A Question re: the file conversion process in SS transfer to disc

[jmsla]

Greetings All,

I often import one or several .wav music files from my hard drive into the Sonic Stage library, and then transfer them to a Hi-MD disc using the 'Standard transfer mode' - transfer file "as is" (no conversion)', etc. (I use the version of SS 4.3 available from this forum on a computer with XP operating system. / flawless operation of SS by the way.)

To continue, I have assumed that .wav and PCM are the same format or bit rate. However, I notice that during the transferring procedure, the files first go through a "converting" step before being transferred. This is indicated in the 'Status' area just to the right of the track name, all in the large transfer window.

So, my question is; What is that conversion all about? / Are .wav and PCM different in some way?

I seem to recall doing the same sometime in the misty past and just seeing 'transferring' indicated. I could be mistaken about that.

Thanks in advance for any information / education on this subject.

Best,

James

[sfbp]

Same except that wav has no metadata embedded in the file.

[jmsla]

Ah-ha, so if I understand 'metadata' in this context; that step that SS displays as 'converting' is all the information about each track, such as name, date it was created, etc., being encoded. is that correct?

Thank you. I was thinking that maybe I was failing to apply some Importing feature in a menu somewhere.

-ja

[Azureal]

I just performed a test transfer of a WAV file from my library to an MD80 with a Hi-MD format. For a brief period before the transfer there was a status of "converting" then the transfer began right away. I tried this several times to observe the behavior and it was the same each time. I watched the Task Manager Performance tab and saw no CPU being utilized during this brief period.

I suspect that Sonic Stage is stripping off the WAV container from the file and "converting" to raw PCM. The file properties of the track on the PC drive are WAV(PCM) 1411 and on the MD the properties are CODEC PCM 1411.

Interestingly, both files show the exact same duration (6:02) but the PCM file on the MD is slightly larger than the original WAV on the PC, 64,176,128 bytes on MD versus 63,922,700 bytes on the PC.

[Sargaso]

Might it be that the "converting" done is SS (for the wav file) is just the encryption being done while loading the file onto the device? This also might be why the file on the MD is larger than the PC since it would contain more information.

[sfbp]

Exactly so.

[jmsla]

Thank you all for your insights.

I don't exactly understand some, well most, of the technical aspects and jargon discussed but, I now am assured that my .wav files are not being fundamentally altered in some way.

I also now understand why some players on my computer don't display the track titles of commercial CDs I have uploaded as .wav files. A player would need to be connected to some CD catalogue database because the .wav files don't include that information. // Another mystery sent packing. Thanks again for the illumination.

Best,

James A.