Import FLAC into iTunes with CDDB info via Toast
Feb 24, '09 07:30:00AM
Contributed by: TC!!
I've tried lots of ways to import FLAC-encoded music into iTunes, but I'd always have problems with the tags. I found that the best way is to try to make the FLAC look like a CD to iTunes, and iTunes then gets all the CD data via CDDB.
Here's what I do:
- Open Toast and choose audio CD.
- Add the FLAC files to Toast -- note that you must have all the tracks that were on the original CD.
- Use Save As Disc Image to create a .sd2f file in Toast.
- In the Finder, go to the .sd2f file, Control-click on it, and select More » Mount It. If you don't have this entry, then you need to get Toast to install it for you; it's in the preferences.
- In iTunes, the CD you just mounted should be recognized and the track list will be found from the CDDB.
- Import the songs into iTunes using your normal settings, and all the tags will come from the CDDB info.
- You can now eject the CD and delete the .sd2f file.
I setup iTunes to automatically rip and then eject any CDs which are inserted, and of course you need to tick 'Automatically retrieve CD track names from internet' in iTunes' preferences. I also rip to AAC Lossless, so I'm ending up with something the same quality as the original FLAC, but that can be played on an iPod.
The only thing to look out for is to make sure you have the right number of tracks. I also set up Toast to use a zero-second gap between tracks, as this works best for me in iTunes.
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