# Audio CD does not play in a CD Player



## maikuchanca (Nov 29, 2007)

Sorry for probably beating this subject to the pulp. I did a search and read some replies but my understanding of the problem has not been enlightened.

Here is the basic problem...

I have MP3 songs in my iTunes library and wanted to burn an Audio CD that will play in any CD Player.

The Burn preferences were set to Audio CD and I created one. The resulting CD plays in my car and DVD player ( both coincidentally MP3 capable) but does not play in my wife's car (the CD is for her) nor in our other CD player. I read something about AIFF files. Do I need to somehow convert the MP3 files to AIFF and then burn the CD.

Help would be greatly appreciated.

The media I used was Maxell CD-RW

Thanks in advance


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## zarquon (May 24, 2005)

If you're using CD-RW media, it might just be that her CD player doesn't support the Re-Writable media, and nothing to do with the tracks being originally mp3s or the iTunes burn.

That would be my bet.

Z.


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## maikuchanca (Nov 29, 2007)

Thanks, I will try that next. Unfortunately it will have to wait for tomorrow as I don't have any CD-Rs.


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## Orion (Apr 16, 2004)

Another issue can be the speed at which the burn is done. Some CD players can handle CDRs burned at 16x/32x/etc. Some will miss anything burned above 4x. Depends on the make and age. Kinda hit and miss really.


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## EvanPitts (Mar 9, 2007)

maikuchanca said:


> I read something about AIFF files. Do I need to somehow convert the MP3 files to AIFF and then burn the CD... The media I used was Maxell CD-RW


Audio CDs need to be in AIFF format only. iTunes can convert MP3 to AIFF, it is built in. I never bother with the whole MP3 thing because MP3s are not a standard, while AIFF is the native format of CDs. MP3's are compressed using a variety of strategies while AIFF is entirely uncompressed. Most players can not handle MP3s while all players handle AIFFs.

CD's have their design limits, so try to keep disks to less than 75 minutes in length; less than 640 MB of AIFF files (this can be pushed to almost 700 MB and remain compatible with many players, but your milage may vary); and less than 50 tracks (many CD players can not handle tracks 50-99, not many of them will allow more than 99).

You are also using the wrong media. CD-RW is less reflective than the usual CD surface, so many players will not be able to read the disks. You will have much better luck with CD-R media, as it is three times more reflective than CD-RW; but still less reflective than a regular CD. For the best and most consistent results, use a good quality CD-R. Maxell are good (stay away from the black or other funky coloured ones, regular kinds are most compatible), Fuji (they are hard to find these days, at least the good ones I used to use) and Memorex are the ones I have had success with. Stay away from the temptation to buy the huge plastic wrapped no-name CD media from China. They are both cheap and nasty. Higher quality media can be had inexpensively, even in spindles. If it looks like too good of a price - it probably is.

Some early players will still refuse to read burnt disks. In this case, try using Sony Audio CD disks, which are more expensive but work on practically evey player that I have run across. They even work in Ford supplied players from the mid 90's, which are quite picky about such media.

If you choose to burn an Audio DVD, you will also have best results if you use the AIFF format on standard DVD-R disks. DVD+R may be "improved" in some technical respects, but as it is not a standard, they will fail to read properly in at least 30% of players.

Also, do not "maximize" burn speed. If you can, burn at single or double speed only. iTunes kind of does it on it's own, and I have excellent results when it defaults to 2.4 times speed. Faster speeds make disks that are more incompatible with many CD players. Also, try not to run heavy duty software while burning an Audio CD. If you beach ball the system while burning, you will probably make a frisbee. If you print labels onto printable CDs, be sure to burn the disk first, then print the label. Any scratches prior to burning will also frisbee the disk, and iTunes will normally reject scratched disks during the burn.


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## maikuchanca (Nov 29, 2007)

EvanPitts, thanks for the reply. That really shines a light on everything. Also thanks to Zarquon and Orion. I was able to burn a CD last night and it plays in the car and the older CD player.

I burnt it on a TDK CD-R but with maxed out speed. I do not know what it set it to. The previous CD-RW I did at 4x.

Bottom line is....It is working so I am extremely happy


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