Bull O'The Woods - File Conversion
CDs are getting to be really old technology. They first came out in the early 70s—that was a long time ago!
We can record to these digital mediums: CD, DVD, Minidisk, ADAT tape, USB memory stick, SD card (regular & micro), and removable IDE hard drives (including solid state IDE drives or SSD’s).
Digital music is recorded by using a system that maps acoustic sound waves into points on virtual graph paper: Vertically are the lines of bit depth—either 16 or 24 lines (bits). Horizontally are the lines of sampling frequency in cycles per second (aka: Hertz—abbreviated as Hz). Regular music CDs are 16bit/44,100Hz or aka: 44.1KHz. This is known as the CD-DA Redbook standard.
We also have the ability to record music at other popular rates: 16/48KHz, 24/44.1KHz & 24/48KHz. These rates increase the bit depth or the sampling frequency which gives more detail to the recording. These rates are recorded usually as .wav (wave) or BWF (broadcast wave file) because that makes them compatible with Windows operating systems used on computers.
Bull O'The Woods has the ability to record BWF files on CD-R (recordable one time only) or CD-RW (rewriteable many times) CDs. We can transfer the recorded BWF files to USB memory stick or SD card-regular or micro-SD. We can also transfer to DVD, if needed.
One note of caution: CDs don’t have much memory space — only 750Mb (megabytes). A regular CD recorded in CD-DA file format can hold about 79 minutes of music. A regular CD recorded in BWF format can vary from 66 minutes @ 16bit/44.1KHz to 40 minutes @ 24bit/48KHz. Memory space isn’t a problem when utilizing USB sticks or SD cards as their memory starts at about 4 gigabytes (Gb).
Another popular file format is MP3 which is compatible with just about any playback device. MP3 files utilize an algorithm which saves memory by ignoring certain parts of the digital audio map. MP3 files are many times smaller than any other file format, which allows for many hours of music on any type of media—including CDs. To most people, MP3s sound OK. To audio enthusiasts, they are an abomination. BUT — we do have the ability to convert any digital file or analog (cassette, reel to reel, vinyl record, etc.) to MP3 . AND — we can put those files on USB stick, SD card, CD, or just about any other recordable digital medium desired (exceptions are CF cards, Hi-8 and DAT tapes).
Bull O’The Woods is here to help out with this digital confusion and to deliver all of your music preferences. Get your old media converted today so you can use it again! Call us at (509) 292-8184 to discuss your needs.
