How to turn CDs into WMAs

If you have a portable MP3 player that plays WMA (Windows Media Audio) files or are in the process of ripping your CD collection to your computer's hard drive, you should look into using the WMA format. Since WMA is a newer technology than MP3, many people have found that it sounds better at the same bit rate. Let us guide you through the process so that you end up with files suitable for your purposes.

Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements:

• CDs
• CD-ROM drive
• Windows Media Player

Step 1: Download and install Windows Media Player

Download and install Windows Media Player (if you already have it installed, go to Help > Check For Player Updates to get the newest version). If you want to use WMP as your default media player, just keep hitting Next until it's installed. If you want to keep your current default media player, be sure to deselect the file types when they are listed.

Step 2: Quit other programs

If you have an old machine (a sub-300MHz processor with a three-year-old CD-ROM drive, for example), quit all other programs before commencing to rip. Then drop the CD to be ripped into your CD-ROM drive. If you have two drives that can read CDs, use the cheaper, less complicated one for ripping since the process can add wear and tear to the drive over a long period of time.

Step 3: Navigate to the Rip window

Select Rip on the top navigation bar in WMP. If the song, the album, and the artist are not properly named, click the Find Album Info button near the top of the screen to have WMP automatically fill in that information (see the bottom pane in WMP for further instructions on adding song information). This information comes from the Internet, so you have to be connected in order for WMP to retrieve it.

Step 4: Customise the ripping settings

Now it's time to set up WMP's copying parameters. Right-click along the very top of the window and select Options > Tools > Rip Music. To specify a location for the copied WMA files, click the Change button and browse to the folder of your choice. To specify how your files will be named, click the File Name button.

Step 5: Choose Windows Media Audio as the format

Without leaving the Rip Music screen, choose Windows Media Audio from the Format drop-down menu. Make sure that the Copy Protect Music box is unchecked, or you probably won't be able to play the song on other computers or your MP3 player. Use the Audio Quality slider control to select an appropriate bit rate; higher qualities and larger file sizes are found to the right. If you don't know which to choose, pick 128Kbps (which uses about 56MB per CD), the most commonly preferred bit rate. Click OK at the bottom of the Options screen.

Step 6: Rip Music

Make sure all the tracks you want to rip are selected, then click the Rip Music button at the upper right of the screen. If more dialog screens appear, just choose the options that let you keep the settings you selected. Sit back and relax while WMP rips the CD -- if you do too much with your computer while ripping, you can introduce clicks and pops into the files. It should take between seven minutes and a half an hour, depending on your drive's ripping speed. When it's done, navigate to the folder you chose in step four. The songs on the CD should be there, in WMA format. Give one of the songs a listen, just to make sure everything worked out; barring a strange hardware anomaly, the tunes should sound just about as good as the CD itself.