How to find out if my burners can do CD+G (InfoTool reboots

[VEFF]

How can I check if my burners do CD+G?

I have the following burners, in case anyone can confirm that one or more of these do CD+G:
Sony DRU-500A DVD/CD burner
TEAC CD-W540E
LiteOn LTR-48125W
TDK VeloCD 40X USB 2.0
Philips PCRW464K USB 1.1
Philips CDD-3610 (not installed)

I assume the newer ones all do it, but I would like confirmation, having never burned CD+G before.

Nero InfoTool is the ONLY program on my PC that reboots my PC every time.
Therefore I need an alternative.

If anyone has any software recommendations, I would appreciate it.
I read that CDRWin and DiscJuggler do it.


Thanks!

[VEFF]

Just opened CDRWin and noticed that it lists the LiteOn as NOT being able to burn CD+G.
Luckily the TEAC can do it, according to CDRWin.

The Sony isn't recognized, and the other burners (external) aren't hooked up at the moment.

I did just read that there is a workaround for non-compatible burners,
as long as they support RAW DAO recording.

[sonyman]

I hace confirmed using InfoTool that both the Lite-On LTR-48125W and the Sony DRU-500A do CD+G.

-Scott

[glock20rocks]

Hmm...SmartBurn.exe reboots my system. Haven't tried InfoTool, I'll do it later.

Anyone have any ideas as to why these programs are causing systems to reboot?

I've got the latest drivers, ASPI layer, Nero, and IAA on my system...

[dodecahedron]

hey VEFF
the whole CD+G stuff is suspicious.
i've read before that many drives claim to be able to do CD+G but actually don't. InfoTool's answer is incorrect. reportedly the only drives that acutally DO do CD+G are Yamahas and Plextors.

try searching around the forum, cfitz investigated this issue about a month ago and posted some stuff about it.

hey cfitz, if your'e reading this chip in.

[cfitz]

Hi Dodecahedron. I was in the middle of searching for my old post on this subject while you were posting, but couldn't find it with the crippled search function. Anyway, I did find this, and it sums it up better than I did:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 1452#31452

I own a Yamaha CRW3200EZ and Memorex/LiteOn LTR-48246S. Info tool reports that both can do CD+G, but when I tested them, only my Yamaha could actually burn a CD+G. In addtion to CDRWin, I used the following software for my testing:

http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic. ... 1175#41175

cfitz

[dodecahedron]

Hi Dodecahedron. I was just searching for my old post on this, but couldn't find it with the crippled search function.

ditto. spent the last few minutes trying to find your old posts with the search and it doesn't work.

yes, the link you found - that's exactly it, remember reading it at the time. that's where i remembered the stuff i mentioned.

[cdrfreak]

InfoTool only reports whether the drive can read CD+G.
Most drives can.

All but few recorders can write CD+G.
If it can write in RAW SAO 96 or RAW DAO 96 it can also write CD+G.
I'm not sure about CDRWin but you can burn CD+G in RAW DAO 96 with Nero.

[cfitz]

If it can write in RAW SAO 96 or RAW DAO 96 it can also write CD+G.
I'm not sure about CDRWin but you can burn CD+G in RAW DAO 96 with Nero.

I said the same thing when I started down this road. It only makes sense, after all. But I found, in practice, that it is not the case. Do you have actual experience burning a CD+G on a LiteOn drive? If so, please post the details so that others may duplicate your success.

Thanks,

cfitz

[cdrfreak]

I said the same thing when I started down this road. It only makes sense, after all. But I found, in practice, that it is not the case. Do you have actual experience burning a CD+G on a LiteOn drive? If so, please post the details so that others may duplicate your success.

I've tested it with the LiteOn LTR-32123S, Yamaha F1, Plextor PX-W1210, Ricoh MP5120 and Sanyo BP1700.
It works fine with all of them (both reading/writing).

Test procedure:

What's needed:
CD+G Creator: http://www.cdspeed2000.com/files/cdgcreator_01.zip
Nero 5.5.9.17: ftp://ftp.nero.com/Nero55917.exe
.bmp file with 16 colors and a resolution of 288x192
.wav file (AudioCD format)

Use CD+G Creator to make a .cdg file from the .bmp and .wav file.
Make a cuesheet.
For example:

FILE "TEST.CDG" BINARY
TRACK 01 CDG
INDEX 01 00:00:00

Burn the cuesheet with Nero with the Burn Image function (File menu).

[cfitz]

Thanks for the tips. I still can't get the LTR-48246S to properly burn and play a CD+G disc, although to be truthful I can't get the Yamaha to work properly right now either.

This CD+G stuff is too esoteric for me. I've only played with it for general interest, as I have no practical use for it. Other than Karaoke aficionados, I'm afraid that might also be true for the general population and, as such, is reflected in the quality of available CD+G capable software. In my personal experience I have found that the limited software that is out there has terrible user interfaces and is full of bugs - making it barely, if at all, usable. Do you know of a good, reliable CD+G software player? The best I could find was the evaluation version of WinCDG Pro 2 (which, by the way, says that the LTR-48246S is not CD+G compatible because it doesn't properly correct/de-interleave the subcodes).

In my investigations it also seems that even Karaoke fans may be abandoning CD+G in favor of DVD.

Well, I'm no expert in CD+G, just a guy who has played around with it a little bit. I still haven't had any success except with a Yamaha burner, although that could well be error on my part. But there is a fair amount of lore out there stating that Yamaha and Plextor are the preferred drives to use if you want to burn/play CD+G discs. Anyone else with positive or negative experiences is welcome to add his or her contribution.

cfitz

[scottm]

The TDK USB 2.0 is Sanyo-based and definitely will be able to do CD+G (if it has dual status lights it is). When they changed to Lite-On (right after that model), their CD+G future is unknown...

[VEFF]

Thanks guys for all the replies.
I'll test it.

Now my only problem is that the karaoke machine I bought at BestBuy yesterday works (even comes with B/W monitor built-in), EXCEPT
that the microphone volume is way too low, even with the volume turned up to the maximum level.

I don't know if I got a bad unit or ???

It is the Singing Machine STVG-500...

[cfitz]

...EXCEPT
that the microphone volume is way too low, even with the volume turned up to the maximum level.

I don't know if I got a bad unit or ???

Maybe it is just making an editorial comment on your singing ability??

Seriously, re-read the manual, and if you can't find anything that might explain the low volume, then take it back for inspection and possible replacement. You should be happy with your purchase, and the volume from a Karaoke machine is certainly important. Does the music play at an adequate volume, and only the voice part is muted? It could be a bad microphone or preamp. Did the microphone come with the unit as a matched set?

cfitz

[VEFF]

...EXCEPT
that the microphone volume is way too low, even with the volume turned up to the maximum level.

I don't know if I got a bad unit or ???

Maybe it is just making an editorial comment on your singing ability??

Seriously, re-read the manual, and if you can't find anything that might explain the low volume, then take it back for inspection and possible replacement. You should be happy with your purchase, and the volume from a Karaoke machine is certainly important. Does the music play at an adequate volume, and only the voice part is muted? It could be a bad microphone or preamp. Did the microphone come with the unit as a matched set?

cfitz

LOL!
I wonder whether the microphone is NOT actually defective.
It is just terribly low (unless you put your lips right up to it, just about touching it), even with the mic volume turned up all the way.

I am wondering whether to try Memorex (more expensive, but probably better, especially since it has a power rating of 10W, unlike the other one which was not even rated) as an alternative, rather than spending my time exchanging the other brand's karaoke machine, only to find out that they are all like that...

[VEFF]

I just burned the same CD+G disc on two burners.
Ironically the reverse of what CDRWin 3.9B reports is true.

The TEAC CD-W540E, which CDRWin says can burn CD+G, yields NO graphics.

The LiteOn LTR-48125W, which CDRWin 3.9B says can't burn CD+G, burns it fine, including graphics.

[cfitz]

Hmm. The never-ending mystery (to me) of CD+G. I'm assuming that your success/failure report is based on playing the discs in your Karaoke machine?

Did you make actual Karaoke discs (with streaming lyrics), or just discs that display a static picture? If you did make Karaoke discs, did you make your own or copy? I'm interested to know if you tried any of the Karoke creating software and what you think.

cfitz

[VEFF]

I burned them with streaming lyrics.
I created my own for fun.

I then found out from my brother that I could have simply used
PC karaoke software and my sound card (especially since my PC is already hooked up to my integrated amp).
I may keep the karaoke machine for convenience. I can even bring it to the various family members' houses so we can have some fun

I ended up upgrading to a much nicer (pricier too) model, since the first karaoke machine didn't have enough power for my voice to be heard.
My girlfriend is going to let me test it with her microphone, since the mic that came with mine is the only weak point; it appears.

[cfitz]

I created my own for fun.

Great! What song did you convert to Karaoke? And which software did you use?

I then found out from my brother that I could have simply used PC karaoke software and my sound card

Same question - what software is this?

I may keep the karaoke machine for convenience. I can even bring it to the various family members' houses so we can have some fun

Sounds like fun. Enjoy!

cfitz