Why can't I use digital recording in RealPlayer?

RealPlayer cannot use digital recording (digital extraction) if your computer's CD-ROM drive does not support digital recording, if you have an unsupported CD drive or a drive known to have problems with RealPlayer, or if the computer's processor is too slow. You can often solve this problem by changing some settings.

If the solutions for using digital recording don't work, the best solution may be to use analog recording. The advantage of digital recording is its speed; it takes the information right off the CD, as fast as the drive can read it. However, digital recording must be supported by the CD drive on your computer. With analog recording, the information must be played in a sound card, and then RealPlayer records it. This method is reliable but slow, and may be prone to skips, pops, or other audio hardware problems.

Solution 1: Check your CD-ROM drive.

You may have one of the following problems related to your CD-ROM drive:

- CD-ROM drive that does not support digital recording

Your CD-ROM drive may not support digital recording. We recommend that you check with your CD-ROM drive manufacturer to find out if digital recording is supported on the CD-ROM drive model installed in your computer.

- Problematic CD-ROM drive

You may have one of the following CD-ROM drives, known to have problems with digital recording under RealPlayer:

- Mitsumi CD-ROM FX410A !B
- Toshiba CD-ROM XM-5702B
- Torisan CD-ROM U200

Not all users will have problems with these drives, and analog recording usually works fine. You can improve performance under these drives by getting a more powerful processor and updating your drivers. Driver updates are usually available for free download from manufacturers' Web sites.

- Untested CD-ROM drive

You may have one of the following CD-ROM drives, which have not been tested for compatibility with RealPlayer:

- NEC CDR-1810A
- NEC CDR-84
- Sony CD-ROM CDU33A-01
- Wearnes CDD-220
- Wearnes CDD-820

Solution 2: Check your processor speed.

The processor in your computer may be too slow for the extraction speed. Please make sure your CPU is 1.4 GHz or faster. You may also need to close other programs running during a recording session.

If none of these solutions work for digital recording, you can switch to analog recording.

Solution 3: Switch to analog recording.

To set RealPlayer to analog recording:

1. Click the RealPlayer logo in the upper left and choose Preferences. The Preferences box opens.
2. In the Category panel, double-click CD, and then click Advanced CD.
3. Under Save CD Method, click Analog.
4. Click OK.
5. Restart RealPlayer.

Note: The following is a common misconception: Faster drives = faster recording. This is not true. The speed indicated on your CD-ROM drive (8X, 12X, 32X, etc.) does not reflect the speed of digital extraction. Because digital extraction is a process that performs at a specific rate, a faster CD-ROM drive can actually hinder the process by spinning the CD too fast.