Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer -Sound Forge - PC

Subject:Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer Posted by: Tollkuhnator Date:12/1/2007 7:45:18 PM I'm a Vegas Movie Studio user with a question that is more pertinent to this forum. I am capturing vinyl LPs into a music track of VMS through a Tapco Link.USB device at 48kHz x 16 bits. I set the levels and made sure there was no clipping (i.e., peaks did not exceed 0dB on the track). A little-promoted feature of version 8 of the platinum edition of VMS is the ability to write track-at-once CDs. After burning I listened to the recording on a cheap $20 clamshell CD player, and it sounded great. The CD also imported perfectly into iTunes, which found the artist, album, and tracks for this forty-year-old recording. (Mysterious!) However, when I played this same CD on a 1990-vintage Sony CD player or on a recent Philips DVD player, there was some serious clipping distortion. My workaround was to decrease the track level by 6dB before burning, but why does the disc play fine on a computer or a cheap player but distorts on a DVD or older CD player?
Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer Reply by: Geoff_Wood Date:12/3/2007 12:31:52 AM One can only assume the players are faulty. Rip a track back into VMS and see if is clipped. If so, then you must be writing with some 'gain' active. Also, better to write Disc-At-Once if available. Truly miraculous the CD was identified by the CDDB, because it works on track length, and you are arbitralily setting a track length from the program material ! geoff
Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on c Reply by: Tollkuhnator Date:12/3/2007 11:51:24 AM Thanks, Geoff. I'll just dial the levels down a bit. I said "track-at-once" in my original post, but the disc in question was burned "disc-at-once." Red Book compliant burning was added to version 8 of Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition.
Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer Reply by: Geoff_Wood Date:12/4/2007 2:16:36 PM Did you try extracting a track to see if it is in fact distorted ? geoff
Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer Reply by: Geoff_Wood Date:12/4/2007 2:17:45 PM Did you try extracting a track to see if it is in fact distorted ? geoff
Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on c Reply by: Tollkuhnator Date:12/4/2007 7:03:13 PM I extracted the CD track onto a new Vegas Movie Studio track, and it played OK off the timeline. The levels just tickled 0 dB, just as it was captured. I also played the CD track directly with Windows Media Player. This also sounded OK. I think, It's something about the elderly Sony CD player. On further reflection I've had some commercially produced CDs distort on the Philips DVD player as well. I think I'll be OK with this as long as I either cut the levels on capture or on the render for CD. Thanks for the suggestions.

Subject:Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer

Posted by: Tollkuhnator

Date:12/1/2007 7:45:18 PM

I'm a Vegas Movie Studio user with a question that is more pertinent to this forum. I am capturing vinyl LPs into a music track of VMS through a Tapco Link.USB device at 48kHz x 16 bits. I set the levels and made sure there was no clipping (i.e., peaks did not exceed 0dB on the track). A little-promoted feature of version 8 of the platinum edition of VMS is the ability to write track-at-once CDs. After burning I listened to the recording on a cheap $20 clamshell CD player, and it sounded great. The CD also imported perfectly into iTunes, which found the artist, album, and tracks for this forty-year-old recording. (Mysterious!)

However, when I played this same CD on a 1990-vintage Sony CD player or on a recent Philips DVD player, there was some serious clipping distortion. My workaround was to decrease the track level by 6dB before burning, but why does the disc play fine on a computer or a cheap player but distorts on a DVD or older CD player?

Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:12/3/2007 12:31:52 AM

One can only assume the players are faulty. Rip a track back into VMS and see if is clipped. If so, then you must be writing with some 'gain' active. Also, better to write Disc-At-Once if available.

Truly miraculous the CD was identified by the CDDB, because it works on track length, and you are arbitralily setting a track length from the program material !

geoff

Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on c

Reply by: Tollkuhnator

Date:12/3/2007 11:51:24 AM

Thanks, Geoff. I'll just dial the levels down a bit. I said "track-at-once" in my original post, but the disc in question was burned "disc-at-once." Red Book compliant burning was added to version 8 of Vegas Movie Studio Platinum Edition.

Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:12/4/2007 2:16:36 PM

Did you try extracting a track to see if it is in fact distorted ?

geoff

Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on computer

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:12/4/2007 2:17:45 PM

Did you try extracting a track to see if it is in fact distorted ?

geoff

Subject:RE: Clipping distortion on CD player, OK on c

Reply by: Tollkuhnator

Date:12/4/2007 7:03:13 PM

I extracted the CD track onto a new Vegas Movie Studio track, and it played OK off the timeline. The levels just tickled 0 dB, just as it was captured. I also played the CD track directly with Windows Media Player. This also sounded OK. I think, It's something about the elderly Sony CD player. On further reflection I've had some commercially produced CDs distort on the Philips DVD player as well. I think I'll be OK with this as long as I either cut the levels on capture or on the render for CD. Thanks for the suggestions.