- What is Mastering?
- Who are the Metropolis Group?
- How does iMastering work?
- What are the system requirements?
- What have Metropolis mastered?
- Who will master my tracks?
- Can I attend the iMastering Session?
- How do I book/pay for iMastering?
- How long will iMastering take?
- What if I don't like the mastering?
- How much will iMastering cost?
- What mastering equipment do you use?
- How secure is iMastering?
- How long do I have to Upload and Download my tracks?
- What is an MD5 Checksum?
- What format will the Production Master be?
- What are PQ and ISRC?
- What should I remember when mixing?
- Will uploading tracks affect audio quality?
- What audio formats are acceptable?
- Can I use the iMastering service by post?
- What sampling frequency & bit depth should I supply the files as?
- Can I have a reference disc/download?
- How large can my files be?
- What if I haven’t got a Barcode or an ISRC?
- How long will it take to transfer my tracks?
- How do I extract an audio CD track to a file so that i can upload it?
What format will the Production Master be?
CD pressing plants can handle many different formats but in practice we have found that a DDP Image File proves the most reliable form of transfer to the plant (they convert all other formats to DDP images at the plant).
A DDP Image File is a set of files that contains the Audio, the Table of Contents and ISRC information. To this we add a MD5 checksum, a PQ Text File and a Read Me File. The Read Me File explains in more detail what all these files are and how best to use them.
The DDP Image File will either be shipped to you directly on a disc or can be downloaded from our secure server depending on your order.
Should you feel confident in producing your own CD Master without compromising audio quality, we can supply your Production Masters as .wav files.