Express Burn + Normalize Volume

dinojazz

I purchased the Express Burn Plus package online several months ago and have NEVER been able to get the audio sound level equalized over the tracks I add to be burned to a CD-R. According to the online manual I've done what I was suppposed to do; namely, click on "this disc" and set the percentage level. I did this at 100%. I've also tried clicking on the Normalize Volume button and when ripping, a green bar confirms it's "normalizing" but the mix CD-R I end up with still has different volume levels. Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

chainsaw1

dinojazz wrote:

I purchased the Express Burn Plus package online several months ago and have NEVER been able to get the audio sound level equalized over the tracks I add to be burned to a CD-R. According to the online manual I've done what I was suppposed to do; namely, click on "this disc" and set the percentage level. I did this at 100%. I've also tried clicking on the Normalize Volume button and when ripping, a green bar confirms it's "normalizing" but the mix CD-R I end up with still has different volume levels. Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

Where is the audio coming from?

Stereo will have different levels.

dinojazz

chainsaw1 wrote:

Where is the audio coming from?

Stereo will have different levels.

I'm pretty sure the problem occurs whether or not I'm burning mp3's, FLAC or CDa's. Or a combination there of. If I highlight all the tracks to be burned and then press the normalize volume tab I get an error message that says something about not having the "codecs". After that, all files to be burned are corrupt and I have to delete them and re-rip them (and stay away from normalizing) if I want to complete the burn. Arrgh...

chainsaw1

dinojazz wrote:

I'm pretty sure the problem occurs whether or not I'm burning mp3's, FLAC or CDa's. Or a combination there of. If I highlight all the tracks to be burned and then press the normalize volume tab I get an error message that says something about not having the "codecs". After that, all files to be burned are corrupt and I have to delete them and re-rip them (and stay away from normalizing) if I want to complete the burn. Arrgh...

Adding and Removing Files

To add your audio files to the CD click the "Add File" or "Add Folder" button or go to the menu item File -> Add. A Browse window will open and from here you can locate, view and select the following types of audio file formats:

.WAV .MP3 .OGG .WMA .AIF .AIFF .AU .RA .RAM

.FLAC .GSM .AAC .VOX .RAW .SND .DSS .DCT

Some of these formats will automatically download a plugin to decode the selected format. If an internet connection is not available they can be downloaded separately from the NCH website and then installed on the PC in question. Additionally some formats need to be decoded to be added and on slower computers this can take a minute or two.

Many other format can also be handled but they require the installation of directshow codecs. Many come preinstalled with Windows so please try loading the file. You may need to select 'All Files' to see the particular file.

The minimum length of an audio track is 4 seconds so any files shorter than that will be padded with silence to a length of 4 seconds. There is also a mandatory gap between tracks so some media players will list any track as 2 seconds longer than their actual length. This means any padded track will be listed with a length of 6 seconds. The mandatory gap can be overridden when you burn the disc by choosing a different track pause. Please see the burn settingd dialogue for more details.

Any files not of these formats will be ignored by Express Burn when creating an Audio CD. You will need to create a Data CD for any other types.

dinojazz

chainsaw1 wrote:

Adding and Removing Files

To add your audio files to the CD click the "Add File" or "Add Folder" button or go to the menu item File -> Add. A Browse window will open and from here you can locate, view and select the following types of audio file formats:

.WAV .MP3 .OGG .WMA .AIF .AIFF .AU .RA .RAM

.FLAC .GSM .AAC .VOX .RAW .SND .DSS .DCT

Some of these formats will automatically download a plugin to decode the selected format. If an internet connection is not available they can be downloaded separately from the NCH website and then installed on the PC in question. Additionally some formats need to be decoded to be added and on slower computers this can take a minute or two.

Many other format can also be handled but they require the installation of directshow codecs. Many come preinstalled with Windows so please try loading the file. You may need to select 'All Files' to see the particular file.

The minimum length of an audio track is 4 seconds so any files shorter than that will be padded with silence to a length of 4 seconds. There is also a mandatory gap between tracks so some media players will list any track as 2 seconds longer than their actual length. This means any padded track will be listed with a length of 6 seconds. The mandatory gap can be overridden when you burn the disc by choosing a different track pause. Please see the burn settingd dialogue for more details.

Any files not of these formats will be ignored by Express Burn when creating an Audio CD. You will need to create a Data CD for any other types.

dinojazz

Chainsaw, I appreciate your quick reply and help but I'm not sure if it's applicable (my overall understanding of all things computer is rather limited but...) Some files that I can't play on Windows Media for eg. I can "Add" to be burned and Express + Burn immediately decodes them. So, no problem there. As you listed, numerous formats are accepted by Express Burn + and immediately decoded and so it tells me. When adding a file, it first says it's decoding it (if it has to) and then says it's normalizing volume. (Not sure what it's doing there as the end result is still different volume levels over the tracks/files I burned.) However, in trying to outsmart the little devil, I have occasionally highlighted all the tracks, then pressed the Normalize Volume - THEN, and only then, do I get the codec error message.

chainsaw1

dinojazz wrote:

Chainsaw, I appreciate your quick reply and help but I'm not sure if it's applicable (my overall understanding of all things computer is rather limited but...) Some files that I can't play on Windows Media for eg. I can "Add" to be burned and Express + Burn immediately decodes them. So, no problem there. As you listed, numerous formats are accepted by Express Burn + and immediately decoded and so it tells me. When adding a file, it first says it's decoding it (if it has to) and then says it's normalizing volume. (Not sure what it's doing there as the end result is still different volume levels over the tracks/files I burned.) However, in trying to outsmart the little devil, I have occasionally highlighted all the tracks, then pressed the Normalize Volume - THEN, and only then, do I get the codec error message.

Express burn

Have you check in the HELP—Help contents files?

This is one of them--

If you are playing or converting files with file extension .vox or .raw, these files will require some additional information in order for them to be read first. The Decoder Settings dialog box is where the prompting for information occurs, and it will appear after the Play or Convert buttons have been selected. The dialog box requires input in the following areas:

Format

Choose the data format of the file from the drop-down list.

Sample

Choose the sampling rate of the file from the drop-down list, or type in your own value.

Channels

Choose the number of channels encoded into the file from the drop-down list.

It is important that the selected settings best reflect the internal structure of the file, otherwise the played or converted file may not sound as expected. If you are unsure what settings to use, either use the default settings or feel free to experiment with various combinations. Note that when converting multiple files of type .vox or .raw, you will only be prompted for information on the first file; subsequent files will re-use the settings you specify.