Software for playing CD's?

[WNTIRadio]

Never had an issue with CD-R's in the 961. Similar situation as yours, where there was a LOT of material on those discs. The biggest problem we had with CD-R was when they would start to fade out after a few years.

The blank media is cheap enough that you can copy the copy and at least have a fresh disc.

 

[Fenris]

I understand all of this may have changed in the last 10-12 years

Yes, it's changed drastically. Current models are basically unusable for broadcast. CD players have become a niche market and I suspect that all the manufacturers are using the same Chinese OEM parts inside.

 

[chriscollins]

You are correct... No true quality transports out there. Same case on DVD now.

 

[Brian Bowers]

I wonder what has changed in the Stanton C.402 player? I know of two stations (different locations and owners) that each have 3 of these players in their studios, and none of the players has the snap at the end of the track like you mentioned. It's a shame, because they need only a simple momentary closure to start and pause, have balanced outputs, and track perfectly through the most scuffed up discs. They also play CD-R's without any problem too. How about trying some of the other DJ model players, and using a Henry Matchbox to get to pro-level and balanced outs? Even though CD players are not as common these days as they used to be, I'm having a hard time believing there isn't a CD player out there for your application. Tons of clubs and DJs still buy them and use them. BTW, SONY makes a $50 (usually on sale for $30) DVD/CD player with the latest D-A converters. Unfortunately, I'm sure it doesn't have all of the bells and whistles that we are used to needing and using in the studio for count down/up times, program play, etc, etc.

 

[Chuck]

I understand all of this may have changed in the last 10-12 years

Yes, it's changed drastically. Current models are basically unusable for broadcast. CD players have become a niche market and I suspect that all the manufacturers are using the same Chinese OEM parts inside.

I doubt it has changed that much. The Stanton players at the church I mentioned are only a couple of years old and are still a current model. So far, I haven't experienced any problems, and definitely no clicks at the end of a track. As for China, except for some early high end players that came from Japan, they have been made there forever. That includes some transports with famous famous Japanese brands names slapped on the front of them. China is also where most of the CD transports for computers come from.

My point is, you are probably not going to notice an big improvement by using a computer as your CD transport. It is the same cheap (and fragile) transport. Unless you are willing to put at least some of your library on a hard drive, I predict you will continue to have problems. Since $150-200 will buy a CD player, my suggestion would be to install at least three transports in your control room, so when one craps out, you still can continue with normal programming. Also buy a couple of transports to keep in back stock so you can quickly replace a defective one. Today's reality is they are so cheap, they are simply disposable items, just like the light bulbs on your tower.

 

[Robert Bass]

Even with 50,000 CD's. there really is no reason to put off moving to hard-drive based playback. Years ago I ran three 300 disc mega jukeboxes from aPC program called Wintrax. It might still be available, but you'll have to make your own LPT1 controller cable for it. Like many others, I've since moved to hard-drive playback. I have a 500 GB file server that presently stores almost 20,000 tracks of uncompressed .wav files. I use a program called OtsAV DJ to handle the playback. You can hear it in action on my net station at Live365. Visit www.live365.com/stations/robertbass?play to listen. OtsAV "can" also play a song direct from the CD-ROM drive, and I have been known to do this when needed.

R

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Years ago I ran three 300 disc mega jukeboxes from aPC program called Wintrax. It might still be available, but you'll have to make your own LPT1 controller cable for it.

Not familiar with "300 disc mega jukeboxes"... from the context... I assume you are talking about a device that will hold 300 CDs? I remember 10 or 15 years ago seeing in a few restaurants a device something like that. The guts of a juke box. No neon lights, no ascending bubbles in little tubes of water.

The thought of putting 50,000 CDs onto hard drive(s) does sound like a job that would take TWO lifetimes... if you do it like so many of us who may have nothing more that 30 to 50 of our favorite songs on hard drive- - - just rip them using the PCs CD drive. But 50,000?

But if I could load 300 CDs into a jukebox, hook it up to the PC, pat it on the head and say "do yore thing, Pancho" then the task might be imagineable. Will something like the "300 disc mega jukebox" provide a digital out? Wouldn't want to take an analog signal and turn it back to digital.

 

[chriscollins]

There are also plenty of ripping services out there. Send them 300 CD's at a time and get a library tagged, etc... In the format of your choice.

 

[awsherrill]

Given that the OP's station is "free form", which implies an ever-changing array of music from various sources (including maybe home-grown stuff that the DJs drag in from outside), it does not sound like ripping this content into the playout system is going to be practical. Doing that would be a never-ending task, and a lot of it might get played a few times and never see the light of day again.

I would agree that the throw-away CD players are the best option for what they are doing. Unfortunately that does not solve the problem of finding a throw-away player that actually works.

 

[Robert Bass]

Years ago I ran three 300 disc mega jukeboxes from aPC program called Wintrax. It might still be available, but you'll have to make your own LPT1 controller cable for it.

Not familiar with "300 disc mega jukeboxes"... from the context... I assume you are talking about a device that will hold 300 CDs?

Yes... The Pioneer PD-F1007. I don't remember if it had a digital output. I had three of them for a total of 900 disc capacity...

R

 

[Fenris]

I wonder what has changed in the Stanton C.402 player? I know of two stations (different locations and owners) that each have 3 of these players in their studios, and none of the players has the snap at the end of the track like you mentioned. It's a shame, because they need only a simple momentary closure to start and pause

Actually ... they're very sensitive to switch bounce because of the combined play/pause button. They work with membrane switches but not old-style mechanical switches. I had to build a 555 circuit to get foolproof triggering. Details here. http://radiodiscussions.com/smf/index.php?topic=220228.msg2004129#msg2004129

Other than the "snap," I liked the players and it's a shame they didn't work out.

I would agree that the throw-away CD players are the best option for what they are doing. Unfortunately that does not solve the problem of finding a throw-away player that actually works.

Bingo!

I'm going to try a Tascam CD-200SB for $400. I think it just came out. If that fails, I think the refurbished 961's will do the job.

 

[ChiefOperator]

Many of my stations successfully use the Tascam, Denon, and Numark players. I replace the transports usually. I've also used the Stanton C402 & C502 without any major issues.

Here are the models used. All are relatively inexpensive and disposable.

Numark:
http://www.numark.com/product/mp102

Denon:
http://usa.d-mpro.com/us/denon/Prod...dPlayback&SubCatId=CDPlayers&ProductId=DNC615

Tascam:
http://tascam.com/product/cd-200/

For the unbalanced models, a Henry Eng. interface is used.

Tascam has released a newer "broadcast" model that you might want to look at: CD-6010. I have no experience with it.

Fenris-
The Tascam CD-200()B is a more advanced model than the CD-200 and probably more features than you need (more features than the hosts can handle successfully and more complaints to you). You can also look for the CD-160(MKII), which is the earlier model. Discontinued but still available at places.

 

[Fieldtech1]

Technically these are consumer units, but they are what we use with great results for a classic country saturday night show. They have xlr / aes out and can be triggered from cue by our board.

http://shop.emotiva.com/products/erc2

 

[Fenris]

Analog Devices DAC and discrete output. I like it. I'm curious about how they handled the output muting during seek, most players use a cheap transistor relay that degrades the sound. I'm not wild about the slot loading mechanism, then again I'm not wild about the design of tray mechanisms or jewel boxes.

 

[WNTIRadio]

Stay away from slot loading anything for a 24/7 on-air studio.

 

[ChiefOperator]

Stay away from slot loading anything for a 24/7 on-air studio.

Ditto! I've had nothing but problems with them.

 

[dumber than a box of hair]

We don't have the man-hours to catalogue them all, let alone transfer them all to hard drive, even at 48x speed.

You're missing the point. Transferring the tracks to hard-drive is done only once and is never done again. It's labor-intensive for only a very short period of time, after which you never worry about either CD's or CD players. You keep one or two players around for transfers of newer material, but they will last almost forever because they're not being banged about day-by-day by your air staff.

Automation PC's, when properly built, can last for over a decade and are cheaply replaced when needed. Pro-grade CD players are on their way to becoming obsolete.

 

[esimna]

At our station, we have been moving to digital playback. We're a freeform college radio station with 2 hour block format shows. Every show picks their own music. Most DJ's have their own libraries and its about 60/40 computer/cd now. For personal libraries, we have a separate computer with Winamp installed, as well as iTunes, and another product called SoundByte.

For the station CD library, we started off by sending about 10,000 disc out to a service to be ripped. Pickled Productions out of Chicago was the company. After that, we purchased a CD robot and have been using DbPowerAmp for ripping. I've easily ripped another 10,000 CDs with that.

This brings me to playback. We decided to go with FLAC audio files for the LOSSLESS compression. Try finding a playback product that has 3 decks that will play FLAC.... they don't exist, or so we could find. A computer science student who was a station staffer at the time took up the challenge to write a program. It works well, for what we do, but lacks individual channels and control. If enough people were interested, I might be able to drag him out of his cave to start working on it again.

The initial blow-back from staff was pretty harsh. But once they realized that the station library being digital meant that they could actually find the music, and they didn't have to spend hours searching(or carrying a giant case), they've embraced it.

Moral of the story... yes, ripping that large library sucks. But you're going to have to do it eventually. PM me if you'd like more information.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

You're missing the point. Transferring the tracks to hard-drive is done only once and is never done again. It's labor-intensive for only a very short period of time, after which you never worry about either CD's or CD players.

Go back and re-read the early part of the thread. I think are some kind of eclectic programming operation that may possess some tracks they might play once every nine years. It might take one person and entire working career to rip to hard drive the number of discs he mentioned. Some of those tracks might be played 3 times in 20 years? He's just looking for strong, dependable drives and software to interface with what may be drives with some kind of crotchety technical personality. ;D

 

[Robert Bass]

This brings back memories of stories about stations that wanted to keep carting their music when CD's became the norm. ;D

The fact is, technology changes. Either change with it, or die. I'm sure it won't be long before CD players are scarce. If you don't have the man hours to rip 50,000 CD's, then pay someone to do it for you. It's not that hard, really...

R