CD Recording Format

Question

CDs are recorded in certain formats, we all know that, be it MP3, WMA, WAV etc., etc.

When a CD is inserted into a Windows System, the properties for each track refer to them as .CDA files which of course are just pointers to the audio track and not the recorded track itself.

How do you tell what the actual recording format is that was used to make the CD?

Answer 1

Hi John

If you purchase an Audio CD and do a straight copy to another CD using CD burning software, then the original file format and quality is kept on the resulting CD

If you rip a CD to your PC, then you will need to select a file format like WMA, MP3, FLAC . . etc

The file type and bit rate you choose will determine the quality of the ripped tracks and the file size

FLAC is a lossless format, so that would be the same quality as the original CD

If say your ripped the original CD to MP3 or WMA, then some quality will be lost, and there is no point in converting to FLAC, because the quality is already lost

There are a few variables to consider, as stated above tracks on a CD are at 44100 Hz

if you convert to any format with a lower bitrate, quality is lost

If quality is lost, you can convert to another format like FLAC, that will create a bigger file, but not increase the quality

Answer 2

Dave, thank you so much for clearing this up. Much appreciated!

Answer 3

Dave, thank you for that. Please help me understand this a little further.

If a store bought recording is copied/burned to a CD say as an MP3 file type, is the native format retained on the new CD although the CODEC is changed?

I ask this because I converted an WMP burned cd to another as a FLAC type and the file size became much larger.

Thanks again!

Answer 4

Hi John

I am Dave, an Independent Advisor, I will help you with this . . .

Audio CDs always contain a propriety uncompressed PCM stereo audio at 44100 Hz sample rate, the file type does not correlate to the standard audio file formats like WAV, AIFF, MP3 . . etc