Using iTunes to Burn CDs or DVDs


iTunes enables you to burn your own CDs and DVDs. iTunes supports several formats, including the following:

  • Audio CD This format will play in almost all standard CD players, such as boom boxes, car stereos, and so on. The downside of this format is that you won't be able to fit a lot of music on a single CD.

  • MP3 CD This format places MP3 versions on a CD. That's good because you can fit more music on a single CD. Because many audio devices now support MP3 CD playback, you can listen to the MP3 CDs you create in many different ways.

  • Data CD or DVD You use this format to create data discs that are meant to be accessed with a computer. This is a good format to use when you want to move music from one computer to another. An even better use is to back up your music.

NOTE

It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: Your Mac has to have a CD or DVD burner to be able to burn discs.


Configuring iTunes to Burn a Disc

Before you can burn a disc, you need to configure iTunes for the burning work you have in mind:

1.

Open the iTunes Preferences dialog box and click the Burning icon. The Burning preferences pane will appear (see Figure 18.27).

Figure 18.27. Use the Burning pane of the iTunes Preferences window to configure a burn session.


2.

Ensure that the drive on which you will burn the disc appears next to the CD Burner text at the top of the Burning pane; this means iTunes recognizes and can burn to the device. If you have more than one burner available, select the one you want to use on the CD Burner pop-up menu.

If iTunes does not recognize that you have a supported drive, see "iTunes Can't Find My Burner" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.


3.

Use the Preferred Speed pop-up menu to set the burn speed. Try Maximum Possible to get the fastest burns. If recording doesn't work properly, reduce the speed. A safe recording speed is 2x. Unless you are in a tremendous hurry to get a CD done, this will probably be plenty fast for you.

4.

To record an audio CD that will be compatible with standard audio CD players, click the Audio CD radio button and set the amount of quiet time between tracks on the CD by using the Gap Between Songs pop-up menu. You can choose from no gap to a gap of 5 seconds. If you want iTunes to use Sound Check when it burns the disc, check the Sound Check check box; iTunes will attempt to set the relative volume of each song you burn to the same level.

5.

To record an MP3 CD, click the MP3 CD radio button. CDs recorded in this format play only on devices that support the MP3 format.

6.

To record the song files on a data disc that can be used in a computer, click the Data CD or DVD radio button. These discs are typically limited to playback on computers; putting tunes on a DVD is a great way to back up your music.

NOTE

If your Mac doesn't have a DVD-R drive, the radio button will be labeled Data CD.

7.

Click OK.

Each time you burn a CD or DVD, it is burned in the selected format. If you want to change the format of a disc, just use the previous steps to select a different format.

TIP

You should back up any music you purchase from the iTunes Music Store. You can use the Purchased Music playlist to do this. Or, create a smart playlist containing songs you have added recently and burn that to disc.


Using iTunes to Burn a Disc

After you have configured your burning preferences, you are ready to burn a disc:

1.

Create the playlist you want to put on disc. If you are creating a disc to which you will listen, make sure the songs are in the order in which you want to listen to them. Also be sure that the playlist contains fewer minutes of music than your media is rated forselect the playlist and look at the bottom of the iTunes window. Compare the size of the playlist to the capacity of the media you are using.

NOTE

If the playlist is too large to fit on a single disc, iTunes will burn it across multiple discs. It will prompt you to insert a new disc each time it fills one up.

2.

Select the playlist you want to place on disc.

3.

Click the Burn Disc action button; you will be prompted to insert a blank disc.

4.

Insert the blank disc and close the drive (unless you have a slot-loading drive, in which case this isn't necessary). In a moment, the Burn Disc button is in color and starts pulsing to indicate that it is ready to burn. iTunes checks to ensure that everything is ready to go. When these checks are complete, you are prompted to click the Burn Disc button.

5.

Click the Burn Disc button again to burn the disc.

CAUTION

Use CD-R discs for audio CDs you create rather than CD-RW discs, especially if you will be using the CDs you create in noncomputer CD players. If you create an audio CD using a CD-RW disc, you probably won't be able to play it using any CD player except the one on which you created it (which wouldn't be very useful).


When iTunes records your playlist to a disc, it first translates the music into the format you selected. This process takes several minutes to complete. Watch the Information window for progress and status messages. When it is done, iTunes begins burning the disc.

CAUTION

The spinning Burn Disc icon gives you a clue as to how fast data is being transferred to the recorder. The faster the icon spins, the higher the data transfer rate is being achieved. If the icon slows considerably or stops altogether, you might experience errors because data isn't flowing fast enough to keep the burning process fed properly. If this happens, quit all applications that might be accessing any disks on your Mac and make sure that you aren't playing any music in iTunes. This ensures that the maximum amount of system resources is available for the burning process. You can also lower the burn speed to reduce the data flow requirementsdoing so often alleviates this problem.


Depending on the speed at which your recorder works and the amount of data to record, this process can take only a couple of minutes or quite a while. When it is complete, iTunes plays a sound to indicate that the process is done. The disc you created is mounted on your Mac and is selected as the current source.

If iTunes stops the process before it is complete, see "iTunes Stops Recording Before the Process Is Complete" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.

If the CD you create can't be read on standard CD players, such as those in your car, see "The CDs I Make Won't Play in My Noncomputer CD Player" in the "Troubleshooting" section at the end of this chapter.


Printing Jewel Box Labels

With iTunes, you can print jewel case covers for the discs you burn. The application includes several default layouts, some of which use artwork associated with your music. To print a cover, perform the following steps:

NOTE

Unfortunately, iTunes doesn't print to disc labels. Hopefully, though, the capability will be included in a future version.


1.

Select the playlist for which you want to print a cover.

2.

Select File, Print or press -P. The Print dialog box will appear (see Figure 18.28).

Figure 18.28. Using the iTunes Print dialog box, you can print jewel case covers for discs you burn.


3.

Choose what you want to print using the radio buttons. The options are "CD jewel case insert," "Song listing," and "Album listing."

4.

Use the Theme pop-up menu to choose the layout you want to use. The options on this menu depend on what you are printing. If you are printing an insert, you can choose from various arrangements of song lists and album art.

TIP

If you choose a theme that includes the Mosaic option, iTunes will create a mosaic of the artwork associated with the songs in the playlist. When you have a lot of different art in the same playlist, this can get very interesting.

5.

Use the Page Setup and Print buttons to configure and print the insert, song listing, or album listing.



Special Edition Using MAC OS X Tiger
Special Edition Using Mac OS X Tiger
ISBN: 0789733919
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 317
Authors: Brad Miser

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