MF Digital Ripstation Lite User Manual

Ripstation v4.4.11.0
Operating Manual

Ripstation
A Division of Formats Unlimited, Inc
155 Sherwood Avenue
Farmingdale, NY 11735

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

Authors: Robert Warnock & Patrick McGrath

[e-mail]
www.ripstation.com/support

© Copyright 2009 100-5-04-000

Copyright

All rights within this document and related software belong to Formats Unlimited.
Ripstation is a registered trademark of Formats Unlimited.

BY USING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ARE AGREEING TO THESE TERMS AND

CONDITIONS.

This software (the SOFTWARE) is prepared as a solution to dealers, systems
integrators. This SOFTWARE is provided as is and with warranty only as detailed
in the applicable License agreement.

Ripstation specifically disclaim to the fullest extent permitted by law all
warranties, expressed or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this software.
Ripstation shall have no liability including without limitation in negligence with
respect to this software. Ripstation shall have no liability including without
limitation in negligence with respect to any loss or damage directly or indirectly
arising out of the use of this software.
Without limiting the foregoing, Ripstation shall not be liable, including without
limitation in negligence for any loss of profit, interruption of business, loss or
damage to equipment or data, interruption of operations or any other damage,
including but not limited to direct, special, incidental or consequential damages.
This software must not be used for unauthorised duplication of CD's or any other
works protected by copyright unless permitted by law. No license to infringe
copyright is granted by the possession, installation and/ or use of this software.
Any statutory rights you may have are unaffected.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 2 of 43

Software EULA 100-5-01-000

Software EULA

End User Software License Agreement

for Ripstation Software
NOTICE TO ALL USERS: PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING LEGAL
AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT") FOR THE LICENSE OF Ripstation ("SOFTWARE") BY
Formats Unlimited, Inc. ("FUI"). BY CLICKING THE ACCEPT BUTTON OR
INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE, YOU (EITHER AN INDIVIDUAL OR A SINGLE ENTITY)
CONSENT TO BE BOUND BY AND BECOME A PARTY TO THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO
NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, CLICK THE BUTTON THAT
INDICATES THAT YOU DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND DO NOT
INSTALL THE SOFTWARE.

1. License Grant. Subject to the payment of the applicable license
fees, and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and a
pre agreed License term, FUI hereby grants to you a non-exclusive, non­transferable right to use one copy of the specified version of the
Software and the accompanying documentation (the "Documentation") on
one computer only unless otherwise agreed.

2. Term. This Agreement is effective for an unlimited duration unless
and until earlier terminated as set forth herein. This Agreement will
terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any of the
limitations or other requirements described herein. Upon any
termination or expiration of this Agreement, you must destroy all
copies of the Software and the Documentation. You may terminate this
Agreement at any point by destroying all copies of the Software and the
Documentation.

3. Ownership Rights. The Software is protected by International
copyright laws and international treaty provisions. FUI and its
suppliers own and retain all right, title and interest in and to the
Software, including all copyrights, patents, trade secret rights,
trademarks and other intellectual property rights therein. Your
possession, installation, or use of the Software does not transfer to
you any title to the intellectual property in the Software, and you
will not acquire any rights to the Software except as expressly set
forth in this Agreement.

4. Restrictions. You may not rent, lease, loan, sublicense or resell
the Software. You may not permit third parties to benefit from the use
or functionality of the Software via a timesharing, service bureau or
other arrangement. You may not transfer any of the rights granted to
you under this Agreement. You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or
disassemble the Software, except to the extent the foregoing
restriction is expressly prohibited by applicable law. You may not
modify, or create derivative works based upon, the Software in whole or
in part. You may not copy the Software or Documentation. Except that
you may either (a) make one copy of the Software solely for backup or
archival purposes, or (b) transfer the Software to a single hard disk
provided that you keep the original solely for backup or archival
purposes. You may not remove any proprietary notices or labels on the
Software. All copies must contain the same proprietary notices that
appear on and in the Software. All rights not expressly set forth
hereunder are reserved by FUI.

5. Warranty and Disclaimer.
a. Limited Warranty. FUI warrants that for sixty (60) days from the
date of original purchase the media (e.g., CD-Rom) on which the
Software is contained will be free from defects in materials and
workmanship.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 3 of 43

Software EULA 100-5-01-000

b. Remedies. FUI and its suppliers' entire liability and your exclusive
remedy for any breach of the foregoing warranty shall be, at FUI’s
option, either (i) return of the purchase price paid for the license,
if any, or (ii) replacement of the defective media in which the
Software is contained. You must return the defective media to FUI at
your expense with a copy of your receipt. This limited warranty is void
if the defect has resulted from accident, abuse, or misapplication. Any
replacement media will be warranted for the remainder of the original
warranty period.
c. Warranty Disclaimer. Except for the limited warranty set forth
herein, THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT
PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, FUI DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE AND
NONINFRINGEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE AND THE ACCOMPANYING
DOCUMENTATION. YOU ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR SELECTING THE SOFTWARE TO
ACHIEVE YOUR INTENDED RESULTS, AND FOR THE INSTALLATION OF, USE OF, AND
RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE SOFTWARE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING
PROVISIONS, FUI MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL BE ERROR-FREE
OR FREE FROM INTERRUPTIONS OR OTHER FAILURES OR THAT THE SOFTWARE WILL
MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS. SOME STATES AND JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW
LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION MAY NOT
APPLY TO YOU. The foregoing provisions shall be enforceable to the
maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

6. Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL
THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL FUI OR ITS
SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT,
SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER
INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, COMPUTER
FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR FOR ANY AND ALL OTHER DAMAGES OR LOSSES. IN
NO EVENT WILL TOPIARY BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES IN EXCESS OF THE LIST
PRICE TOPIARY CHARGES FOR A LICENSE TO THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF TOPIARY
SHALL HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
FURTHERMORE, SOME STATES AND JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION
OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THIS
LIMITATION AND EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. The foregoing provisions
shall be enforceable to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.

7. Miscellaneous. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the
Ireland, without reference to conflict of laws principles, and the
parties agree that the sole location and venue for any litigation which
may arise hereunder shall be Ireland. The application of the United
Nations Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is
expressly excluded. This Agreement sets forth all rights for the user
of the Software and is the entire agreement between the parties. This
Agreement supersedes any other communications with respect to the
Software and Documentation. This Agreement may not be modified except
by a written addendum issued by a duly authorized representative of
FUI. No provision hereof shall be deemed waived unless such waiver
shall be in writing and signed by FUI or a duly authorized
representative of FUI. If any provision of this Agreement is held
invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force
and effect. The parties confirm that it is their wish that this
Agreement has been written in the English language only.

8. The Software and Documentation are provided with Restricted Rights.

9. You agree not to export this software unless previously agreed with
FUI
Copyright © 2002-2006 Formats Unlimited,Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 4 of 43

Overview 100-5-01-000

Overview

Ripstation v4.4 is a suite of software to allow for batch transfer and encoding of CD
material to digital music files utilising MF Digital’s 7600 series robotic autoloaders.

The application operates on the Windows XP Platform.

The product is designed for use by individuals, system integrators and service providers
and offers flexibility, ease of use and high throughput at the core of its operation.

Ripstation 4.4 is licensed on a seat or site license basis as selected by MF Digital's clients
and subject to the conditions laid down in the applicable license agreement.

This document provides a user manual to allow basic and advanced operation as well as
customisation of all parameters, set up and use of robotics.

Ripstation generally includes the following:

 Ripstation
 7600 series Hardware
 AudioView

This document does not detail each of these applications and it is highly recommended
that the relevant manuals be consulted for each of the above.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 5 of 43

Contents 100-5-01-000

Contents

1.0 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION 8

1.1 PRE-INSTALL CHECKS 8

1.2 RUNNING THE EXECUTABLE 8

1.2.1 REGISTRATION 8

1.2.2 LIMITS ON REGISTRATION 9

2.0 HARDWARE INSTALLATION 10

2.1 ROBOTIC HARDWARE 10

2.2 STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE OF ROBOTIC HARDWARE – 7602/4 10

2.2.1 STEP ONE – REMOVE THE PACKING CONSTRAINTS 10

2.2.2 STEP THREE – PLUG IN THE PERIPHERALS (KVM PC-INSIDE UNITS ONLY) 10

2.2.4 STEP FOUR – PLUGGING IN A USB ROBOT 11
 ONCE YOU HAVE INSTALLED THE SOFTWARE, PLUG THE ROBOT INTO THE COMPUTER

THEN TURN ON AT THE BACK. 11

 ONCE THE FOUND NEW HARDWARE DIALOG HAS POPPED UP, CHOSE TO INSTALL THE

DRIVERS FROM A SPECIFIC LOCATION AND SPECIFY THE DRIVER’S FOLDER OF THE
SOFTWARE PROGRAM DIRECTORY. 11

3.0 RIPSTATION QUICK START GUIDE 15

4.0 MAIN USER GUIDE 17

4.1 KEY FEATURES 17

4.3 SUPPORTED CODECS AND BIT RATES 18

4.3 RIPSTATION V4.4 MAIN SCREEN 19

4.3.1 BUTTON AND SCREEN OPERATIONS 20

4.3.1.1 Group 1: Button Controls 20

4.3.1.2 Group 2: CD-Rom Drive Display Bar 21

4.3.1.3 Group 3: Cover art Preview 21

4.3.1.4 Group 4: Metadata Preview 21

4.3.1.5 Group 5: Batch Status Window 22

4.3.1.6 Group 6: Internet and metadata provider Connection Status Window 22

4.3.1.7 Group 7: Batch Logging Window 23

4.3.2 MAIN SCREEN MENU OPTIONS 23

4.4 PREFERENCE SETTINGS 24

4.4.1 Metadata Tab 24

4.4.2 Data Tab 27

4.4.3 SQL Tab 27

4.4.4 Grooming Tab 28

4.4.5 Logging Tab 29

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Contents 100-5-01-000

4.4.6 Ripping Tab 30

4.5 STARTING A NEW BATCH 32

4.5.1 BATCH SETUP 32

4.5.2 CODEC SETTINGS 33

4.5.3 OPERATIONS DURING BATCH RIP 36

4.5.3.1 Operations without Robotic Autoloader 36

4.5.3.2 Operations with Robotic Autoloader (MFD & Pro Series) 37

4.5.3.3 Reported errors 37

4.6 ACTIONS FOR COMPLETED BATCH 39

4.6.1 PODLOAD BUTTON (LOAD AN IPOD) 39

4.6.2 LOADING AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE 39

4.7 ERROR DETECTION & CORRECTION 40

4.8 OUTPUT REPORTS 40

5.0 INTEGRATION WITH OTHER RIPSTATION PRODUCTS 41

6.0 HELP AND SUPPORT 42

7.0 UPGRADES 43

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 7 of 43

Software Installation 100-5-01-000

1.0 Software Installation

1.1 Pre-install Checks

For Standalone PC Options:

 Windows XP with SP2, Vista or Windows 7
 Microsoft .NET 2.0, download from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0856eacb-4362­4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=en

 PC platforms as specified in pre-install documentation
 Always on internet connection
 Windows Media Player 11 or above.

1.2 Running the Executable

 Ensure target PC is connected to the internet.
 To install the software, double click the icon ‘ripstation44setup.exe’ to run

and follow the onscreen prompts.

 It is recommended that the default paths be selected for installation.

1.2.1 Registration

 To activate the software installation, double click the program shortcut on the

desktop.

 When prompted, as shown in figure 1.0, please key in the registration code

supplied at the time of purchase or upgrade and click ok.

Figure 1.0 – Product Registration Code Screen

 Next, enter in the company details when presented with the screen as shown in

figure 1.1 in order to complete the product registration and software installation.

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Software Installation 100-5-01-000

Figure 1.1 – Product Registration Details Screen

All details marked as * are required.

 Click OK to proceed and the application will connect to our server and verify your

code.

1.2.2 Limits on Registration

In the case of a seat License, ONE code for activation is provided. The application may
be uninstalled at any time and reinstalled on an alternate machine by following the
process above. Please note however, only ONE copy of the software will run at any one
time and a second installation of the software with the same code will prevent the first
installation from being run.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 9 of 43

Hardware Installation 100-5-01-000

2.0 Hardware Installation

This section details a set of instructions for correct assembly of the robotic hardware (if
purchased). It begins by listing the items contained within the packaging.

2.1 Robotic Hardware

The autoloader box should contain:

1. The robotic hardware system

2. Power cable

3. These Quick Set-up Instructions

4. Warranty & support documents

2.2 Step-by-step guide of Robotic hardware – 7602/4

2.2.1 STEP ONE – Remove the Packing Constraints

 Carefully remove the autoloader from its carton, lifting from the bottom using the

hand cut-outs in the foam base.

 DO NOT attempt to lift the machine using the spindles, column tower, or pick

arm, as these are delicate pieces and are depended on for proper alignment and
functioning of the unit.

 Place the system on a level workspace free of debris, dust, humidity, excessive

heat, and electronic or electromagnetic interference.

 Keep out of direct sunlight.
 Allow at least six inches of clearance on all sides of unit for ventilation.
 Remove protective plastic cover from system and save along with the rest of the

packaging.

2.2.2 STEP THREE – Plug in the Peripherals (KVM pc-inside units only)

 Plug in a monitor (VGA DSUB), keyboard and mouse (PS2 or USB) to the robot
 Attach the Ethernet cable.

 Using the enclosed 3-prong power cord, plug in the autoloader to a properly

grounded AC receptacle. It is highly recommended that a surge protector is
used to ensure safety in operation.

 Power on the unit using the main switch at the back
 Windows will now load and you will see the Ripstation Desktop
 Double click the icon for Ripstation MediaGrabber to run the ripper application.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 10 of 43

Hardware Installation 100-5-01-000

2.2.4 Step Four – Plugging in a USB robot

 Once you have installed the software, plug the robot into the computer then turn

on at the back.

 Once the found new hardware dialog has popped up, chose to install the drivers

from a specific location and specify the driver’s folder of the software program
directory.

A small number of test CD’s may be placed into input hopper.

All successfully ripped discs will be dropped off onto the accept spindle or appropriate
hopper until the system has completed the quantity of discs requested, or runs out of
media. Should any discs fail to be ripped due to a blemish or otherwise; they will be
placed in the robot reject area, in front of the drive stack.

2.3 Step-by-step guide of Robotic Hardware - 7601XDP

2.3.1 Step One – Remove the Packing Constraints

 Carefully remove the autoloader from its carton.
 Unlock cover with the key and install the plastic rods.
 Place the system on a level workspace free of debris, dust, humidity, excessive

heat, and electronic or electromagnetic interference.

 Remove protective plastic cover from system and save along with the rest of the

packaging.

2.3.2 Step Two – Plug in the Peripherals

Using the power cord, plug in the autoloader to a properly grounded AC receptacle. It is
highly recommended that a surge protector is used to ensure safety in operation. Then
connect a USB cable from the 7601XDP to the PC.

2.3.3 Step Three - Installing the drivers

Then power on the unit using the main switch at the back of the autoloader and the
“Found New Hardware Wizard” will open.

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Hardware Installation 100-5-01-000

Select install from a list or specific location and click next and the Search and
Installations window will open.

Select “include this location in this search” and browse to the XD Drivers folder which is

located in the Ripstation program folder. Then click next.

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Hardware Installation 100-5-01-000

On the next window select the first driver which is mfd_md1.inf and click next.

Then another window will open that says breadusb.sys cannot be found. Browse to and
open the XD Drivers folder in the Ripstation program folder. Select the breadusb.sys file
and click OK. Then click OK again.

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Hardware Installation 100-5-01-000

That is the driver installation complete and you can now click finish on the new
hardware wizard.

2.3.4 Step Four – Loading Discs

 Discs for ripping are loaded to the top of the unit and the unit can hold 80

discs at one time.

 Completed discs are placed in the tray which can be removed from the

bottom of the unit.

 Rejected discs are ejected through the slot in the front of the unit.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 14 of 43

Ripstation v4.4 Quick Start Guide 100-5-01-000

3.0 Ripstation Quick Start Guide

Before using the Ripstation software, please use the following steps as a ‘quick start’

guide to set the initial parameters and perform a simple MP3 batch rip.

1. Open the Ripstation software and on the main screen click the Preferences
icon. The dialog box shown in figure 3.0 opens.

2. Select the ordering of lookups as GD3 First and the multiple FreeDB options Second

then Click OK. You can open a GD3 account by clicking on the following link:

http://www.getdigitaldata.com/AppSignUp/MFRipstationSignUp.aspx

You can add GD3 look ups by clicking on the following link:

http://www.getdigitaldata.com/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/Secure/AccountManager/GD3Acc
ountManager.aspx

Figure 3.0 – Preferences Dialog Box

3. In the main screen click the new batch icon and the batch properties dialog
opens.

4. If using a 7602/4 device, you will need to configure the side what drive is on, and

choose the correct COM port. To do this from the Source device pull down box,
select 7602/4, the click the edit button beside it:

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Ripstation v4.4 Quick Start Guide 100-5-01-000

Figure 3.1 – MFD2/4 Properties Dialog

You then select which drives are left of the robotic arm, and which are right of it.
You can also enable shake mode1

5. If using a legacy MT2/4 device, select it from the dropdown box, then click edit.

You have the option to choose the COM port that the robotic autoloader is
connected to, and to use shake mode1.

Figure 3.2 – MT2/4 Properties Dialog

1

Shake mode was introduced to address sticking discs being double loaded into drive

tray. It is not supported by the MT1 robotic loader.

6. Enter your name, 'testrip' or 'myfirstrip' into the Client Name box. A folder of the
same name will be created. This is where the audio files will be saved.

7. In the output formats section, highlight the MP3 codec and tick the ‘Use’ box on the
left.

8. Stack some CDs onto any input spindle and click ‘Start Batch’ to commence the first
batch rip!

NOTE: Ripping will continue until all CDs are ripped. Click the ‘Open Client Folder’

button to view the digitally encoded audio files.

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 16 of 43

Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

4.0 Main User Guide

4.1 Key Features

 Batch encoding
 Batch reporting on successful & failed CDs
 Live batch process logging window
 Metadata lookup logging & reporting
 MFD series robotic autoloader and USB2.0 drive support
 Batch setup wizard
 Simultaneous multiple codec encoding
 Client detail entry
 SQL connectivity
 Support for GD3, FreeDB and CD Player.ini localised metadata services
 Full metadata & cover art preview
 Full metadata cover art support and embedding
 Web based lookup and embedding for missing cover art during batch process
 Automatic grooming of tag data during encode process
 Embedded company information
 UID client watermark embedding
 Switchable Unicode support
 ID3> 2.4 inc. 1.1
 Batch preview window – discs ripped/to go/no cover art/codecs/client name
 Single touch start and drive control
 Drive stop control
 Full C2 error checking
 Error output on the fly and post rip
 Metadata testing service
 Full target device support
 Post encode facility
 Fully scalable output masks
 Fully automatically updated
 Amazon cover art support
 Rip multi track discs to a single file
 Run third party exe after completed successful batch

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 17 of 43

Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

Codec

Supported options

FLAC

Lossless

MP3

VBR/CBR
64/128/192/256/320 kbps

WMA

VBR/CBR
64/96/128/160/192/256/320 kbps
Lossless

WAV

Embedded ID3 wav
Request WAV
Sonos RIFF WAV

AAC

VBR/CBR
96/128/160/192/224/320 kbps

OGG

45/64/80/96/112/128/160/192/224/256/320/499 kbps

AIFF

Lossless

APE

Lossless

WAVPACK

Lossless

4.3 Supported Codecs and bit rates

Installed as standard are the following codecs

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 18 of 43

Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

4.3 Ripstation v4.4 Main Screen

The Ripstation main user interface is shown in figure 4.1 below. Operations are carried
out using the button controls at the top of the screen and information is displayed
throughout the rest of the screen. Figure 4.1 shows the interface split into groups from
1-7, Section 4.3.1 of the manual details each of these groups in turn.

Figure 4.1 – Ripstation Main User Interface

Ripstation v4.4 – User Manual Page 19 of 43

Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

4.3.1 Button and Screen Operations

4.3.1.1 Group 1: Button Controls

Figure 4.2 below shows a closer version of the button controls in the main user
interface. They are labelled 1 –11 and are explained below.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Figure 4.2 – Ripstation Button Controls

Button 1: New Batch / Cancel Batch

Opens the Start a New Batch dialog. If a batch is currently running, this button will
change to the Cancel Batch button as shown in figure 4.1 and will cancel the batch if
pressed.

Button 2: Preferences

Opens the preferences dialog.

Button 3: Load

Opens a browser dialog to load previously saved batch settings (.rsf file). Settings file
contains Client Name, folder masks and configurations of all codecs, codec selection

Button 4: Save

Opens a browser dialog to save the current batch settings into a .rsf file.

Button 5: Delete Client Files

Deletes the last client folder that was ripped. Will display a confirmation dialog showing
the name of the folder about to be deleted. NOTE: If no client folder loaded – deletes

all files ripped from the top level folder down.

Button 6: Server Loading Module

Opens the MF Digital 'Audioload' module for server loading– please refer to this
product's user manual.

Button 7: Podload Module

Opens iTunes for add to library function and iPod loading

Button 8: Send to Disk

Opens the MF Digital 'Send to HD' module for loading client audio to removable storage.
Please refer to this product's user manual.

Button 9: AudioFile

Opens the optional MF Digital 'AudioFile' module HTML/PDF batch cataloguing. Please
refer to this product's user manual.

Button 10: Help

Opens the Ripstation v4.4 help dialog.

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Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

4.3.1.2 Group 2: CD-Rom Drive Display Bar

The CD-Rom drive display bar shows the status of each CD-Rom device in the system.
For the selected check box, the following information is displayed when a drive is ripping
a disc:

 Thumbnail image of the current album cover art
 Album name
 Artist name
 Album year
 Genre
 (all above as provided by the metadata provider)
 Drive and firmware details
 Percentage complete progress bar (also shows drive read speed)

The Stop button (Disc Skip) to the right of each drive display will eject the current disc
and place it onto the reject pile, before moving onto the next disc. Clicking anywhere on
the display bar for a drive will change the information displayed on the cover art,
metadata and batch status windows.

4.3.1.3 Group 3: Cover art Preview

The cover art preview window displays album cover art as shown in figure 4.3 for
example. Disc Cover dimensions are displayed at the top of the window and the
‘Provider’ box shows the source of cover art - “Web” indicates a web retrieved cover art
source (e.g. amazon). Clicking on the preview image will show a full resolution version
of the cover art (actual pixel size). Click on the full resolution image to close it.

Figure 4.3 – Example of Cover Art Preview

4.3.1.4 Group 4: Metadata Preview

The metadata preview window displays a track listing for the disc in the currently
selected drive, and indicates the metadata provider used as a source for this metadata.
A percentage complete figure is displayed and updated in real time as each track is
synchronously read from the disc and encoded.

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Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

4.3.1.5 Group 5: Batch Status Window

The batch status window as shown in figure 4.4 is designed to give a dynamic preview
of the current batch job.

Figure 4.4 – Batch Status Box

The window provides the following information:

 Client name - as entered into the New Batch dialog
 Discs ripped - displayed in the form N/NN where N is the total ripped to date and

NN is the total size of the batch. A wildcard * is used to denote when no
maximum number of discs has been entered.

 Discs failed - number of discs rejected due to failing error correction
 Missing Covers - number of discs in current batch for which album art was not

obtained from metadata services or the integrated web search.

 Elapsed Time - time elapsed since the start of the batch.
 Open Client Folder button - opens the client folder for the current batch in

Windows Explorer. This is useful for checking that folders and files are being
created as expected. This can be clicked safely during the batch process and will
not affect operation.

 The settings for each codec that was selected for the current batch - the bit rate

and VBR/CBR settings will be highlighted within the active codec.

4.3.1.6 Group 6: Internet and metadata provider Connection Status Window

The key for the connection status of the internet and the metadata providers is shown
below.

Connectivity not tested

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Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

Connectivity tested and status OK

Connectivity tested and no response received

Internet connectivity is tested every 12 seconds. Metadata provider connectivity is
tested when each database lookup request is sent to the provider. Metadata
connectivity indicators remain amber until a lookup request is sent, a successful
response from the provider will turn the indicator green while no response from the
provider will turn the indicator red.

4.3.1.7 Group 7: Batch Logging Window

Real time logging of robotic operation, disc loading, metadata lookup, ripping and
encoding process and failed CDs. Each log entry is time stamped.

4.3.2 Main Screen Menu Options

Right clicking in the top left corner of the main screen, over the ‘Ripstation V4’ heading
opens the menu shown in figure 4.5.

Figure 4.5 – Ripstation V4 Menu Options

 About Ripstation V4 - Opens the about dialog showing program detail
 Formats Unlimited, Inc. - Opens the Ripstation homepage in your browser
 Send Support Request - Opens the Ripstation Support homepage in your

browser

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4.4 Preference Settings

Clicking on the preferences button opens the dialog box as shown in figure

4.6.

4.4.1 Metadata Tab

Figure 4.6 – Preferences Dialog Box (Metadata Tab)

The metadata tab selected in figure 4.6 allows for the following settings to be selected:

 Local cdplayer.ini - For metadata retrieval from a local cache, check the 'Local

cdplayer.ini' checkbox and key in the full file path to the cdplayer.ini file (e.g.
C:\Windows\cdplayer.ini).

 GD3 – GD3 access is activated by entering a “Username” and “Password” key in

the spaces provided. To get a “Username” and “Password”, you can open a GD3
account by clicking on the following link:

http://www.getdigitaldata.com/AppSignUp/MFRipstationSignUp.aspx

You can add GD3 look ups by clicking on the following link:

http://www.getdigitaldata.com/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=/Secure/AccountManager/
GD3AccountManager.aspx

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FreeDB regional mirrors..

at.freedb.org (Vienna, Austria)
au.freedb.org (Sydney, Australia)
ca.freedb.org (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)
es.freedb.org (Madrid, Spain)
fi.freedb.org (Tampere, Finland)
fr.freedb.org (Courbevoie, France)
jp.freedb.org (Shizuoka, Shizuoka, Japan)
jp2.freedb.org (Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan)
ru.freedb.org (Saint-Petersburg, Russia)
uk.freedb.org (London, UK)
uk2.freedb.org (London, UK)
us.freedb.org (San Jose, California, USA)

 FreeDB – This is the web's main free metadata database. You can key in the

web address of freedb.freedb.org or one of the local regional mirrors (shown in
figure 4.7). FreeDB does not provide cover art.

 Tracktype – This is another free metadata service like FreeDB. Key the web

address www.tracktype.org into the FreeDB options in the metadata preferences
as shown in figure 4.6. Tracktype does not provide cover art.

 Metadata drop down boxes – The boxes beside each metadata service

provider allow the user to choose the order that Ripstation v4.4 queries each
metadata provider. Click the drop down menu to the left of each provider and set
to Never, First, Second or Third.

 No Data Setting - Four options exist for dealing with albums with no metadata.

 Automatically Rip - Discs will be ripped using “Unknown Artist” for artist

tag and artist folder name. The album name will be generated using a unique
ID. All albums ripped in this way will be placed into an artist folder called
'Unknown Artist” for later tagging and naming. There are several added
options to automatically rip. The second new option is to have a cddbid text
file placed in the album folder for unknown discs.

 Automatically Reject - Discs will be rejected and placed in the reject pile.

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 Rip and Reject - This option is the same as Automatically Rip except the

unknown discs will be placed on the reject stack.

 Query User - User will immediately be prompted to enter album information

manually during the batch process, as shown in figure 4.8.

o Select the genre from the dropdown list

Figure 4.7 – FreeDB Regional Mirrors

Ripstation v4.4 Main User Guide 100-5-01-000

o Key in the year of release
o Key in the artist name
o Key in the album name
o Click on each track to rename it
o Click the OK button to save and continue
o Or Click Skip to reject this CD and continue

Figure 4.8 – Metadata Manual Entry

NOTE: This facility cannot always provide 100% accurate cover art particularly for
Various artists discs

 Include track count in TRCK frames - Check this option when ripping for

iPod or iTunes.

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4.4.2 Data Tab

In the preferences dialog box, select the data tab as shown in figure 4.9.

Figure 4.9 – Preferences Dialog Box – Data Tab

The company URL may be keyed in here such that it becomes embedded in the
‘encoded by’ field in the ID3 tag. Alternatively the box may be left blank.

4.4.3 SQL Tab

In the preferences dialog box, select the SQL tab as shown in figure 4.10.

Figure 4.10 – Preferences Dialog Box – SQL Tab

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SQL enabled allows Ripstation v4.4 to write ALL information from metadata and client
detail to a local SQL server. Simply check the box and key in the server details to enable
this.

Please consult MF Digital detailed documentation for set up details.

4.4.4 Grooming Tab

In the preferences dialog box, select the Grooming tab as shown in figure 4.11.

Figure 4.11 – Preferences Dialog Box – Grooming Tab

 Map output genres to - Using the drop down box, select the manufacturer to

groom for and the genres will be mapped to the target list. These are supplied as
standard with Ripstation v4.4 and are updated by MF Digital on a regular basis.

 Capitalize every word - Check this box to capitalise every new word of a

phrase (e.g. ‘

a new day’

becomes ‘

A New Day’

). Click the edit list to edit the

exceptions for this rule (e.g. of, a , the)

 Standardise composer names – Ensures consistent composer naming e.g. J S

Bach, Johann Sebastian Bach, J Bach all become ‘Bach’. Click edit to add a

composer.

 Append artist name - Adds the artist name to the album ‘Greatest Hits’ e.g.

‘Greatest Hits’ by Madonna becomes ‘Greatest Hits, Madonna’. Click edit to add

to the list of album titles to perform this function on – e.g. best of, very best of
etc.

 Prepend artist name - Adds the artist name to the album ‘Greatest Hits’ e.g.

‘Greatest Hits’ by Madonna becomes ‘Madonna, Greatest Hits’. Click edit to add

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to the list of album titles to perform this function on – e.g. best of, very best of
etc.

 Replace keywords – Primarily for consistency of box sets, we can instruct the

application to, for example search for ‘disc1’ and make it ‘CD 1’. Click edit to add
to the list of keywords to perform this function on.

 Delete all after – This function removes all words after specific keywords in the

track title e.g. “Under Pressure Feat. David Bowie” would become “Under
Pressure”. Click edit to add to the list of keywords to perform this function on.

 Remove Non-ASCII Characters - Non ASCII characters will be replaced with

the closest ASCII character equivalent. For example, “(Götterdämmerung)
Funeral March” will become “(Gotterdammerung) Funeral March”.

NOTE: These options may be selected or unselected.

4.4.5 Logging Tab

In the preferences dialog box, select the Logging tab as shown in figure 4.12.

 Log all metadata - When checked, this creates a text log file in the client folder

detailing all metadata lookups for the entire batch. Please use this for debug
purposes only when requested by MF Digital Staff.

 Log cddbinfo.txt – When ripping for a DigiFi server use this option. This file is

required when loading an album to a DigiFi server.

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Figure 4.12 – Preferences Dialog Box – Logging Tab

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 Log batch summary - When checked, this creates a text log file in the client

folder detailing failed/rejected CDs and successfully ripped CD's in order they
were ripped.

 Log genre in folder.dat – this will place a folder.dat file in the album folder

which contains the genre of the disc. As an example the contents of the file
would look like “genre=latin”.

 View provider log - Click this to display a running total of metadata lookups

broken down by month and by provider.

 E-mail alerts – In this section enter in the details for your email account and

you will receive email alerts connected with your batch when any error condition
occurs

4.4.6 Ripping Tab

In the preferences dialog box, select the Ripping tab as shown in figure 4.13.

Figure 4.13 – Preferences Dialog Box – Ripping Tab

 Skip Heavily Damaged Discs - This allows the software to skip discs that are

badly damaged and or unreadable. This will allow ripping to continue without,
the software continually trying to read the disc and slowing down the process.
The software will reject a disc if it rips below a ripping speed of 5x over a
sustained period of time, using the drop down box you can lower this default
threshold to a ripping speed of 1x.

 Rip Sequentially – This option enables the software to load, rip and eject discs

in a sequential order.

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 Calculate Replay Gain – This will switch on the option to calculate the replay

gain value and embed it in the file.

 Rip all tracks to one file – This will rip all tracks on the disc to a single file and

will also write out a cue file for the ripped track.

NOTE: These options may be selected or unselected.

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4.5 Starting a New Batch

4.5.1 Batch Setup

In the main Ripstation screen, click the ‘New Batch’ button and the Start a New
Batch dialog box shown in figure 4.14 appears.

Figure 4.14– Batch Properties Dialog Box

 Source Device – select the model of robotic device you are using, or IDE/USB

Drives to use internal or external CD/DVD Rom drives with no robotics.

 Edit – additional edits can be made such as COM port, Shake mode (on/off) and

for MFD 7602/7604 devices, the option to select which side the drives are on.
Shake mode was introduced to address sticking discs being double loaded into
drive tray. It is not supported by the 7601 robotic loader.

Figure 4.15 – Source Device Edit Dialog Box

 Number of CDs - key in the number of CDs in the batch, or 0 to rip indefinitely.
 Target device – Use Generic for any portable devices, or select from the

manufacturer list to enable file format and grooming. Added direct support for
Vantage Media servers with cddbinfo.txt file output.

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 Client Name - Key in the client name (required) and a folder will be created of

the same name inside the default output path folder where all encoded audio
files will be placed.

 Output Formats – Displays the CODECs to be used for ripping. To enable a

CODEC to be used, highlight (by the blue bar) the CODEC in the display and
check the ‘Use’ tick box on the left.

 [ADD] Click Add to add an output codec to the output list.
 [EDIT] Click Edit to edit this Codec's settings. This will open a dialog in order to

configure the codec settings including bit rates and VBR/CBR options (see section

4.5.2).

 [DELETE] Click Delete to remove the codec from the output list. Only codecs

that are checked will be used.

 Force default filenames should only be checked if multiple formats are being

encoded to. This will prefix the codec name above the album name – e.g.
C:\Root\clientname\MP3\

 Use this output path - when checked will force the program to use this path

as the root location for all files and will override the setting within each codec.

 Unicode ID3 tags is defaulted to ‘on’ as standard.
 Copy Data Tracks - Copy data tracks option introduced to copy data CDs as

part of the batch process.

 Audiofiles only

-

Audio files only option filters out non-audio files by only

copying the following:
*.mp3
*.wav
*.flac
*.aac
*.wma

 Make a duplicate copy of output files here – This will place a copy of the

ripped files to the specified location

 Launch this application after every successful batch – This allows the user

to select an application that will be launched by Ripstation after every successful

batch that is completed.

 [Start Batch] closes this screen and starts the batch process.

NOTE: Codec and path settings will be stored from session to session, for a quick
batch simply key in number of CDs and check the codec.

4.5.2 Codec Settings

Ripstation v4.4 ships with a number of standard CODEC options pre-configured.
However CODECs may be added or deleted and the settings for the MP3, WMA, AAC and
OGG CODECs may be modified.

 To add a new codec, click the [Add] button in the Batch Properties dialog box.

The New Output dialog will appear as in figure 4.16

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Figure 4.16– New Output Dialog

 Choose the CODEC you wish to add to the display from the drop down box at the

top and press OK.

 In the same way, if you would like to delete a CODEC from the display, select

the CODEC to be removed (highlighted by the blue bar) and press [Delete].

 To modify a CODEC’s settings, select the codec you wish to modify and click the

[Edit] button. For the MP3 CODEC, the box in figure 4.17 appears.

List of variables used in the output paths:

%A AlbumArtistName
%B BatchClientUID
%C BatchClientName
%D AlbumName
%E AlbumCreditName (If CreditTitle is “Narrator”)
%F AlbumCreditName (If CreditTitle is “Co-Author”)
%G TrackArtistName
%H ISRC
%I CDDBId
%J Date in YYYYMMDD format
%K Genre
%M AlbumDiscNumber (if nonzero)
%N TrackNumber
%P FirstReleaseLabel
%Q AMG ID
%S FirstReleaseISBN
%T TrackName
%U FirstReleaseUPC
%V AlbumDiscNumber

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%W AlbumDiscCount
%X BatchIndex
%Y AlbumDate
0-9 BatchUserData (0-9)

Figure 4.17- MP3 CODEC Settings

 Include Metadata In Output files – If this is checked Ripstation will write out

and embed metadata in the file. If this is unchecked no metadata will be written

into the output.

 Path - This represents the path the codec's output will use as a root folder. This

may be overridden however in the batch properties screen (figure 4.14) by

checking the ‘Use this output path’ option.

 Tracks - This is the full track path and name under the root folder. These

settings are configured for each codec and MF Digital recommends that the same

convention be used for all.

 Cover art – The location and name used for cover art. The recommended

setting is set to album folder and named folder.jpg for maximum compatibility.

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 Metadata – If log all metadata is selected this will be the pathway for the

location of the xml file which is written out for this option. The user has the

ability to customise the xml file path and name.

 Data Files – If this is selected any compatible data files will be written out to

this location.

 Max Length – This gives the user the ability to create clips of the tracks. The

duration of the track is written into this box as seconds. For example if the value

of 30 is entered in the box then Ripstation will rip a 30 second clip of each track

on the disc.

NOTE : Each server as selected in the drop down box in the main batch screen will
dynamically set its own cover art and path naming convention and will highlight the
available codec types.

 Quality slider (L.A.M.E. MP3 & Windows Media VBR codecs only) - The

quality slider determines how rigorous the codec will be during the audio

encoding phase. Higher quality settings will slow down the encoding process very

slightly. Challenging audio, for example classical music or heavy metal, generally

requires that the slider be moved toward the Slow setting.

The resulting increase in quality is somewhat subjective; a slower speed, higher

quality setting of the quality slider is generally only recommended for challenging

and very dynamic audio, with playback on high end audio equipment. For the

vast majority of MP3 encoding with playback on low to mid-range audio

equipment and portable music players, the default setting (shown above) is

recommended.

4.5.3 Operations During Batch Rip

4.5.3.1 Operations without Robotic Autoloader

 At the start of a batch process, all selected drives will eject. Place CDs in the

drives and click ‘close all drives’. The batch process will now progress.

 As each CD is completed, it will be ejected. Replace with another when ready.

At the end of the batch the screen in figure 4.18 will be presented.

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Figure 4.18 – Batch Complete Dialog

When Ripstation can find no more discs to load, the user is now presented with 3
options:

 Cancel the batch (No more discs to rip)

This will end the batch after any discs still being ripped have finished ripping. All

drives will now be closed.

 Try again (There are still discs to rip)

This will instruct the bot to retry the last attempted spindle. The bot will not retry

a spindle which has been used as an output spindle.

 Continue from beginning (New discs have been loaded)

This continues the current batch, and will restart from the first spindle.

4.5.3.2 Operations with Robotic Autoloader (MFD & Pro Series)

 Before clicking the Start Batch button, load the input spindle with CDs. At the

start of the batch process, each drive on the MFD series will open and will be

checked for the presence of a CD – in the case of none found, the drive will be

loaded with a CD from the input spindle, closed and read. This step is followed

for each CD in turn.

When each CD is completed it is collected and either placed on the ‘Accept’ spindle as a
good CD or the small ‘Reject’ pile as a failed CD.

 At the end of the batch, the dialog box shown in figure 4.18 will appear, either

click the ‘No, I’m Done!’ button to complete the process or add more CDs to the

spindle, key in the number and press the ‘Yes, Add More!’ button, at which point

ripping will recommence.

4.5.3.3 Reported errors

If the robotic autoloader experiences a problem collecting a CD during a batch rip, one
of two error dialog boxes will appear. These dialog boxes are shown in figure 4.19a & b.

Figure 4.19a – Error While Accepting Dialog Box

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Figure 4.19b – Error While Rejecting Dialog Box

Figure 4.18a displays the error while accepting dialog box which occurs when the robotic
autoloader experiences a problem while trying to collect a CD from the input spindle.

 When this occurs either click ‘yes’ to allow the autoloader to retry the collection

or click ‘no’ and remove the CD from the stack.

Figure 4.18b shows the error while rejecting dialog box which occurs when the robotic
autoloader experiences a problem while trying to collect a CD from the drive.

 When this occurs either click yes to allow the autoloader to retry the collection or

click no and remove the CD from the drive manually.

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4.6 Actions for Completed Batch

4.6.1 Podload button (load an iPod)

When you click the Podload button it opens iTunes and adds the rip files to the
library. Then the user can add the music files to the iPod using the iTunes interface.

4.6.2 Loading an external Hard Drive

Clicking the ‘Send to HD’ button loads the client folder to a hard drive. The
standard Windows explorer dialog appears.

Figure 4.26 – Selecting a folder to load to Hard Drive (HD)

 Select the Location of the external USB hard drive unit, network hard drive or

USB device and click OK.

The files will then be loaded to the device chosen and the file copy dialog appears to
show its progress.

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Ripstation v4.4
Client: Test1 UID: 29378975
MP3: 224 kbps CBR

Started: 07/29/2009 11:25

A total of:
16 albums were ripped
2 albums were not ripped
0 albums had no cover
0 albums had no data

Albums Not Ripped

----------------------------------------------------------­Pet Shop Boys - Discography

4.7 Error detection & correction

Ripstation’s error handling consists of:

 Auto C2 Check
 Burst mode check
 Jitter check

4.8 Output Reports

In addition to the live logging window, Ripstation generates a key report automatically
at the end of a batch as follows:

A flat text file detailing the following, saved into the client folder.

(Clientname_log).txt

The clientname_log.txt file will be appended to for batches with the same client name,
so they will not be overwritten. The log window shows a running transaction trail of all
functions of each part of the process detailing and time stamping each error for trapping
and monitoring purposes. Another feature is real-time writing of the log window to a log
file in the batch output folder called “log.txt”.

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5.0 Integration with Other Ripstation Products

Audiofile may be added to Ripstation as an additional module to support automatic

generation of the client output catalogue in PDF or HTML.

Ripstation AudioFile

Generates fully customisable and printable HTML album catalogue using cover art and
customisable logo and colours

Please contact Ripstation for further information, or visit

www.ripstation.com

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6.0 Help and Support

Support terms are detailed in client specific contracts, but at minimum shall include 24
hour support via our online helpdesk. In addition we offer an extended warranty
package which includes remote access to your site from our headquarters and extended
hardware warranty coverage.

Support response is guaranteed within 24 hours.

Contact details:

Ripstation
A Division of Formats Unlimited, Inc
155 Sherwood Avenue
Farmingdale, NY 11735

US Support:
T: [phone]
F: [phone]

EU Support:
T: [phone]

Email: [e-mail]
Support Helpdesk: www.ripstation.com/support

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7.0 Upgrades

Ripstation 4.4 includes an autoupdate push client. This client will sit in your system tray
and poll our servers for the latest updates. When an update is found, it will notify you
with a pop up message and allow you to ignore or download the upgrade.

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