Converting LPs to digital form has two major steps. First is recording the LP into digital form. Recording an entire album side at once is common. The second step, ripping, refers to dividing the audio file of one side into separate tracks. Some software packages combine these steps by detecting silence between tracks, but wide dynamic range and changes within audio program make setting automated levels difficult and far from universal.
The grooves of a vinyl record are a marvel of analog encoding. To keep dimensions of the grooves manageable, a standard equalization curve was defined to control both low and high frequencies, resulting in more uniform groove width. For an LP to sound right after digital conversion, this equalization must be applied to the audio signal. Any software devoted to LP recording and ripping should have this equalization included. Many non-dedicated audio editors include it as well.
An optional way to improve the quality of your LP conversions is to remove the clicks and pops that occur with normal play of vinyl media. LP recording and ripping software may include features to reduce or eliminate noise, and for generic audio editors, plug-ins can be configured to do the same job. These noise reduction capabilities usually come with several presets to correct varying levels of noise. While you may be able to tweak performance, the presets generally work well.
LP recorders and rippers focus on creating digital music files, usually WAV and MP3 formats. Files created with these types of program can be written to CD using any standalone CD creation software. Some packages do, though, include CD burners, while other products may have companion software to handle CD creation. The need for CD burning depends on your digital format of choice.