Danabw

Hi, Igor, loooooooooooong time no see. :-) My still number one request...ability to resize images (either type in pixel values/% in properties dialog, or grab picture handles and resize w/mouse. Very close number two...retain position of objects at different resolutions. Hope you are very well! Dana

Thanks...what confused me is that the name and version number we different... :-)

Brian: I think we're in violent agreement... :-) I understand the copyright laws (I have some background in video production and have worked w/getting rights for copyrighted materials for use in projects). I generally ignore copyright laws for personal use purposes in my own home, just like pretty much everyone else in the world...I feel free to do whatever I want w/a CD and the music on it, for use within my own home, once I purchase it. :-) Clearly (to me, and many others) the copyright laws have been strengthened in the US in recent years, and primarily for the benefit of large corporations and to the detriment of the public interest...the current length of copyrights has been extended in a way that appears to be designed to lock in profits, and assure some sort of life-long annuity to both the sons/daughters and grandsons/grandaughters of the original creators...to the extent now that it errs on the side of not encouraging new creativity, and limiting access to content that really is quite "ready" for use in the public domain, IMHO. This isn't black and white, and I'm sure you or others could disagree, but I have not been in favor of the recent changes in the US that continue to lock up content away from free public access. Harumph! :-) In terms of Magix SW, I was speaking to the reason that Magix could include tagging of MP3s saved from their SW w/out any legal exposure whatsoever...my example is that when I create an MP3 of my son's piano playing using Magix (and as you note, I can do whatever I want to w/that recording, I own the copyright), I want to be able to add tags to the MP3 as I save it from Magix. Magix could provide that facility w/out any legal issues, given that there is a perfectly legal reason to want to tag my MP3s that I'm making w/Magix of my son's performances. In fact, I've discovered that Audio Cleaner appears to already do some basic MP3 tagging...they appear to put the filename of the exported MP3 into the tags. So all I want is for them to allow me to put in a few more tags... :-) They are no more responsible if I behave badly (LP "restoration") than a manufacturer of a shovel is if someone uses it to dig holes all over their neighbor's yard. :-) Wish my neighbor would do that, actually, we're planting some new plants in the back yard... Off to work! Fun conversation. Dana

Couldn't find it...did find this: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/mp3tagde.html

DaveG: You said: ?'''using an EDIROL Optical to USB lead" What the heck is that? Thanks, Brian...sounds like an interesting career you've had. I noticed something else annoying about Audio Cleaning lab today. :-) Default install is to a folder in the root of drive C...either it didn't show the intended installation folder during install, or I wasn't paying attention and missed it...it should have installed to C:\Program Files like any other well-behaved Windows program! But...it is a fun program to use, and seems to do what it does quite well. As for tagging...if they allow encoding to MP3s (perfectly legal), and allowed entering of tags as well, that wouldn't involve any legal exposure for them...MP3s are an encoding algorythm and file format, nothing more, and it would be reasonable to expect tagging of any legal MP3 created. :-) I have MP3s of my son's piano playing, and tag them. Yeah....ADC was my friend. :-) I'll look around at the elliptical cartridges and see what looks good. I might even spring for a whole new turntable...maybe an MMF. I need to return my parents turntable sometime, and it is going to take while to get all the LPs I want digitized... Thanks for the help.

Oh - forgot. Given cartridges range widely in price, would you suggest any particular price range for reasonable results?

Thanks very much, Brian, for your reply. I've used dozens of mass produced SW packages that allow control over simple things like file save locations...I do believe that is a "basic" feature that should be included, especially w/SW that is going to be saving some very large files. Oh well, I can deal w/it. :-) I understand that the MP3 tags aren't there in the LP. That would be a neat trick, wouldn't it, if Steely Dan's producers had put them there, decades before the MP3's existed? :-) What I would like is for Audio Cleaning lab (maybe in 2006 version?!) to allow me to enter file names for each track before it saves them, and even better, also enter the basic Artist/Album tags. They could provide a dialog that would have a filename field for each track that is going to be saved, and Artist/Album tag fields. Enter info, click "OK," and then it would create the MP3's with the entered file names and tags. "I have a dream..." :-) Would really enhance the process. Thanks very much for the cartridge suggestion...I was an ADC man in my previous turntable life, if I remember correctly. But I didn't (and don't) have any particular expertise w/cartridges, so I appreciate your comments...I'll go google stanton and elliptical styluses and read up on it. What have you been doing in the audio business?

The Ken Burns effect, as it's known from his documentaries, is basically panning on still photos...left, right, up, down, in, out, diagonally, etc. :-) Then you move on seamlessly to the next picture and do it again...gives a sense of motion to still images, allows you to direct focus to a particular point in an image (say when if you zoom in or pan right to left and stop), or "surprise" your audience (say if you zoom out to a full image from a tight shot on just a portion of it. A very funny example can be seen here, done by Al Franken in jest, but it demonstrates the effect quite well. I watched it the other night and it was pretty funny, while giving a good presentation of the effect. Go here: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/plus/dme/Photo.asp and scroll down to near the bottom of the page and locate the "Comedian Al Franken, part 1" entry and click on the med or high link there depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Thanks very much for your replies... My preamp arrived, so I hooked it up to the turntable and to the computer line in. Got Audio-Cleaning Lab 5.0 and started playing around last night. Very easy to do...Audio Cleaner 2005 is pretty powerful and does a nice job...the UI could use some work to simplify it a bit, but overall I'm OK w/it. Two main things I'd like Audio Cleaning lab to do that it doesn't appear to do, are: - Allow me to set the default location to save files...I have to reset it every time I start a new project (it wants to use my C drive, I keep all music on drive D - moved my My Music folder there via Windows ages ago). I can't find a Preferences or Options setting that allows me to set default save locations...is that really not an option? - Allow me to specify track names (and simple tags like artist & album) while exporting to MP3. Audio Cleaner could provide a capability to enter a name and tags for each track before you export. I can rename them in the folder and add tags in iTunes, but it would be easier to do it in the AudioCleaner UI as I export. Now all I really need is a better turntable/cartridge - the sound quality from the turntable is just OK. I borrowed it from my parents, and they have a cheap cartridge on it - can't tell for sure if the problem is only in the cartridge, but I may go shell out for a nicer one if I can't find anyone else to mooch a better turntable setup from... :-) It is fun to use a turntable again...been about 15 years or so since I've used one regularly. I copied two old Steely Dan albums (Pretzel Logic & Royal Scam) last night just to try it out. Funniest part was explaining turntables and records to my sons. They've seen turntables before, but never really been close to one or been able to try it out. I felt like some sort of caveman showing them the needle, talking about dust, scratches, record cleaning and shouting "Don't bump the table!!" when they started drumming to the music on it. :-) I think they were amazed at what we had to put up with and the rituals we went through. On the other hand, reliving the joys of album art that isn't four inches across is very fun. I actually used to buy used albums back in the day just for their cover art, something you'd never do w/a CD. It was cool to go through the albums and enjoy the great album art that was happening in the Sixties and Seventies...

I've finally dug out my old LPs (7 boxes...oh-my-gawd) and want to rip them to my computer to increase my soundtrack options, and to show my sons that their dad isn't a complete fuddy-duddy. (Though the fact that I actually use the term "fuddy-duddy" pretty much ruins any chances of me not being one.) Anyway, can anyone recommend a good SW & process for recording LPs to my computer? I want to create MP3s from my albums, will use them in slideshows & movies, and just to enjoy playing again on my networked audio at home and on my iPod. I'd like to find something that: - Recognizes spaces between tracks and automatically creates separate files or allows you to easily get it to split a large file from one side of a record into individual files after capture - Provides filters, etc., to remove pops/clicks w/out trashing the audio - Allows you to label tracks (artist/title/album) I'm interested in freeware/shareware and commercial SW...don't want to spend more than $50 or so for it unless there are some clear benefits to a more expensive package. Anyone out there who has done this - I'd appreciate your advice. I do already have a turntable & phono preamp, so I've got the harware... Thanks! P.S. There was a recent article in PCWorld that kind of got me started on this, and they recommended some SW, but I wanted to hear from folks that are actually doing this at home.

Ability to resize images brought into the object editor...handles to grab w/mouse would be best, typing in sizes in properties would be acceptable.... Ken Burns pan and zoom would be cool. Igor...how do you find time to sleep!!!???

Thanks, Al, those were good points...particularly conversion, which I hadn't thought of... I store everything on hard drives in the computer, and back up all data/images/music, etc. every night to one of two other hard drives (I swap them out monthly in an external drive enclosure), so I'm relatively safe in terms of data backups. I'm even paranoid enough to remove one of the backup hard drives to work, and when we go on vacation I hide the other back HD in strange places in the house in case we're broken into and the computer is stolen. :-) My wife thinks I need counseling, but (and I almost hope for this to prove my point) someday we'll have some sort of major computing problem and then I'll be golden boy when all our data is safe... :-)

Just got an IPOD, and am in the process of digitizing (finally!) my music collection. The default format for ripping CDs in iTunes is M4A (from AAC encoder)...PTE doesn't appear to recognize that format, and I suspect other tools like my video editing SW may not. So I'm setting the rip format back to MP3, which (at 160 kbps) appears to create larger files, which is unfortunate. So I'm looking for advice: - MP3 still the best all-around format? - Compatiblity the only issue w/M4A - 120 vs. 160 kbps worth the additional file size for non-audiophile listening. I love music, but have an average to slightly above average audio system. Appreciate any advice. Thanks, Dana

Igor: I've been away on travel - just back and found this excellent surprise!!! All I can say is wow...what was the best has become better. :-) I will be multiple-selecting in the slide list all night... ;-) Dana

Cool! Ah...um...er...multiple selects on slides (to delete from show/move/modify, etc.)? In the light table or list? Dana