FAQ

1. The Ill Chemistry Ripping / Encoding Process

2. Encoding

3. Delivery

4. Important Issues to Consider

5. Miscellaneous

1. The Ill Chemistry Ripping / Encoding Process

Q.

A. Ill Chemistry will send you a pre-paid shipping container to package your CDs in and send back to our

facility for encoding, once your order has been confirmed. All shipments are made through FedEx unless

otherwise stipulated.

Q.

A. This depends on the size of your collection. Most collections will be processed in less than 3 days, once

we receive your shipment.  Larger orders (i.e. over 200 CDs) may take longer depending upon our workload. 

In addition, more complex collection, such as classical music, may require additional time due to our efforts in

providing consistent album information.

Q.

A. Ill Chemistry has a tiered pricing structure dependent on the number of CDs you would like to have encoded.

From 50-200 CDs, the price is $1.29/CD, from 201-400, the price is $1.19/CD, and then any CD over 400,

the price is $0.99/CD. You may also choose to purchase an external USB hard drive or have us load your

MP3 player with your new collection at no extra cost.  Please note, this does not include the cost of shipping.

Q.

A. Due to the costs of handling each order, there is a minimum order of 50 CDs.

Q.

A. Yes, we insure your CDs for a replacement value of $10 per CD. As standard, Ill Chemistry utilizes

FedEx for all shipments.

Q.

A. Jewel cases are very heavy to ship with CDs, and they are very fragile. To prevent broken cases and

reduce the shipping costs, Ill Chemistry sends CDs in spindle cases that provide maximum protection

and lower shipping costs. We  will return your collection in the same order as you sent them to us for ease

of returning them to their jewel cases.

Q.

A. You will receive a personalized instruction sheet with the number of your local FedEx location that

you will need to contact to schedule a pick-up of the package. We can also contact your FedEx location

to schedule this pick up. You can also drop off the package to you nearest FedEx shipping location.

Q.

A. Yes, we will return your CDs as well as the digitized collection.

2. Encoding

Q.

A. Ill Chemistry can encode your CDs into MP3 and/or FLAC format.  MP3 is by far the most popular format. 

The MP3 files can be played on nearly all digital music devices, including the Apple iPod.  FLAC is considered

a lossless digital format.  This differs from an MP3 in terms of how the files are compressed.  A FLAC file is

compressed in a manner that it does not lose any audio quality.  The downside to FLAC is that it results in

much larger (approx. 4 times) files sizes requiring more storage space.  In addition, FLAC is not as

universally supported as MP3.  The Apple iPod will NOT play FLAC files.

Q.

A. Yes, we can return your collection in both FLAC and MP3 formats.  Many customers wish to maintain a

permanent archive of their collection in a lossless format as well as have their music readily accessible for

other devices such as their iPod.  We offer you the ability to select the FLAC format as well

as the MP3 format.  The cost for this is an additional $.25 per CD on top of our Base price.  Additional bitrate

or DVD adders still apply depending upon your selection.

Q.

A. The MP3 compression format offers different bit-rates, which are the settings for quality: the higher

the bit-rate, the higher the quality of the compressed file. Ill Chemistry offers the following bit-rates;

128kbps (kilo-bits per second), 192kbps, 256kbps, and 320kbps. In general, selecting a bitrate is typically

determined by the available hard drive storage as well has how the digital audio will be utilized. 

For example, if a user will be primarily utilizing their music on a portable device, they may be more

inclined to select 128kbps or 192kbps due to the limited storage capacity of their portable device.

Q.

A. Yes, quality and storage size directly affect each other. A collection of 300 CDs stored in 128kbps MP3

will typically take 15GB (gigabytes) of storage space. The same collection stored in 320kbps MP3 will take up

37.5GB of storage space. By selecting a lower bitrate, you are able to maintain CD sound quality, while at the

same time, maximize the storage space needed to hold the collection. For this reason, 128kbps and 192kbps

are very popular bit-rates for MP3 files.

Q.

A. Our encoding process is able to check for any errors that may occur during the encoding process. If there

are any scratches in your disc that result in an audible skip, We will try to fix the error by cleaning the CD 

and reprocessing it. If the error cannot be fixed by a surface cleaning, Ill Chemistry will resurface the disc

with the SkipDR™ scratch repair device. If the disc is too badly damaged and cannot be resurfaced, we will

be unable to encode the disc properly without errors and will recommend replacement.

3. Delivery

Q.

A. Ill Chemistry can offer several delivery methods depending on your requirements. The simplest and

most cost effective method is to deliver your collection on a set of DVDs, since a recordable DVD can store

about 100 CDs (128kbps MP3). Get Digital delivers your collection on DVDs using the DVD-R standard. 

DVD-Rs are compatible with most newer PC DVD drives.  It is possible your DVD drive does not support

DVD-R, but supports DVD+R.  If this is the case, please advise us as to your needs so that we can accommodate

your requirements.  All MP3 orders are returned on DVDs.  FLAC orders can be delivered on DVDs as well,

but must be selected during the order process.

Q.

A. Yes, and this is the easiest way for you to start enjoying your new investment. MP3 players such as the

Apple iPod and Dell DJ are now available in 20 GB to 120 GB versions and can let you transfer your entire

collection to them. If you’d like us to load your player, just make sure you tell us when you order, then send it

along with your CDs. Ill Chemistry will do the transfer for you and return your device back with your entire

CD collection on it. We’ll also provide the DVDs of your collection for your archives. We support all the standard

USB and Firewire based MP3 players. (Note: iPod loading is only available for MP3 orders)

Q.

A. Yes, we embed album cover art into each of mp3 tracks of your collection.  These images will be recognized

by any device or application capable of displaying cover art, which includes such devices as the iPod Photo,

Sonos Digital Music System and Escient Fireball, as well as most PC applications.

Q.

A. We offer customers the ability to purchase an external hard drive containing their digitized collection. 

Hard drive prices vary depending upon the size of the drive.  When proceeding through the order prices,

you will be given an oportunity to select the size of hard drive you would like and will be presented pricing at that time.

Q.

A. Yes, Ill Chemistry offers Network Attached Storage drives as well as external hard drives.  In order to purchase

a Network Attached Storage drive, during the order processes,  select the size of hard drive you would like,

then check Yes where asked if you'd like to substitute the external hard drive with a Network Attached Storage

drive of the same capacity.  Note, Network Attached Storage drives are not offered under 200GB.

Q.

A. MP3 jukeboxes such as devices available from ReQuest Multimedia, Escient, and newer products from

Thomson and Kenwood are supported as well. Please contact us with your equipment requirements, and we will

work with you to provide the fastest and easiest method of loading your device.

Q.

A. Along with the DVDs of your collection, Ill Chemistry offers you the opportunity to include binder with a

print out of each CD and song we have encoded for you. You will be able to keep this as a record of the CDs

which are archived on the DVDs. Click here to see an example of the printed index.

4. Important Issues to Consider

Q.

A. There are 3 primary items you should consider when having your CDs encoded.

1) Ensure your CDs will be handled and processed by professionals.  Ill Chemistry is a leader in CD encoding

services and has developed a strong reputation providing exceptional product and service to both consumers

and professional audio firms.  We utilize advanced equipment to ensure you receive a high quality resulting

product as well as the utmost care with your valuable collection.

2) Select the format that is best for you.  With the rapid acceptance of digital music there has also been an

introduction to a long list of digital music formats (ie. mp3, aac, wma, etc).  While each encoding format

has its advantages, they have likely done more to confuse consumers than anything else.  It's important to

understand some formats, such as Apple AAC and Microsoft WMA are utilized by their respective companies

due to the ability to incorporate security features (DRM - Digital Rights Management) into these files.  This

was designed to prevent users from easily copying/transporting their music.  The downside of utilizing either

one of these formats is that they limit users by the products that will play them.  For example, the iPod won't play

WMA files.  Fortunately, there is a very simple answer to this problem and that is MP3.  MP3 is the only universally

accepted format out there.  Virtually all products designed to play digital audio files are capable of playing MP3

(such as the iPod).  Due to this universal acceptance, we strongly encourage our customers to avoid limiting their

usage of their music by sticking with the proven standard of MP3.

3) Ensure your collection is properly organized.  This is a very important issue and also a very big problem. 

When we talk about metadata, we are talking about the album information associated with each track

(ie. artist name, album name, track name, cover art, etc).  While it isn't as noticeable when converting a single

CD, the tools & databases utilized by industry, currently, don't provide the accuracy or consistency necessary

when converting an entire collection. Fortunately, Ill Chemistry has focused its efforts through the years to develop

and provide a new solution to our customers, Datafix.  I encourage you to read more about Datafix by clicking the

Advantage button on our menu bar.

Q.

A. Yes. We can provide cassette or LP conversion to MP3. 

Q.

A. Yes. Unlike teh others, Ill Chemistry DOES provide VHS tape services. 

Q.

A. No. Copy protection is a limitation installed on the disc from the manufacturer and encoding these discs would

be a violation of this copyright protection. We will notify you if you own any discs with copyright protection, and

will not charge you for that CD.

Q.

A. No. We can only copy original pressed CDs known as "REDBOOK CDs". Any copied CDs on a CD-R that you

provide us will be set aside and returned to you with the rest of your collection, and you will not be charged for

these CDs. Also, any mixed CD that you have created or may have received from someone will be set aside as well,

as we will be unable to process them.

Q.

A. Yes. Contact us for a quote.

Q.

A. No, this is illegal. We will return all of your CDs along with every copy of them which was generated by the process.

You may choose to make as many copies of your CD as you’d like, but Ill Chemistry cannot keep or store these copies

for you. We will keep a record of the CDs we recorded for you as part of our standard customer log.