Open BIN File

CUE/BIN Disk Images

In CUE/BIN audio disk file format BIN files store audio file and CUE file stores metadata for the disk. Initially CUE/BIN file format was introduced by CDRWIN audio disk authoring software and became de-facto standard for audio CD creation. Besides being used by CD authoring software CUE files were frequently used as a playlists but now their use is diminished due to availability of streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Music.

MP3 or WAV could be used in place of BIN files for audio information. If MP3 or WAV file contains compressed audio data then quality of CD audio may be degraded thus it is recommended to use uncompressed audio files for CD data.

CUE file is a text file which contains commands to audio disk recorder on how and in which order to write tracks to the audio disk. It can also contain comments and track title/performer records.

Below are most frequently used commands in CUE file.

• REM – comment
• TITLE – either stores disk title or track name
• INDEX – number between 00 and 99 with time in MM:SS:FF following right after. INDEX 01 is required and marks track start. INDEX 00 is used to define pregap (period of silence before track starts).
• TRACK – specifies track number and type of record
• FILE – specifies name of the file from where audio stream is written
• CDTEXTFILE – path to a file with CD-Text info
• PREGAP and POSTGAP – amount of pre and post track silence

Below is an example of a simple CUE file with reference to BIN:

FILE "Source.bin" WAVE
TRACK 01 AUDIO
TITLE "Gangsters"
PERFORMER "The Specials"
INDEX 01 00:00:00
TRACK 02 AUDIO
TITLE "Rudi, A Message To You"
PERFORMER "The Specials"
INDEX 00 02:47:74
INDEX 01 02:48:27