select AIFF encoder.  (assuming
>you want to create a CD you can play anywhere.  Otherwise you get an MP3
>file that will only play with MP3 systems.)
>
>Insert the disk you want to copy in your drive and then import the disc into
>iTunes (top right corner).
>
>After the import is done, create a new playlist (the plus sign at the lower
>left) and copy the songs from the library to the new play list.
>
>Open up the new playlist.  Change the order of the songs if you want. You
>can also add or delete any songs from other CDs at this point by repeating
>the previous steps.  Put a blank CD in your drive, then select burn disk.
>
>Take the disk to your CD player or car and test it.

A few comments. 

Using AIFF is preferable to MP3 or AAC for copying to another CD because
it is a lossless format. Actually AIFF has no compression at all. MP3 and
AAC both compress the audio and loose some of the signal. AIFF basically
just copies the bits off of the CD.

Your burning preferences will determine the type of CD. The preference
defaults to Audio CD. Regardless of the type of source material (MP3,
AAC, AIFF, etc) the burned CD will be a normal Audio CD.

For simple CD to CD copies I use Toast. It makes the process seemless and
very simple. One problem with using iTunes is reproducding "live" CDs. On
some CD's there is little to no gap between songs. This is settable in
iTunes and defaults to 2 seconds. iTunes does not capture this
information when it rips a CD. CD duplication using Toast does not have
this problem. It reproduces the bits exactly the same.

Good luck and enjoy,

 ...Duane