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Copy-Protected CD's From '89 and '96?

Posted by Cliff on from the copy-protection-or-system-errors dept.

Don Symes asks: "In ripping my CD library (MP3c -> cdparanoia -> bladeenc), I've run across a couple of CDs that, when played as MP3s, produce a white noise "fet-fet-fet-fet" at about 2 to 3 pulses a second. The CDs in question are Ani DiFranco, _Ani DiFranco_, Righteous Babe Records, 1989; and Israel Philharmonic, _60th Anniversary Gala_, RCA, 1996. Are these early examples of copy protected CDs, or an encoding artifact/settings issue?" Has anyone else found rip-proof CDs in there collection that exhibit this behavior? Has anyone successfully ripped any of the problem CDs listed, either here or in the comments (if so, what did you have to do)?

6 of 19 comments (clear)

  1. bad CDs by ameoba · · Score: 5, Informative

    It sounds to me like you're talking about the noise that CDParanoia introduces when working with scratched CDs that it can't repair. Perhaps it could handle it a bit more gracefully, but that's what you get.

    --
    my sig's at the bottom of the page.
  2. Doubt it by Outland+Traveller · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you read the fine print on Ani's "Righteous Babe Records" CDs you will see that they are quite permissive with regard to copying.

    It is highly unlikely that these CDs would be part of any CD-based copy control scheme.

  3. Try this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Copy the tracks to your hard drive with Exact Audio Copy, then rip the .wav files.

  4. It may not be copy protection by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    There was a story a while back about older CDs succumbing to a fungus that corroded the media.

    Bad news.

  5. Error correction ripping software? by hawkstone · · Score: 3, Informative

    The big question -- did you rip to uncompressed (.wav) files before encoding? And if so, did it have the aforementioned errors?

    Make sure to try CD-ripping software with error correction.

    I can't speak much for Linux (I only know of grip), but under Winblows try Exact Audio Copy (EAC). It's got great error correction settings and you can rip in essentially a paranoid mode if necessary.

    If that doesn't help, try a different encoder. LAME comes highly recommended both from professional trials and from personal experience. Use the latest beta -- it's better than the "stable" release.

  6. Similar problems... by Locando · · Score: 0, Informative

    I've had similar odd problems with ripping on so far three CDs: The Downward Spiral by Nine Inch Nails, Play by Moby, and Exciter by Depeche Mode. Both got numerous V's in Paranoia on both my no-name CD-ROM and my Philips CD-RW, only on the last few tracks. With the -z switch it couldn't complete the rips. cdda2wav did no better, ruining them with pops everywhere but ripping quickly. Because I first discovered this problem with my brand-new Depeche Mode CD, I guessed that the problem might be copy protection, but interestingly enough, all it took was a switch into Windows and Easy-CD Creator (not exactly renowned for its wonderful ripping, I don't think) got through them quickly and perfectly on my cheapo drive. No, I have no clue what the issue is.