Making an MP3 disc for hours of music with Burn by Zaweba
An MP3 data disc in Burn by Zaweba fits hours of music on one disc, converting other formats with LAME, numbering the files and adding a playlist.
An ordinary audio CD holds about an album's worth of music. Many car stereos and portable players can also read MP3 files from a data disc, and that is a very different proposition: hours of music on one disc. The MP3 data disc in Burn by Zaweba is made for exactly that.
It takes your music, makes sure every track is an MP3, puts them in order and adds a playlist.
Is an MP3 disc right for you
The first thing to know is whether your player can read one. An MP3 disc is a data disc, so it only plays in players that support MP3 files. If your car stereo or player does, an MP3 disc lets you carry a whole collection in the glovebox. If it doesn't, or you aren't sure, an audio CD is the safe choice, since it plays in ordinary CD players.
Making the disc
Open MP3 data disc from the home screen or from the Disc menu. Add your music files. Files that are already MP3 go on as they are. Files that are not MP3 are converted with LAME, the well-known MP3 encoder, at one of three settings: V0, V2 or 320.
Burn numbers the files so they play in the order you set, and adds a playlist to the disc. Then it burns.
Choosing V0, V2 or 320
These three settings trade size against quality. V0 and V2 are variable bitrate settings: the encoder spends more data on complex passages and less on simple ones. V0 aims for higher quality and bigger files, V2 for smaller files that still sound good to most ears. 320 is a constant high bitrate, the largest of the three.
If you want the most music per disc, V2 is a sensible choice. If quality matters more than quantity, pick V0 or 320. Only files that aren't MP3 already are converted, so the setting doesn't touch your existing MP3s.
Why numbering and a playlist help
Players read data discs in all sorts of ways. Some sort files by name, some by the order they were written, some use a playlist if there is one. Numbering the files and adding a playlist gives the player every chance of playing them in the order you meant.
Tips for a good MP3 disc
Organise before you burn. Grouping albums or moods together makes a disc of hours far easier to use than one long jumble.
Test one disc first. Burn a small disc and try it in the player you will use. Once you know it plays as you expect, make the full one.
Keep your originals. Converting to MP3 makes smaller files, which is the point, but your FLAC or WAV files are still the copies to keep as your library.
MP3 disc or audio CD
Both live in Burn by Zaweba, and each has its job. The Audio CD page makes discs for any CD player, with gaps or gapless, normalised volume and CD-Text titles. The MP3 data disc gives you far more music per disc for players that can read MP3s. Many people make both: audio CDs for the old stereo, an MP3 disc for the car.
