Compressing music onto a compact disc involves changing the bitrate setting on software for burning audio files to the disc. Bitrate is a measurement of how many units of data (bits) are transferred from one location to another per second. When burning audio files from a computer to a blank CD or from a prerecorded CD to a blank disc, this transfer rate is measured in kilobits per second (Kbps). The lower the Kbps number, the more music that can be compressed onto a CD.
Step 1
Open media ripping and burning software on a computer.
Step 2
Look for a tab or option labeled "Burn", and click to reveal a drop-down menu.
Step 3
Click More Options, or a similarly worded selection, from this drop-down menu.
Step 4
Look for a box labeled "Convert" or "Convert Bitrate", and select this.
Step 5
Review the bitrate speeds available for burning audio files. Lower bitrate speeds will compress more music onto a CD. For example, at a setting of 32 Kbps, it may be possible to record nearly 48 hours of music onto a single CD that would normally hold only about 90 minutes of music. At 128 Kbps, it is possible to burn about 11 hours of music onto a CD.
Step 6
Choose the highest bitrate speed that will allow you to compress the amount of music desired onto a single CD. Keep in mind, audio quality suffers as more music is compressed onto a single disc.
Step 7
Click to apply these changes, and then click OK.
Step 8
Choose music tracks to add to a new CD file, then insert a blank CD in the computer's disc drive and click Start Burn to transfer the music at the newly compressed Bitrate onto the disc.
Things You'll Need
Computer
Audio CDs
Blank, recordable CDs
Audio software for burning music such as RealPlayer or Windows Media Player