A non ripper able CD

[Michael...@hotmail.co.uk]

I have been trying to rip a classical music CD without success. The CD is a TOCCATA Classics CD number TOCC 0109 (Alexander Prior Velesslavitsa). The B2 doesn't find a match on the database, assigns a album number, but the minute you press the rip button it just splits the CD out. I presume it must be something to do with actual Format the recording has been recorded in. I noticed it is a recording from a live performance.

Michael

[harlond57]

I know nothing about the particular CD, but if the CD drive encounters a problem with the first track, it will very quickly eject the CD even if the format is correct.  Some CDs I could not initially rip in the Brennan were rippable after I gave them a THOROUGH cleaning (with soap and water and then toothpaste).  Most CDs I can't rip in the Brennan, even ones I haven't cleaned, I can rip using dbPoweramp on my computer.  A very useful app if you expect to have a significant number of CDs to add to your Brennan.

[harlond57]

I should add that my computer's CD drive reads many CDs the Brennan has rejected.  But so far as I know, my computer won't save those CDs to my computer in a Flac format.  It saves them in an mp3 format, and I can upload that to the Brennan, but I prefer to upload flags, which is why I got dbPoweramp.  And I think dbPoweramp is better at reading dirty and scratched CDs anyway.

[Jeff. M.]

I use windows media player to rip my CDs to FLAC, you just have to alter the settings, plus it's free!!!

[Jeff. M.]

Forgot to add, nearly always finds and populates Listings and album art!

[Daniel Taylor]

dBpoweramp CD Ripper will rip directly to FLAC.  You have to change the setting (and maybe download a codec).  Bottom left corner, where it says "Rip to" click the down-arrow to the right of the text box, and a list of the available formats is shown.

[JFBUK]

Hi Michael,

The B2 uses a public database, Musicbrainz, to identify CDs. 

The data in the database is predominantly uploaded by public users and therefore can have errors and omissions.

Your TOCC0109 CD has never had its details uploaded to Musicbrainz so cannot be found (as of today) so it’s not the format of the CD that’s caused your CD not to be found.

I would be interested to see whether DbPoweramp can find your CD either.

John

[fred.w....@gmail.com]

There is nothing special about the B2's CD player, Brennan do not make their own CD readers but purchase standard Computer, front loading CD units for their B2s wholesale. As with all things, occasionally a CD unit will fail or indeed there may be a bad batch!

However,as far as I can see Brennan stand by their product and sort out this sort of issue.

The other thing is that the B2, as compared to the previous JB7 product, is built round a computer that is network and internet "aware"- or almost semi dependent.

It therfore needs a clean WiFi/LAN environment to function optimally.

Many problems arise because a B2 will actually be the first "server" device a householder attaches to their house router and this will quickly show up any inadequacies in their house system, which people then blame on the B2 because it appears that it is the B2 that is not working when it is actually their household systems/environment that are the cause of the problems!

The B2 also accesses resources on the internet to discover and populate things like CD names and content (radio and you Tube etc) and in doing this is only as good as the information it can find - It is not B2 itself that is naming your music CDs! 

If it fails to find a name then it allows you to provide one or reasonably, populates the missing information with an appropriate default value unique to that CD so that it fits in appropriately with its file structures.

There may be better CD ripping utilities that run on laptops but these are large, specialist programs in their own rite which could not easily be ported to the commuter inside a B2 BUT the B2 can import music ripped elsewhere so the B2 is not "closed" to other solutions.

A modern Brennan is not a turnkey/plug and play unit, it simply cant be at least until its job is simply playing music you have loaded and even then it your neighbour sets up a new WiFi that encroaches on yours or your fridge compressor goes bad electrically- this may lead to trouble with the  Brennan's UI. 

Fred

[PMB]

Hi Michael,

Have you tried cleaning the CD - even if it looks clean?

Paul

Brennan Support.

[Michael...@hotmail.co.uk]

Hi Folks

Thanks for your suggestions. I have tried cleaning the CD and this hasn't cured the problem. I have noticed when you put the CD into the B2 it takes quite a few seconds (much longer than usual) reading the info from the CD before it says it cannot find the details and assigns the CD an album a number. It then stops spinning the CD. I am doing all this via the Web UI and I do not get the chance to instigate the rip from the UI and so press the big black knob on the B2 to start the rip and as soon as B2 starts the rip it immediately stops spinning and rejects the CD out the machine. Hence my feeling the B2 doesn't like what it is being asked to read and stops the process. This is quite a "fringe" CD and I am beginning to think something must be wrong with the CDs format or something.

Thanks for your time is this matter. It's the little things in life that mess you about and this is probable one of those!

Have fun!!

Michael

[JFBUK]

Hi Michael,

is the option of ripping the CD on a computer available to you ?

If it is it would be a check on whether the CD itself is the issue.

John

[Peter R]

Hi Michael,

I had one or two CDs that the Brennan did not like and, as suggested by John, I ripped these on a computer. I found that ripping on a PC to flac format was faster than ripping on the B2 and then having it compress the tracks.

I tried various machines & apps, but I found that a Windows 10 PC and Windows Media Player worked very well. Media Player can be set to rip direct to flac (or MP3 if you prefer). It also does a good job of finding the artist/album/track information from the web. I then uploaded the ripped CDs to the Brennan via the web interface or using NAS.

Peter