CD made on Mac not readable on PC

[Ode Man]

Burned wave files from PT session from my MacBook Pro but it can't be read on any platform except in the MAC... What do I need to do or get to be able to burn CDs from bounced sessons in PT 11.3?

I also tried copying a CD and again it cannot be read except on my mac...

[Drew Mazurek]

Originally Posted by Ode Man

Burned wave files from PT session from my MacBook Pro but it can't be read on any platform except in the MAC... What do I need to do or get to be able to burn CDs from bounced sessons in PT 11.3?

I also tried copying a CD and again it cannot be read except on my mac...

Toast on the Mac allows you to burn cross platform discs.

http://www.roxio.com/enu/products/toast/titanium/

I know nothing about PCs but I think MacOpener will allow a PC to read Mac formatted discs. I'm sure a PC person will chime in.

[musicman691]

It's not so much cross-platform but what program was the op trying to read the cd in? If it's something that plays audio cd's then that's the issue. A normal audio cd isn't a collection of .wav files. The op probably burned .wav files to the disk. Apple used to use .aiff files but for the last several years they've been using .wav files. A .wav file should be readable on either Mac or PC.

Before I got DSP-Quattro to burn cd's on my Mac I used my old WinXP system and Sony CD Architect to do the deed. I sneaker netted the .wav files on a thumb drive from My Mac to the Winbox, assembled and burned my audio cd's, and they're playable on all audio cd players.

[Darryl Ramm]

Burned exactly how using exactly what utility? To what disk? CD-RW?

You likely created a HFS+ (aka Mac OS Extended) formatted CD which Windows cannot read. You need to look up instructions on the Web about how to create a CD-RW (or whatever) image that is readable on Windows. There are thousands of pages out there describing this. Or burn a Redbook CD. Or even better give up on spining plastic things and use a USB flash stick, usually faster, more reliable, and less hassle, just make sure it is formatted FAT-32 or Ex-FAT. If you actually want to send this to somebody else Soundcloud may be much easier as well.

[Ode Man]

Finally got it to burn through iTunes... The CD plays perfect in the mac but sounds distorted and far away when I play it on a PC or auto. Any ideas???

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Ode Man

Finally got it to burn through iTunes... The CD plays perfect in the mac but sounds distorted and far away when I play it on a PC or auto. Any ideas???

So what format are you working in now? iTunes can do MP3, Redbook, etc. And many car players can do MP3 as well as Redbook.

What are you trying to do here at a high level? For what sort of music? Do you have experience before mastering music to listen to on CDs? If it's really to get to a PC (for what purpose?) Why can't you just use a flash stick and drag the WAV files to that? Or are you doing this to want to play a real Redbook CD in a car player?

What software you using to play back the CD on on the Mac? On the PC?

I'm not sure what "far away" means? That could be just quiet (which does not seem expected with "distorted"), a phase issue, etc.

If you can post the file (or a short part of it that distorts on your CD) you are burning to the CD on a file sharing site and post a link here. (not on Soundcloud, folks will want to see the raw WAV file(s)).

"Distortion" on CDs are likely to be caused by digital clipping or way too aggressive compression in Pro Tools. Make sure all AGC, EQ silliness, audio "enhancement" and any similar crap is turned off in all the music players you are using, including iTunes, and the car player. Another source of "distortion" with CDs can be not using a compressor at all, or not enough, and then trying to crank up the play back volume to get something that seems as "loud" as a commercial recording.

[Ode Man]

I need to make CD's of our recorded songs using my MacBook Pro. Recording the bounced files to CD using iTunes works great for the mac. No distortions or extra sounding reverb (far away sounds) but when I play it in the car or my PC. It sounds not right at all...
Never had this problem when using PC burning CD's. Yes I can move the files to my PC but does not MAC not burn CD's that can be used without moving files or getting some program to make CD's?
I understand compression but why it is ok when the Mac plays it back and not ok when the PC plays it back. The PC seems, not really sure, is amplifying some un wanted bass EQ's and possibly reverb on the entire mix.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by Ode Man

I need to make CD's of our recorded songs using my MacBook Pro. Recording the bounced files to CD using iTunes works great for the mac. No distortions or extra sounding reverb (far away sounds) but when I play it in the car or my PC. It sounds not right at all...
Never had this problem when using PC burning CD's. Yes I can move the files to my PC but does not MAC not burn CD's that can be used without moving files or getting some program to make CD's?
I understand compression but why it is ok when the Mac plays it back and not ok when the PC plays it back. The PC seems, not really sure, is amplifying some un wanted bass EQ's and possibly reverb on the entire mix.

There's multiple reasons your cd sounds like crap in the car. Could be the mix doesn't translate well and that's not a fault of PT or your computer but you and your ears and your mixing environment. I'm assuming your car audio system is up to snuff - just because it may play top 40 stuff okay doesn't mean it'll play a properly mixed cd. It could also be how you're burning the cd. What exact program are you using to do the job? I'd suggest getting DSP-Quattro to assemble and burn your audio cd's and do it using .wav files and not crappy mp3's especially if they're at a low bit rate. A proper audio cd burning program does many things to make the cd play right in a number of systems.

From your description it sounds like you need to go back to audio recording 101 and take your time this time through.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by Ode Man

I need to make CD's of our recorded songs using my MacBook Pro. Recording the bounced files to CD using iTunes works great for the mac. No distortions or extra sounding reverb (far away sounds) but when I play it in the car or my PC. It sounds not right at all...
Never had this problem when using PC burning CD's. Yes I can move the files to my PC but does not MAC not burn CD's that can be used without moving files or getting some program to make CD's?
I understand compression but why it is ok when the Mac plays it back and not ok when the PC plays it back. The PC seems, not really sure, is amplifying some un wanted bass EQ's and possibly reverb on the entire mix.

I can't think how the Mac should could be doing anything to a CD that adds reverb.

The same digital bits are on the CD. If you are playing the same on each device with radially different results then something is different on the playback side.