Does Mp3 or m4a processing affect my music?

It's taken a while to put this article together! However we've compiled a practical demonstration of what "data compression" does to your music. 

In this article we've compared two of the most popular formats "Mp3" and "m4a" with a WAV file extracted from a CD.

Read the full article with audio examples here:   

We think most people will be surprised by the impact of some of the processing & hopefully this demonstration goes some way to giving you an explanation why we insist on the best quality masters you can provide for your CD projects.

What is a DDP image and what is it used for?

We have many clients that ask if we accept "DDP images" for their CD audio work as they have been provided a CD master in that format by the studio or mastering house. The answer is yes we do, however we always recommend that they have a CD Master or Reference copy to verify and approve the CD content before production takes place. A cd audio copy is really the only way to verify the audio, track markers and gaps that make up the CD that your customers will hear. Mp3s, Wav files, Aiffs etc are not what the customer is going to hear so they are not an accurate representation of the final product.

In many ways a DDP image is a more reliable format for a CD master for replication work as it is a data version of the master rather than strictly audio (or red book master). and the major benefit of a DDP is that should be accompanied by an error verification file called a "Checksum",  this file is used to verify the integrity of the data that is contained on the master.

The disadvantage of a DDP file is that for smaller run duplication work that is normally done from a CD audio master there would be a conversion fee to make the master that is required for that type of work and a reference copy would be produced for the client to approve before production commenced. This may also delay the turnaround time of a project. 

DDP images are also a great way to send masters for replication as they can be uploaded to an FTP server with the knowledge that the content can be verified as accurate by the glass mastering engineer at the plant.

So in summary we can now:

Download DDP images from FTP servers and verify the content

Produce CD Masters and Reference copies for client approval from DDP Image Files.

Manipulate CD Masters or DDP Images to add CD text alter gap length or the track order, and

Create & Upload DDP Images for bulk replication created in the SonicLab or provided on CD Audio Masters.  

If you have a CD audio project coming up soon where you require multiple copies give us a call to determine the recommended format for your master on 1300 4 PROCOPY or 08 9375 3902.

Video Faq files launched at ProCopy

To help you choose packaging and printing options for your next CD, DVD or USB project we are launching a series of videos describing some of the many options available at ProCopy

Lyndsey and Peter will show you various packaging options for CDs and DVDs, various printed booklet options and digpack style cd and dvd boxes.

Mark and Steve will show you the CD mastering pack and some of the facilities available in the video editing suite, - Including high grade slide scanning, video conversions and film transfers to DVD and our video editing and filming options. 

Bookmark our pages so that you keep up with the latest products available, or call us on 1300 4 PROCOPY to talk with us directly.

ProCopy How to Video Facts - Lyndsey describes the variety of CD packaging options available for your next CD project 

Getting the best out of your CD or DvD Masters

Over the years there has been a vast amount of change in the production of CD or DVD masters and manufacture of bulk discs, with the tendency now to do as much "inhouse" as possible there is a musch wider variation in the quality of CD or DVD Production Masters that we receive.

At ProCopy we find that some of these masters unfortunately have to be rejected and others can be "fixed" in house prior to the manufacture process. However this will result in additional costs.

We can now provide you with our CD or DVD Mastering Packs so that you can provide us with ready to go copies of your CD Audio, CD Rom or DVD Video content.

If you'd like to know more about what each pack contains you can view the details here:

view the ProCopy CD Mastering Pack here, or

view the ProCopy DVD Mastering Pack here,

You can then ask for a pack us via our contacts page.

We are sure that you will be more happy with your Bulk replicated CDs and DVDs that we produce for you once you gone through our handy guides.

There's also plenty of other information contained within our "CD Basics" and "DVD Basics" pages

 For more information call us on 1300 4 PROCOPY or email via our Contacts Page