# MP3 CDs

## How to Create an MP3 CD

The process to create an MP3 CD involves the following steps;

1. Click the Audio tab and click the MP3 CD button to set that as your disc type.
2. Add the audio/music files to the List View by clicking the Add File(s) or Add Folder buttons.
3. Edit the audio/music files by selecting the file and clicking the "Edit with WavePad" button under the main toolbar (optional).
4. Normalize volume levels by selecting the normalization level from the drop menu under the main toolbar on the right side (optional).
5. Arrange the files in the desired order by clicking and dragging them around.
6. Burn the CD by clicking the Burn MP3 CD button in the lower right corner..

Each of these steps are detailed below.

Select disc Compilation

The MP3 CD type can be selected by using the toolbar (the row of icons at the top of the main window). First, select the Audio tab, and then select the MP3 CD button, or press Ctrl+J. Additionally you can click on the New disc button on the toolbar, or use This Disc menu, Disc Type and select MP3 CD.

Please note that if you were in a Data or Video mode and files had been added, all non audio/music files will be removed from the compilation. The original files will still be present on your computer but they have been removed from Express Burn's filelist view.

Adding and Removing Files

To add your audio files to the CD click the Add File(s) or Add Folder button or go to the menu item File -> Add. A Browser window will open and from here you can locate, view and select the following types of audio file formats:

.AAC .ACT .AIF .AIFF .AMR .APE .AU .DCT
.DSS .DVF .DVS .FLAC .GSM .M4A .MSV .MOH
.MP3 .MPC .OGG .RA .RAM .RAW .SHN .SPX
.SND .VOC .VOX .WAV .WMA

Supported video formats (only the audio will be converted for burning):
.3GP .ASF .AVI .FLV .MKV .MOD .MOV .MPEG .MPG .WMV

Some of these formats will automatically download a plugin to decode the selected format. If an internet connection is not available, they can be downloaded separately from the NCH website and then installed on your PC. Additionally, some formats need to be decoded to be added and on slower computers this can take a minute or two.

Non-MP3 audio files will be re-encoded as MP3 (CBR, 192kbps) when they are added to the list. This may take a minute or two.

Many other formats can also be handled but they require the installation of directshow codecs. Many come preinstalled with Windows so please try loading the file. You may need to select 'All Files' to see the particular file.

Any files not of these formats will be ignored by Express Burn when creating an MP3 CD. You will need to create a Data CD for any other types.

Once your files have been added, if you wish to remove any of them, simply select the files and either select File ->Remove from the menu or press the Delete ket. To select multiple files at once, press the Ctrl key and left-click on the files you want to select. To remove all the files, select the option Remove All from the file menu, or press Ctrl + Delete.

Dragging and Dropping and the System Tray

You may also add files by dragging and dropping an audio file onto the main file list window. The file will be automatically added. Similarly if you drag and drop the file onto the Express Burn desktop icon it will be added to the CD. If you are not already running Express Burn it will be started automatically and an icon will appear in the system tray.

Playing Files

To play a file, select the desired file and either click the "Play" button at the bottom of the main interface, or select File -> Play from the menu. If you press the Play button when selecting multiple files, the first selected file will be played.

Edit Audio/Music Files

Using the File menu -- Edit option you can edit any audio file using the WavePad Sound Editor application also made by NCH Software. This can also be accessed by pressing Ctrl+E.

Normalize Volume Levels

You can normalize the volumes levels of the audio tracks added to Express Burn. This means the volume of the tracks will be adjusted so that the loudest part of the song will be at a certain percentage of the maximum possible volume. By default volume levels are not normalized.

You can normalize the volume levels of all tracks added through the Normalization pull down list, or using This Disc menu -> Normalize Level, and select a level you want. All tracks will be normalized when they are burnt to disc.

Arranging Files

The order of the files in the file list window will be the order of the tracks on the CD once it has been burnt. You may re-arrange files before burning by dragging the track and dropping to the required position.

Burning the CD

Once you have a list of audio files in your desired order, place a CD-R or CD-RW in your CD Burner drive. You should then click on the "Burn CD" button, or select Burner->Burn CD from the menu, or press F3.

You will then be prompted for the Burn Settings. If you are unsure of which settings to choose leave them set to the default selection. If you have more knowledge of what you would like to do select the appropriate settings. Any changes made to the settings are saved for future burning sessions.

The inserted CD will then be checked and you will be prompted if there are any issues (for instance the wrong type of disc is in the drive or there is not enough space on the disc etc)

The Write process can be quite slow, taking up to 20 minutes depending on media and drive. Please note there is a slow process at the end of the write called "Writing Lead-in/Lead-out". This takes a minute or two depending on drive and media.