Need Both CD/DVD Software & Burner For 2016 MacBook Pro

[Ray&Paula]

Hi, I have a 15" 2016 MacBook Pro w/ touchbar. I'm currently running OS Mojave and am looking for the best CD/DVD software program and read/write burner currently available.
I'm a DJ and I use a dual Numark CD player. I need the CD software to be able to write the data needed that will show the name and artist of the song being played and/or in cue in the Numarks window. I normally use CD-R discs for burning/playback. In addition, I'm looking for the best CD/DVD/Blu Ray read/write burner that will also work well for the CD-R's. If you have any suggestions, I would sincerely appreciate it? Thank you & Happy Holidays. Ray

 

[Fishrrman]

The best software?
Probably Roxio Toast.

There used to be free Mac burning apps ("Burn" and "Simply Burns" come to mind), but I don't know how they deal with "text".

The best burner?
There are numerous ones.
Look at amazon.com and pay attention to the reviews.
If you're going to get a BD/DVD/CD burner, look for one that offers M-DISC compatibility as well.

 

[Ray&Paula]

Thank you for your help. I did a chat with Corel in regards to Roxio Toast 18 Pro, the guy had me on hold for quite a while. I asked him if Toast would burn (read/write) to CD-R's and he stated no. I have a feeling that he wasn't on the up & up. OWC does have a BD/DVD/CD burner that is M-DISC. I'll have to check to see if it will burn CD-R's. I know when I looked several years back, they all basically burned them. I probably need to find a real world user for both software and burner for the best user results. Thanks again, I really appreciate your input. Ray ??

 

[Erehy Dobon]

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[MSastre]

I've used Toast for years to make CDs and DVDs. I "roll my own" CDs for my personal play. Toast will let get song names and gives you the option to add to your iTunes. I usually just archive the complete CD to an external drive I use for music, and in the AIFF format (exactly as it is on the CD) for full quality.

 

[Ray&Paula]

I'm pretty sure that all CD/DVD/Blu-ray burners will write to CD-R. It's a common legacy format.
Like you, I really never saw any in the past that didn't.

I do know that my 8-9 year old Pioneer Blu-ray driver (reads Blu-rays, does not write) can burn CD-Rs with CD-TEXT. I think my copy of Toast Titanium is five years old. I know that I have ripped CDs in my car that display song/artist on the headunit. Some of these CDs are over ten years old and the headunit is at least 7 years old.
I hear ya...... I've been burning off my Plextor PX-800A internal drives from my old Windows based tower. I used these with XP, 7 and now 10. Plextor drives were pretty awesome back in the day.

I also know that my even more geriatric LaCie DVD burner (it's probably 10-11 years old) can burn CD-Rs with CD-TEXT. I know I've made bit-for-bit DVD copies using Burn within the past year on both drives.

Both are external Slimline drives; Slimlines do not have a reputation for being particularly durable. If you want something for heavy use, look for a burner based on a 5.25" drive mechanism.
Great advice.......

Optical drive mechanisms are commodity parts now, there are probably only 2-3 manufacturers making the mechanisms.
OWC & Pioneer seem to be currently, amoung the top.

Follow the reviews on Amazon carefully. For sure, they will have a larger sample size of users than this site. I would stick with devices that have a minimum 4-star aggregate rating.
Definitely.....

If optical drives are your livelihood, you may want to buy an extra device. In the future, there will be less, not more since this tech is virtually obsolete.

For sure......

Thank You for your help and advice. Ray ??
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I've used Toast for years to make CDs and DVDs. I "roll my own" CDs for my personal play. Toast will let get song names and gives you the option to add to your iTunes. I usually just archive the complete CD to an external drive I use for music, and in the AIFF format (exactly as it is on the CD) for full quality.

Thanks for the help...... I also use iTunes and format to AIFF for quality. Are you using CD-R's? Also, what version Toast are you using? My biggest concern is having the Name/Artist for each track showing up on my Numark. Thanks again for the help. Ray ??

 

[Ray&Paula]

Just looked at the Toast Titanium 18 online manual....... page 9 and 82 basically states it all (link below).
http://help.corel.com/toast/v18/main/en/user-guide/toast-18.pdf

In addition and according to the Roxio web site, everything in Toast Titanium 18 is included in Toast 18 Pro as seen on the following link;
https://www.roxio.com/en/products/toast/

This information completely contradicts the Chat I had earlier today......... Gut feeling told me he was wrong.
Anyway, I believe that this software has been solid. I do a little moe digging...... Thanks goes out to all of you for your help and if you can add any more, please do. ??

 

[nas7y]

Man, i live djing and music producing from 2011 year. If you just use id3 tag programs (i forgot it name) or program, that give you chance to make changes in information of track - you will see it. Always burn wav to audio cd with minimum speed - 2-4. And for tag use Kid3 tag editor

 

[Fishrrman]

"I asked him if Toast would burn (read/write) to CD-R's and he stated no. I have a feeling that he wasn't on the up & up."

OF COURSE Toast burns "to CD-R's".
I've used it to burn THOUSANDS of them.

 

[nas7y]

Brutal)

 

[Ray&Paula]

What's Brutal?? Only thing brutal is misfits not knowing there job......... I've been Djing for over 30 years in which I've either burned WAV or AIFF, both are litterly the same. I figured that the Toast software would write text to CD-R's and through their chat, he surprised the hell out of me by stating no. He was simply wrong and I.M.O., he shouldn't even be on staff there without knowing the software. After finding the online manual, it confirmed that it handles CD-R's just fine. I'm also looking strong at the OWC Mercury Pro (link below) which has M-DISC compatibility along with having an LG 5.25 drive as suggested. Thanks again for all the help. Ray ??

https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC...giNbwP0qT_2IHQUJM612DIeX5ybJzIicaAl9kEALw_wcB

 

[Erehy Dobon]

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[Ray&Paula]

You're really overthinking this.

Burn works fine for burning CDs. In fact, just for giggles, I burned a CD-R today using my geriatric LaCie drive.

You don't need to convert the source files to AIFF. Burn will transcode other file formats to Audio CD compatible AIFFs on-the-fly. I used 48kHz/24-bit ALAC files and Burn spit out normal audio CD with CD-TEXT in a few minutes. It plays fine on my consumer-grade car stereo, with all three metadata data types recognized (Artist, Album, Track).

Note that iTunes still burns basic audio CDs from playlists just as it has for years and years. Again, iTunes will transcode the source material to audio CD compatible 44.1kHz/16-bit AIFFs.

You are spending WAY too much time/effort/brain cells to figure out a solution for something basic that was solved a long time ago.

Toast might be worth it if you're trying to author DVDs (now that iDVD is ancient history) but for audio CDs, just use a freeware utility or iTunes (I know nothing about doing this on Catalina).

You're probably right....... The main thing is to maintain the WAV or AIFF quality for playback and have the name/artist shown for each track. To be honest, I never used iTunes to burn any CD's. This may be my simplest solution...... I'll take a look at the process. Also, do you have any thoughts on the OWC Mercury Pro burner? Thanks for the advice. Ray ??

 

[Erehy Dobon]

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[Ray&Paula]

I have no personal experience with the OWC Mercury Pro burner. Like I said, all of these consumer devices use commodity components. From a sound quality standpoint, one consumer grade burner is unlikely to write ones and zeroes better than another. The main consideration is build quality for longevity.

Everything is pretty much throwaway these days. Finding quality can be quite a challenge anymore. That's the main reason I'm leaning towards OWC. They have been around awhile along with havig great reviews.

In your case, does it even matter if your source material is 196kHz/24-bit FLAC, 44.1k/16-bit AIFF, 320kbps lossy MP3s or 256kbps lossy AACs? Can anyone in a noisy venue with overblown bass and poor acoustics hear the difference?

Yeah...... I've been DJing so long that I can definitely hear the difference between CD quality over mp3's. I do get great comments when people see me using CD's but of course, those comments are from those usually over 40.

 

[Erehy Dobon]

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[Ray&Paula]

I hear ya....... LOL ??

 

[nas7y]

damn right - It’s like try to compare vinyl audio Donna Summer i’im in love and mp3 with this track. Btw i think the final consumer must listen you product from best incoming source (wav 192/44100/16 is minimum - if it podcast or track you send to label it must be better record in 192/48000/24bit .
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And if you DJing so long may be some link to soundcloud?

 

[Fishrrman]

I've used Toast to burn CD's that have "artist/title" track info displayed.

I don't know if the "free" Mac burning apps can do that.

 

[Ray&Paula]

I've used Toast to burn CD's that have "artist/title" track info displayed.

I don't know if the "free" Mac burning apps can do that.

Perfect! Thank you, Ray ?

 

[Ray&Paula]

Well here's my problem........ I need CD burning software that will let me edit/write my own text that will display in my player. The problem with Burn, iTunes, etc. is that this option is not available. These programs want to use the disc's own metadata and/or Gracenote. I'm not looking for a free program, I just want one that's solid and will allow me to edit the CD song info. for each track. I had Nero Express on my Windows 10 computer that allowed me to do this. Thanks, Ray