Big CD boxes. How do YOU keep track of their contents?

[Richard Barrett]

I used to keep a catalogue but I don't any more. When I saw the thread title, though, I thought it was referring to the CDs themselves. I took the Trevor Pinnock box of Mozart symphonies on a long trip in a rented car, remembered to take the box back when I returned the car and only weeks later discovered that I'd left the last disc (with nos. 40 and 41) in the car's CD player. Well, I hope whoever got it next enjoyed it. If I'd left this behind I might have caused an accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmi2EVb7kQU

[ahinton]

I used to keep a catalogue but I don't any more. When I saw the thread title, though, I thought it was referring to the CDs themselves. I took the Trevor Pinnock box of Mozart symphonies on a long trip in a rented car, remembered to take the box back when I returned the car and only weeks later discovered that I'd left the last disc (with nos. 40 and 41) in the car's CD player. Well, I hope whoever got it next enjoyed it. If I'd left this behind I might have caused an accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmi2EVb7kQU

Quite; never a great idea to try to swat an insect, however irritating, while driving...

[Dave2002]

Scanning the barcode is easy and all the works on a set of CDs are provided - though I usually tidy up the form in which they appear.

I hope this will be helpful to Dave2002.

I found I could download and run a trial version.

I also discovered I could type in the number associated with the barcode, and that would run the search. I tried on the 11CD box of Malcolm Arnold works which has bar code (UPC) 888751817029, and indeed it did find and list the contents. Further investigation found the Tracks heading, which identifies the tracks on each CD, though one failing seems to be that it doesn't identify the actual number of each CD in the box. That could be a problem with some 50 or even 80 to 100+ CD boxes.

This does seem to be a cataloguing tool - can it also be linked to a player so that ripped tracks can be played directly?

Certainly does seem to be potentially useful.

One thing I couldn't figure, or at least it didn't work as far as I could see on my MBP, is the iSight feature, which puts up a black screen with a red rounded off rectangle. That presumably is for scanning barcodes. I tried putting CDs in front of the camera on my computer, but with no effect. Is there a software manual which would explain this?

[Stunsworth]

I ripped everything to a hard drive and can now find anything in seconds in Audirvana or iTunes. The ripping process was a pain (there were around 3,000 CDs to be ripped) but I did it in batches feeding the CDs into the computer drive while I was doing something else.

The classical CDs had the biggest issues with metadata that had to be manually corrected, but provided they contain details of the composer, artists, and work etc. a search will find what I'm looking for.

[Dave2002]

I ripped everything to a hard drive and can now find anything in seconds in Audirvana or iTunes. The ripping process was a pain (there were around 3,000 CDs to be ripped) but I did it in batches feeding the CDs into the computer drive while I was doing something else.

The classical CDs had the biggest issues with metadata that had to be manually corrected, but provided they contain details of the composer, artists, and work etc. a search will find what I'm looking for.

I must have done 1000 or more in bygone years, and like you I found I could rip the CDs while doing something else. I think I got it down to about 2 mins per CD, so 30 per hour. Correcting/editing the metadata can take a while, and it's helfpul to find fields which can be copied from one track to the next, or globally across all the tracks. Unfortunately some CDs manage to break up the flow (e.g one different artist in one track) so some care has to be taken.

[VodkaDilc]

One thing I couldn't figure, or at least it didn't work as far as I could see on my MBP, is the iSight feature, which puts up a black screen with a red rounded off rectangle. That presumably is for scanning barcodes. I tried putting CDs in front of the camera on my computer, but with no effect. Is there a software manual which would explain this?

I'm surprised at the black screen you mention. When I use that feature, also on a MBP, the screen appears with the top of my head and the wall behind showing. Then, if you get the barcode within the red rectangle and get it closer, the red turns to green and the details of the CD show up. Is your ISight camera adjusted properly for normal use?

I can't comment on the ripping features - this is way outside my experience. I do recommend a quick email to Nora or Conor at CDPedia if you have any questions.

Another point of interest: I have just found an email from Mark Sealey, dated June 2008. His enthusiasm for CDPedia set me on the right track.

One thing which I do which would probably meet with scorn from anyone under 60 is to print off the whole list of CDs and keep the sheets in an A4 binder near my shelves of discs. This nicely avoids having bright computer screens in my listening room.

[Dave2002]

There is another app program - Pocketpedia3 which is a companion to CDPedia which works on iOS devices including newish iPads. It doesn't appear to be fully stand alone, but if a collection is started on a Mac then it can be synced from an iPad. It does work - I tested it with the trial version I downloaded to my MBP. I was hoping I could use the iPad to scan the CD bar codes, as at the moment the camera on my MBP does not seem to function with the CDPedia program. I wondered if something had changed in settings - but I can't find out what that would be. Normally I'd be very happy to have the camera completely disabled, so maybe I disabled it, but now I can't see how I could get it back on again.

[pastoralguy]

Going through my Hyperion Box set of Angela Hewitt' Bach box set, I came across a 'bonus cd' entitled NOT BACH!

It's basically a freeby but does contain a complete performance of Beethoven's 'Pathétique' Sonata. A lovely little bonus.

[ardcarp]

Answering the OP, I've no idea, but the complete Argo box set of St John's College Cambridge has just arrived. I shall probably just 'dip and play' from the 42 CDs, and as long as they go back in the same box, I shall not worry too much.

Like the sound of your Hyperion Angela Hewitt Bach, pastorg.

[pastoralguy]

Like the sound of your Hyperion Angela Hewitt Bach, pastorg.

The complete box set is quite amazing, ardcarp. Very fine playing. (And signed by the lady herself!)

I got her most recent Goldbergs and they are exceptional.