Ripping 700 CD's to HD using FLAC-How much space?


Hello all,

Currently, I am in the process of transferring my cd's to an external hard drive using FLAC lossless, EAC for transfer and WinAmp for a media player. I would like a HD with enough space for future downloads but am unsure as to what size to purchase? Memory seems reasonably priced these days and 1TB external HD's are plentiful. Also, I may let go of cd's that I no longer listen to after I have them on the HD which leaves me with another dilemma - how many HD's would suffice for backups? Everyone's advice is appreciated. Thanks, Chris

Currently using:
Windows XP Home
Dell XPS 400
Room for 2 internal HD's (using only (1) currently)
chris74

Showing 1 response by blindjim

Another thought here is, FLAC allows you to select the bit rate... so the overall file size will change accordingly.

I've heard no diffs from one bit rate to another in the 500 - 1000 region.

As it is a lossless codec it stands to reason you could even use the lowest bit rate encoding and save yet more space. The usual default of 768 or so seems appropriate enough though... and digital geography is mighty reasonable lately....

Do really consider having a back up however... Once you finish ripping all those CDs, and see how much time it takes to rip error free, and ever how many drives you will need to replace, you'll understand it better.

I rippped onto a 500GB USB drive... then got an Iomega 1TB NAS. The USB drive is now the back up... it's seldom if ever turned on save to archive to or from.

Have fun... and do them with error checking!