What about trying virtual PC on a Mac?

Plextools uses almost no CPU. My burner box (and main non-audio PC) is a dual P3 800. I have an error check running in the background as I write this and CPU usage is peaks at about 12% (rarely) - usually running closer to 5%.

You can you just about anything for this task. My recommendation would be get something old, slow, and stable rather than something new speedy and cheap as hell. You'd probably be totally OK with 350 MHz box. A P3 with an intel chipset. I guess if your drive is FW, there may be some minimum requirements for that ...

Basically, get a plextor drive compatible with plextools (plex prem or newer plex drives) and get the cheapest pc possible that meets the compatibility requirements listed on the side of the box. You could probably get a barebones, the plex drive, a hard disk, and an OS for less than $350 if you shop around.

Michael Fossenkemper wrote: What about trying virtual PC on a Mac?

That aplication should be renamed "expensive virtual shit", don't you think so?

everything pc is virtually sh..! :lol:

but it should be more than possible on a g5 to run something as simple as plextools....

but.... i think it's more expensive than a really cheap pc....

but then you don't have to have one of those ugly mf's in your studio! :lol: :lol:

I don't think it's all that bad. It seems stable enough to run those few PC programs I have. I haven't found much that a G4 can't handle. Plextools isn't a huge program. If you already have VPC, then I would just try that first.

I mostly use VPC to run the Masterlink software. It's a really basic program, I think it's compareble to the plextools program.

But if you have neither, then you can probably get a PC for less than the program, like stated before.

When I have a moment, I'll download the plextools program and see if it runs in VPC, would be nice to know for future reference.

Thanks Guys for your advice on this matter!

Fosse... what Masterlink software? I'll check the Alesis site.

I really didn't want to put VPC on our main G4 in Studio A, for fear of mucking it up further, it's already got OSX and OS9 on it.

I bought a name brand cheapo PC at the local superstore just down the street from our studio. Pentium 4, 3.2MHz, DVD 16x, 1 GB-RAM, etc.... Put it in Studio B!......, and it's up & Running.

Plextools is Working Great ! I verified that our CD-Text and ISRC codes are burning to disc... AND making it through the replication chain... Good News.

I Analyzed a couple of test discs late last night, results on one 45min 8x burn:

C1 errors avg/s= 1.3..... peak/s 25

C2 errors = 0

CU errors = 0

Total = about 3000 not too Bad Huh !

Gonna check out the other features, maybe Upgrade to the XL version.

Is there any way to print the Graph on the C1 test?

In addition to Listening to Proof, It's great to have another level of Confidence in the master discs.

Best Regards

When you buy a plextor burner how much does it cost to add the plextools program?

J-MADD wrote: When you buy a plextor burner how much does it cost to add the plextools program?

Nothing - it comes bundled with the drive.

Best regards,
Steve Berson

The Premium drives come with Plextools Pro.

I think you right click on the error page to print it. I read that somewhere, can't remember. The masterlink software is for making CD24's to play in the masterlink. This works great for me if I have a project with multiple sample rates. The CD24 plays it back at whatever sample rate it is, I run it through my chain and SRC it to 44.1 on the fly. makes sessions run much smoother and faster.

Hey Fosse,

That's a really clever trick with the Masterlink software... you're giving away some trade secrets there....

...SRC via D/A/D, so you can print (post analog path) into your DAW at 44.1, regardless of the source SRate.

...ever had the Masterlink crash during the last few seconds of the last track when playing an ordinary CD-R?

I've got two of 'em, they both have that problem, they're both version 1s, with the smaller HD.

Of course the workaround is to "move" that Last track to the HD, then playback works fine. But it still freaks the client, if they're listening that close.

Peace 8)

I have a hardware SRC that I put after my weiss gear. That way I can hear the conversion as it's being done. makes me feel better.

The masterlink is a little wishy washy with audio CD's. If the CD is over 40 min or so, it crashes on the last track like yours. Pain in the butt. CD24's play fine though. I just put the last track on the HD before the session and try to remember to switch from the CD to the HD on the last track. I stuck a bigger HD in my unit. A computer store had 30 gig drives for $25, so I bought one and stuck it in. Works fine. Just remember to download the system softerware first and make a CD24 so you can load it onto the hard drive after you install it. What I would like them to do is update the software so you can put a DVD-R drive in the unit so you can make bigger CD24 discs.