Topic: 24 Bit on a Mac?

[Since85]

Hi,

I am thinking of going to 24 bit recording in some situations. I have a Mac, and Peak 4, so I can handle 24 bit files. What DVD burnning software do I need to listen to a 24 bit file on and standard DVD player? What format do I need to burn 24 bit so it is similar to a "red book" 16 bit CD (compatibility)? This is new ground to me, any help appreciated!

thanks!

[John Kelly]

My recommendation is to drop Peak 4 - it's limited to 2 gig files for recording and that'll only give you an hour at 24/96.  Get Spark XL instead.

As for burning, I'm not really sure.  I don't have the ability to playback 24bit stuff outside of my computer so I've never had to find a burning solution.  I'm sure someone on here will know, though.

[wbrisette]

My recommendation is to drop Peak 4 - it's limited to 2 gig files for recording and that'll only give you an hour at 24/96.  Get Spark XL instead.

I beg to differ on Peak, but as I've stated in other threads and lists, the problem is not so much a Peak problem, but an industry problem. Both the AIFF and WAV format are limited to 2 GB. Spark XL gets around this by simply ignoring the standards, we could debate the merits of doing that, but I won't. I'll simply state I didn't care for the Spark interface and thus didn't find it very intuitive to use.

Now back to the question. For DVD-Video discs (24-bit/48 K), I'd recommend Toast Platinum. If for no other reason, it pretty fool proof as far as burning audio as 24-bit discs that can be played on DVD player. That said, if you want to use 24/96, Toast won't do it for you. Neither will iMovie/iDVD, both are limited to a sampling rate of 48K. For 96K, you need to jump up to DVD Studio Pro. I have a comp. Copy (use to work at Apple), but I haven't found the time to figure out how to do the 24/96 in DVDSP.

If you want an easy way to burn 24/96 as DVD-A discs (not compatible with standard DVD players -- they must support DVD-A), you can use DiscWelder. After the last update they sent me, I haven't had any problems with the product, so I can recommend it.

If you have any problems, let me know.

Wayne

[John Kelly]

My recommendation is to drop Peak 4 - it's limited to 2 gig files for recording and that'll only give you an hour at 24/96.  Get Spark XL instead.

I beg to differ on Peak, but as I've stated in other threads and lists, the problem is not so much a Peak problem, but an industry problem. Both the AIFF and WAV format are limited to 2 GB. Spark XL gets around this by simply ignoring the standards, we could debate the merits of doing that, but I won't. I'll simply state I didn't care for the Spark interface and thus didn't find it very intuitive to use.

No it doesn't, it simply offers other formats that do not have the 2 gig limit - wav64 and SDII extended.

[wbrisette]

No it doesn't, it simply offers other formats that do not have the 2 gig limit - wav64 and SDII extended.

Which really aren't standards either*. Again, I think it's a matter of preference and compatibility. You can't use these larger files outside of a very few applications, so if your goal is to move audio around (and I do a lot of this), using either format isn't an option. However, trying to use 24/96 within the confines of the 2 GB sucks too.

The only other issue I'll toss out is that Spark has had it's EOL already. Yes, it's free and yes there are a few folks using it, so it's not so bad, but should you run into an issue that turns out to be a bug, you're stuck because it isn't getting updated. Again, I'm not arguing against the product so much as just bringing up points that folks need to be aware of. Heck, it's free. You can't get any more incentive to use the product than that.   

Wayne


* I've said this many times, but it's not the taping community that is going to drive the standards committees to fix the 2 big formats, it's going to be some big wig/heavy weight music producer or label that will. In all honesty I'm surprised that Sony hasn't pushed for the Wav format to be reviewed. Now that they own SoundForge on the PC platform, it's a natural thing for them to be that heavy weight.

[scb]

No it doesn't, it simply offers other formats that do not have the 2 gig limit - wav64 and SDII extended.

Which really aren't standards either*. Again, I think it's a matter of preference and compatibility. You can't use these larger files outside of a very few applications, so if your goal is to move audio around (and I do a lot of this), using either format isn't an option

But you can always record in one of the larger formats, or edit in one of the larger formats (i had 7 gigs of 24/192 loaded in 1 file the other day) and then split into smaller wav or aiff files.  I love spark and always use wav64 for my 24/96 or higher and then split to wav or aiff

[Kwonfidelity]

My recommendation is to drop Peak 4 - it's limited to 2 gig files for recording and that'll only give you an hour at 24/96.  Get Spark XL instead.

I beg to differ on Peak, but as I've stated in other threads and lists, the problem is not so much a Peak problem, but an industry problem. Both the AIFF and WAV format are limited to 2 GB. Spark XL gets around this by simply ignoring the standards, we could debate the merits of doing that, but I won't. I'll simply state I didn't care for the Spark interface and thus didn't find it very intuitive to use.

Now back to the question. For DVD-Video discs (24-bit/48 K), I'd recommend Toast Platinum. If for no other reason, it pretty fool proof as far as burning audio as 24-bit discs that can be played on DVD player. That said, if you want to use 24/96, Toast won't do it for you. Neither will iMovie/iDVD, both are limited to a sampling rate of 48K. For 96K, you need to jump up to DVD Studio Pro. I have a comp. Copy (use to work at Apple), but I haven't found the time to figure out how to do the 24/96 in DVDSP.

If you want an easy way to burn 24/96 as DVD-A discs (not compatible with standard DVD players -- they must support DVD-A), you can use DiscWelder. After the last update they sent me, I haven't had any problems with the product, so I can recommend it.

If you have any problems, let me know.

Wayne

Easy.

Create a slideshow with a slide pic for each track.  Insert the 24bit audio into each associated track.  Build/Format/Burn.

The DVD playher will go from track to track without stopping and you can get it to play from beg/end without skipping a beat.

You can get fancy and use cool buttons and menus, but in essence these are just audio discs so I don't even turn on the projector/tv.

[Since85]

Thanks for the input folks! So, if I lay out tracks with Peak, burn to DVD with DVD studio pro, that should play audio fine on most DVD players? What are my options if I record 24 bit, but do not want to hook up my computer (hard drive) to my stereo?

[wbrisette]

Thanks for the input folks! So, if I lay out tracks with Peak, burn to DVD with DVD studio pro, that should play audio fine on most DVD players? What are my options if I record 24 bit, but do not want to hook up my computer (hard drive) to my stereo?

Huh? We've been talking about burning DVD discs. We haven't mentioned hooking up a computer to your stereo?

Wayne

[Since85]

Wayne,

Thanks for the info. Sorry about being vague. What I meant was the file format I need to save the audio information as in Peak. Will DVD Studio Pro read reigons as seperate tracks? Or do I need to do a "SAVE AS" in Peak with the reigoned file as a certain 24 bit format to retain the 24 bit characteristics?

thanks again!