What causes burned CDs to skip during playback? - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Jimellow · 08-09-2006, 09:29 PM

I burn many of my music to CDs for use in the car, Discman, etc.

Lately, it seems that my CDs will sometimes skip, and a CD I burned for a friend even had bits of pieces from other songs "blended in" to the original audio.

What causes this?

My computer is older (P3, 866, 256 RAM), but I close down every program, including virus scanner, prior to burning..

I use Acoustica, and I enable "Convert songs to WAV before burning," as this is recommend for older machines. I am using the Maxell brand, color CD-Rs.

The skipping doesn't happen on every burn, but it does on some, and seeing that I don't listen to the entire CD on the "test listen" it would be nice to eliminate this issue entirely.

Thanks.

monkeysugar · 08-09-2006, 11:44 PM

Whenever I had problems like that, it was usually a copy protection issue. I've used a lot of different brands of media, usually determined by whatever is on sale and haven't found a noticible difference between any of them.

shakran · 08-10-2006, 04:20 AM

I've had better luck with Memorex than any other brand. Try lowering the burn speed - you might be getting a bit of jitter in there. And finally, use Nero. It's better than anything else out there.

Jimellow · 08-10-2006, 06:22 AM

Thanks for the replies.

I have been using Acoustica, as it has a slicker layout, but if Nero performs better I will use that. I have both, and find Nero superior for anything regarding burning data CDs.

Some of the things I am trying to burn are older discs, and I am not sure if they had implemented copy protection at the time, though for some of the newer stuff it would be a fitting explanation.

Thanks!

healer · 08-10-2006, 06:31 AM

As was mentioned above, try burning at reduced speed. I've had it happen to me, which is why I don't burn audio cd's at anything higher than 36X.

Hope it helps.

flat5 · 08-13-2006, 10:48 AM

This can happen if you are downloading torrents and the torrent is not complete. Perhaps 3 seconds of another tune gets inserted into what you are listening to. Quite disturbing.

Jimellow · 08-13-2006, 11:02 AM

Thanks for the replies..

My PC is older, like I said, and my burner max speed is just 8X. Could that alone be attributed to the skipping?

I have tried slower burns, with every running application off (virus scanner included), and the tracks are from ripped CDs of Jazz, released in the 90s. Thus I suspect "burn protection" may not be the issue, but instead maybe it's just that my PC is so dated and cluttered that the burn process is affected negatively. Is that possible?

monkeysugar · 08-13-2006, 01:59 PM

I doubt it has anything to do with your computer/drive speed. My first computer with a CD burner was 550mhz, 256MB/Ram, 4x max burner. Didn't have any problems with skipping.

Jimellow · 08-13-2006, 08:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeysugar

I doubt it has anything to do with your computer/drive speed. My first computer with a CD burner was 550mhz, 256MB/Ram, 4x max burner. Didn't have any problems with skipping.

Interesting.. Maybe it is something else then.

cyrnel · 08-13-2006, 09:06 PM

That sounds like a software issue with the WAV conversion. If you're converting mp3s to WAVs then you're burning "raw" music onto the CD's. No protection involved. The problem could be non-standard mp3s with some type of encoder protection. Did you create the files yourself? If so, with what software?

If you make one cd and it skips but the next of identical source material works then I'd suspect the burner or the media. As others said, slower burning is good. Clean media, too. And try it in different players just to narrow things down.

If the same source material always skips then try different WAV conversion software. If it still has issues, follow the chain back to where you found the mp3s. Are they some proprietary mp3 monstrosity?

Converting to WAVs first would be for your playback system. If your player/deck is old it probably won't understand mp3s so you have to burn WAVs. If you play back exclusively on your computer or mp3-smart decks then converting to WAVs is wasting space. (and possibly causing the issues for some undetermined reason)

I haven't used Accoustica. Does it convert everything to WAV before burning or try to do it at the same time? Trying both at the same time could cause issues on a slow system.

Shouldn't have poured that last cup of Sunday night coffee.

MontanaXVI · 08-13-2006, 11:47 PM

I would give Nero a run and see if that helps solve your problem.

Way back in the day you had to do the wav conversion before burning, but this is just not the case anymore, you might actually be chewing up what ram and processor speed you do have by doing the conversions.

Also you may wanna look into http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ I have a few friends online who have used it and said that it worked very well and were thinking about dropping Nero for it, as it is free software.

08-09-2006, 09:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	What causes burned CDs to skip during playback? I burn many of my music to CDs for use in the car, Discman, etc. Lately, it seems that my CDs will sometimes skip, and a CD I burned for a friend even had bits of pieces from other songs "blended in" to the original audio. What causes this? My computer is older (P3, 866, 256 RAM), but I close down every program, including virus scanner, prior to burning.. I use Acoustica, and I enable "Convert songs to WAV before burning," as this is recommend for older machines. I am using the Maxell brand, color CD-Rs. The skipping doesn't happen on every burn, but it does on some, and seeing that I don't listen to the entire CD on the "test listen" it would be nice to eliminate this issue entirely. Thanks. __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

08-09-2006, 11:44 PM	#2 (permalink)
monkeysugar I'll be on the veranda, since you're on the cross. Location: Rand McNally's friendliest small town in America. They must have strayed from the dodgy parts...	Whenever I had problems like that, it was usually a copy protection issue. I've used a lot of different brands of media, usually determined by whatever is on sale and haven't found a noticible difference between any of them. __________________ I've got the love of my life and a job that I enjoy most of the time. Life is good.

08-10-2006, 06:22 AM	#4 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	Thanks for the replies. I have been using Acoustica, as it has a slicker layout, but if Nero performs better I will use that. I have both, and find Nero superior for anything regarding burning data CDs. Some of the things I am trying to burn are older discs, and I am not sure if they had implemented copy protection at the time, though for some of the newer stuff it would be a fitting explanation. Thanks! __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

08-13-2006, 11:02 AM	#7 (permalink)
Jimellow Junkie	Thanks for the replies.. My PC is older, like I said, and my burner max speed is just 8X. Could that alone be attributed to the skipping? I have tried slower burns, with every running application off (virus scanner included), and the tracks are from ripped CDs of Jazz, released in the 90s. Thus I suspect "burn protection" may not be the issue, but instead maybe it's just that my PC is so dated and cluttered that the burn process is affected negatively. Is that possible? __________________ Desperation is no excuse for lowering one's standards.

08-13-2006, 01:59 PM	#8 (permalink)
monkeysugar I'll be on the veranda, since you're on the cross. Location: Rand McNally's friendliest small town in America. They must have strayed from the dodgy parts...	I doubt it has anything to do with your computer/drive speed. My first computer with a CD burner was 550mhz, 256MB/Ram, 4x max burner. Didn't have any problems with skipping. __________________ I've got the love of my life and a job that I enjoy most of the time. Life is good.

08-10-2006, 04:20 AM	#3 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	I've had better luck with Memorex than any other brand. Try lowering the burn speed - you might be getting a bit of jitter in there. And finally, use Nero. It's better than anything else out there.

08-13-2006, 10:48 AM	#6 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	This can happen if you are downloading torrents and the torrent is not complete. Perhaps 3 seconds of another tune gets inserted into what you are listening to. Quite disturbing.

08-13-2006, 09:06 PM	#10 (permalink)
cyrnel Adequate Location: In my angry-dome.	That sounds like a software issue with the WAV conversion. If you're converting mp3s to WAVs then you're burning "raw" music onto the CD's. No protection involved. The problem could be non-standard mp3s with some type of encoder protection. Did you create the files yourself? If so, with what software? If you make one cd and it skips but the next of identical source material works then I'd suspect the burner or the media. As others said, slower burning is good. Clean media, too. And try it in different players just to narrow things down. If the same source material always skips then try different WAV conversion software. If it still has issues, follow the chain back to where you found the mp3s. Are they some proprietary mp3 monstrosity? Converting to WAVs first would be for your playback system. If your player/deck is old it probably won't understand mp3s so you have to burn WAVs. If you play back exclusively on your computer or mp3-smart decks then converting to WAVs is wasting space. (and possibly causing the issues for some undetermined reason) I haven't used Accoustica. Does it convert everything to WAV before burning or try to do it at the same time? Trying both at the same time could cause issues on a slow system. Shouldn't have poured that last cup of Sunday night coffee. __________________ There are a vast number of people who are uninformed and heavily propagandized, but fundamentally decent. The propaganda that inundates them is effective when unchallenged, but much of it goes only skin deep. If they can be brought to raise questions and apply their decent instincts and basic intelligence, many people quickly escape the confines of the doctrinal system and are willing to do something to help others who are really suffering and oppressed." -Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media, p. 195

08-13-2006, 11:47 PM	#11 (permalink)
MontanaXVI Junkie Location: Go A's!!!!	I would give Nero a run and see if that helps solve your problem. Way back in the day you had to do the wav conversion before burning, but this is just not the case anymore, you might actually be chewing up what ram and processor speed you do have by doing the conversions. Also you may wanna look into http://www.cdburnerxp.se/ I have a few friends online who have used it and said that it worked very well and were thinking about dropping Nero for it, as it is free software. __________________ Spank you very much