iTunes: Get Converted

Our favorite way to rip, upload, and convert music or Sound Effects from stock music CDs is to use iTunes. We all know music CDs are recorded at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. After Effects and most digital formats love to work at a sampling rate of 48kHz. Yes, you can use the lower rate, but your preview times will be slower.

Here's all you need to do.

1. Open iTunes, which is available for both Mac and PC for free.

2. Open Preferences under the Edit menu.

3. Click on the importing icon on the toolbar.

4. Under Import, select AIFF or WAV encoder.

   1. Under setting: select Custom.

   2. When another dialog box opens, select a sample rate of 48.000 kHz. Click OK, and OK again.

5. Now click on the advanced icon on the menu bar.

   1. Under iTunes Music Folder, change location to target your desktop. (This will make it real easy to find and move your newly ripped tracks.)

   2. Pop in your CD. If you're connected to the Internet, iTunes will go to the CDDB and grab the album name and track names . (Yes, it seem as if most of our library music is listed in the CDDB.) This is great because most of the work is done. Create a Play List of all the tracks you want to rip.

   3. Click import, and you are done!

Once you have set up your preferences, just "rip and roll" every time you need to grab a music cut. Fast, easy, elegant, and of course, cool.