why are cd-roms with redbook audio split into tracks

[user7]

cant you just mount the whole thing?

[DJoneK]

I can point at least 1 benefit in having tracks separated.  Patches.

EDIT:  Plus, no need to redump/rerip if you want to create "special" compilations. 

[Jackal]

Plus it allows you to import tracks from other games without having to split them up first.. and it also provides more insight in whether the tracks are dumped correctly (they can be compared to other regions etc).

[user7]

ripping CD audio is a pain in the ass, but when you do it as a CD image its much more likely to be correct and it should be much easier to mount, no?

[gigadeath]

ripping CD audio is a pain in the ass, but when you do it as a CD image its much more likely to be correct and it should be much easier to mount, no?

Likely to be correct -> no, why should it be more correct?
Easier to mount -> .cue file does everything, you don't have to mount every single track one by one

[iR0b0t]

is mounting of multiple images possible? *rolleyes* dont see any sense in it

[user7]

Likely to be correct -> no, why should it be more correct?

a single file is obviously much more manageable and you dont need to deal with the issue of gap accuracy which may result in mismatching file checksums for the same disc

[iR0b0t]

a single file is obviously much more manageable

not really, and if you wanna dump the disc as a single image you would need to dump it scrambled

you dont need to deal with the issue of gap accuracy which may result in mismatching file checksums for the same disc

there are no issue, and file checksums for the same disc arent different !!!

[user7]

there are no issue, and file checksums for the same disc arent different !!!

okay, but i remember themabus and fireball arguing a month or so ago about gaps being rounded and subchannel data reporting different gap sizes on different drives with different software differently :S

[huygens]

You could dump all the audio to a single file and specify tracks in the .cue file, but you'd still have the same gap issues.  It would be easier to correct gap errors in a cue file instead of moving data around,  but the convienience of multiple tracks outweigs this in my opinion. A correct gap structure is part of a good dump so there's no way to get around it.