B2 compressing imported .wav music to. flac

[Colin Gaudie]

A couple of my CDs didn't rip to the B2, so I ripped them on my PC in .wav format, transferrred them to a USB stick and *imported* on the B2.

My thinking was the B2 would then compress them to flac, but I see they are still in .wav format.

As the number is low, this isn't really a big problem, but I just wondered if there is any way round it? (e.g. using *restore*, which I know is actually for JB7)

Thanks, Colin

[Daniel Taylor]

Import was the proper command.

In the Settings menu, check your Compression setting.  It should be set to FLAC if that's what you want.

The B2 will not begin compression until it has been idle long enough (5 minutes) to enter Standby mode.  Or you can force it to start compression by using the Compress Now command (Settings menu).  It is a good idea to not try to get the B2 to do anything else while it is compressing.  So close any browser window you have open to the WebUI.  Lots of folks wait for compression to happen overnight while they won't be needing their B2 for anything else.

[Daniel Taylor]

It could be the B2 is getting stuck on trying to compress one of the files.  While it is attempting to compress, watch the front panel and see if it displays the song it was working on when it quit.  Also, after it quits, you might try taking a look at the Debug information available from Settings in the WebUI.

[Colin Gaudie]

OK Daniel. 

New to using Forums.

Yes, did all that.

Nothing obvious to me in the debug file, and nothing noticed on front panel. Wasn't obvious that it was trying to do anything.

I used a PC running Windows 7 (are there different versions of .wav? that the B2 might not recognise?)

Colin

[PMB]

Hi Colin,

Try the 'Compress Now' command - Settings menu (using the front control).

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Colin Gaudie]

Hi Paul

As above, tried the *compress now* command  several times.

As I'm not a *software aware* person... I ripped the CDs on  a PC using Windows 7 into .wav format, which I understand the B2 uses.

Does Windows 10, for instance, use a slightly different version, which the Brennan would recognise? 

If not, there is a software problem with the Brennan using *import* of .wav files, so that it will not allow  compression?

Thanks, Colin

[Edwyn Corteen]

Hi Colin

Sounds like the B2 does not like the codec your PC uses to encode .wav files, one workaround would be to either rip them on the B2 or convert the .wav files to FLAC on your PC using Audacity and then re-import.

[Colin Gaudie]

Thanks Edwyn.

Yes, these were 2 CDs which would not rip on the Brennan B2.

So I ripped on my PC ( running Windows 7) in .wav, thinking that the Brennan used .wav.... before going on to compress in format of choice (mine is obviously .flac).

I bought the Brennan B2 for the obvious improvements over my @ 9 year + B7..... and am happy with the web Ui, etc

So I guess there is perhaps an ongoing  software problem with the B2, which may, or may not, be addressed in due course!!

Thanks, Colin

[Colin Gaudie]

May I add, to whoever is in the software dept. 

When I spend £560 on a Brennan B2, I expect it to do the* business on the tin*!

(If it was £200 quid, you would make allowances of course)

Colin

[Rearwing]

Hi Colin, what makes you think that it is a software problem? I would have thought that it is more likely to be a compatibility issue than software. The B2 copes well with most files thrown at it, but there will always be some that cause it to think twice.

[Mark Fishman]

> I ripped on my PC ( running Windows 7) in .wav, thinking that the Brennan used .wav

What application/program did you use to do the ripping and conversion to .wav file? MS-Windows itself is an operating system and does not do that.

If you used a Microsoft application -- e.g., Windows Media Player, or Groove, or some such thing -- then, quite frankly, I am not at all surprised if the result is incompatible with a non-Microsoft product (or, for that matter any other Microsoft product). Microsoft's stated attitude towards standards is "embrace and extend", which is more accurately pronounced "embrace and corrupt".

Perhaps that sounds cynical; it is, yes, but that word ("cynical") is actually pronounced "realistic".

[Colin Gaudie]

Hi Rearwing.

Probably something I'm missing in your reasoning about compatability?

So I'll go back through the story.

Couple of CDs failed to rip on the B2, so I followed the steps they suggest in the help notes and ripped them on my PC in wav format. Transferred them to the Brennan via a USB stick and can play the music fine on the B2.

However the B2 fails to compress the music into flac. As I've said that isn't a major problem as it's only 16 tracks. Just wondered why.

Colin

[Daniel Taylor]

Colin,

I do all my ripping on my PC, where I rip directly to FLAC using dBpoweramp CD Ripper.  Then I edit the filenames and tag info to my satisfaction before transferring the finished files to the B2.  That way I avoid any problems that might arise related to the B2's compression.

[Colin Gaudie]

Thanks for all the replies.

From your replies, it would seem that there are different versions of .wav? 

So, although the music plays fine on the B2, it doesn't recognise it for compression purposes?

I guess it makes sense that if initially the B2 failed to rip the CD, then it MUST be different on the pc?

When I have more spare time I'll try it on a Windows 10 which may have a different version.

It might be useful to say that in the Brennan notes, as I cannot believe I am the first to encounter this.

Thanks

Colin

[Leslie Brownlee]

Colin, you can rip to FLAC on a Windows 10 PC with Windows Media Player. Would save having to wait for the B2 to convert it. You can then either transfer it via USB drive or set up the B2 as a NAS drive which allows you to drag and drop files/folders into the B2 just like any other drive on your PC. You must run Scan Disk after a NAS transfer to rebuild the B2 library with the new files. You can do this from the settings in the Web UI and only takes seconds.

[Colin Gaudie]

Many thanks Leslie.

I'll take your advice as the B2 will NOT compress the wav files which I ripped on my old PC.

I mentioned the PC was running Windows 7, just to show the age, i.e. @ 9 years!

I have access to a later computer running Windows 10, and will rip to flac.

As you can see, I'm pretty well software illiterate, not knowing all the detail.

By waiting 2 years before I updated from my JB7 to the B2, I had hoped any software *bugs* would have been sorted....

but evidently not! As others have said, a learning project....

Really happy otherwise with the B2, big advance on the JB7 due to the web UI, (and the smart phone ap looks useful).

Makes access to the music much easier, which is of course the only reason for purchase.

[The JB7 was a good idea, but a bit off a trachle (good Scots word)]

Thanks again to everyone for their input.

Colin

[Daniel Taylor]

You do not need Windows 10 to rip directly to FLAC.  Windows 7 works just fine.

[Leslie Brownlee]

I know Windows Media Player (WMP) in Windows 10 can rip to FLAC. 

Not sure if WMP can do that in Windows 7, but you can get a program like dBpoweramp CD Ripper that Daniel uses with Windows 7 to do it. Quite a lot of forum members also use that one. Not sure if it is free, but there are also free ones out there too.

[Mark Fishman]

Just took a look at WMP in Win7 -- it can't rip to any lossless format other than WAV.

I must say, WMP is as annoying as I remember. Apparently there's no way to stop it from enumerating every music file on the HD to its own "library" -- which means if you have to use it just to play some specific file it has now scanned and possibly modified (depends on the options you chose during setup) all of your files. (If you take the "recommended" settings, it will add -- or subtract? -- information in the files according to whatever it find on the Internet... -- Yuck!)

Anyway, use something else if you want FLAC. Perhaps foobar2000, which *is* free. And less invasive.