Printing P&Q coding?

Sonic Misfit

Sonic Misfit

New member
I was wondering if anyone has been requested to print out the P&Q coding for a Redbook CD? I was asked to provide this and was wondering if there is any software out there other that Sonic Solutions that is able to do this. I have looked through the Wavelab docs and was not able to see it, however, I found that Wavelab 3.0 is supposed to create Redbook CDs.

The CDs I usually burn are on an Alesis Masterlink.

Any help would be appreciated.
 
Any program that will create audio CD's creates them to Red book standards - since that is the standard for audio CD's.

However, the ability to print PQ codes is another story. I have Wavelab, and here is some information from their help file on PQ codes:
"PQ codes and WaveLab's solution to handling them
The PQ codes convey information about track start, sub-indexes and pauses, as described above. They also contain the timing information (minutes, seconds, frames). To fit all this information in, a block of PQ information is spread out over 98 small frames.

Specifying PQ codes is not complex. However, when creating a CD there are a number of rules you must take into account. For example, there should be some silent frames before each track, sub-indexes should be slightly early, there should be pauses at the beginning and end of the entire CD, etc.

When creating CDs from an Audio Montage, these rules and settings are handled by the CD Wizard. In a basic audio CD, they are collected in the "Advanced Settings" dialog on the CD menu. If you don't change these settings, you will get default values that ensure your CD will work properly. On the other hand, when the situation so requires, you can adjust them. We recommend you leave these settings as they are, unless you are completely sure of what you are doing."


I looked around in the Wavelab help file and did not come across a way to print them out. You may want to ask on the Wavelab forum:
http://linux1723.dn.net/cgi-bin/ubb...orum=wavelab&number=3&DaysPrune=10&LastLogin=
 
Sonic Foundries CD Architect can do it but it is no longer available as a stand alone program from sonic foundries. You would have to find it elsewhere.
tmix
 
I forgot how to do it in Wavelab ver. 3, but in ver. 4, you create the CD layout in either the CD layout view, or montage view.

If you do it in CD Layout view, you have to select to convert to a montage view from File. A new file appears in montage view. From there, you select from Function to create a "Generate/Print a CD Report". You can then edit many things for the PQ timesheet, then have it print. The layout is MUCH nicer than it was in ver.3, and you can supply more information. It even prints in color! :)

The Mastersuck, I mean, Masterlink has no way of creating a PQ timesheet. That is one of the many reasons why it is NOT a professional "mastering" box like it claims it is. But not to worry. Most duplicators these days don't need the PQ timesheet. But if one DOES, well, you are screwed...:) You can always send me that project to master and I will make SURE that they get what they need though...;)

You might try redering a CD image, or a data CD on the Masterlink, then transferring the files to a PC with Wavelab and creating the master disk there, then you can print your PQ timesheet. Other than that, I really don't know of a way that you can get that info from the Masterlink. You might want to contact Alesis tech support for more info....LOL. Might only take a month to get a reply that it won't do it, but maybe there IS a way you can. Try holding your breath on that though...;)

Eddie
 
Hey guys,

Thanks for the infomation on printing out the P&Q codes. I was hoping that I did not need to upgrade to Wavelab 4.0 to do it. I will look around a little more.

Ed...Yeah the answer from Alesis is that theirs is a standard Redbook set up so the P&Q coding is not supposed to change. It is a locked-in format. However, that format is not printed on anything that I can find.

If I am successful in getting Wavelab 3.0 to print it out, I will post it here in case someone else needs it.

Regards...
 
A PQ timesheet can ONLY be printed with info from the disk that is being written, so, there is literally no way for the Masterdink, er, I mean Masterstink, uh, I mean Masterlink to display that information. I suppose they COULD do some kind of firmware update that would allow a certain two button combination to be depressed to scroll through it, but that would be sort of tricky to understand, and you would need a template to write the parameters down in.

Anyway, I THINK is ver.3 of Wavelab that once you have create a CD Layout, you go to File and "Save PQ timesheet" or something like that. Look in help. I know the instructions are in Help.

You should probably do your mastering in Wavelab anyway. You will have a nicer variety of plugin's to use over the audio for any enhancements, and for fade out's and fade in's, you can create just about ANY kind of fade curve you could want.

I argued long ago, right before the Masterless, oh, I mean Masterlink came out that dollar for dollar, it was not a very good deal as a "mixdown/mastering" solution. A PC with a minimal of software/hardware is capable of MUCH more, and can be EXPANDED for other functions in the studio, such as editing tracks, sequencing, etc. Maybe at around $700 the Mastergringe, oops, I mean Masterlink would be okay IF you were ALWAYS going to take your mixes to somewhere else to have them mastered, but any more than that, it is just not worth it really. Not enough truely professional features for a production environment on that box. The studio I work at bought one, and it is really a pain in the butt because we have a "mastering/editing" room upstairs with a PC. That same money he spent on the Masterhorror, yikes, I mean Masterlink could have put a PC in the mixing room so we could edit tracks RIGHT there and we could have mixed to the same PC and had it networked to the PC upstairs, blah blah blah. Now I have to do the extra step of mixing to the Masterleech, ummmm, I mean Masterlink, burning a DATA CD (and trust me, that box is REALLY SLOW burning 24 bit files!!!), then taking that disk upstairs, transferring the .aif files to the hard drive, then going to work. A lot of wasting time in my opinion, but the owner wouldn't listen to me, and he is slowly seeing how the investment in that box was not really worth it. Oh well. You can lead a horse to water........

By the way, Wavelab 4 is REALLY cool in comparison to ver.3. Nicer looking interface and a bunch of snazzy looking tools that I never use, but are fun to show off to people! :) I do like having the Apogee UV-22 dithering available. On some material, it just seems to sound nicer, but of course, not on everything, but at least it is available now.

Eddie
 
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