How can we convert a recorded song in cassette (audio or video) into a digital file?

Connect from your tape-player's 'out' socket to the 'line-in' of the computer. For this connection, you'll need suitable wire with the right size of heads at either end. Use freeware, e.g. Goldware to record the track as it plays on the tape-deck, setting the source as "Line-In". The track will be saved on your computer as a .wav file which you can convert to mp3 or WMA with freeware, e.g. Cheetah Audio Converter.

Thanks Unni Ji.
I guess the procedure would be the same for video files too. What would be the converter used?

Not exactly. I presume you have a DVD drive and you can play the VCD/DVD on the computer itself. So, no outside connection is required. All you'd need is the software to record from the video disc. Perhaps DIVX encoder is freeware, but I've not used it much. Check out SmartRipper also. I primarily use AoA DVD ripper, but it is not freeware.

I've no idea how to copy from a video tape to the computer!

oh ok!! thnx for the info anyways.
I'll try out something.
Jagdish.

Other day i saw HP Dual Core media center at Sam's Club, it has Audio in and Video in jacks along with S-Video jack/input, i guess that can be used too.

Thanks, Marcilo. Considering that video-tapes and VCRs are on the verge of extinction, Sam's may not have it much longer!

Well it’s something new that I have seen on PC board, ability to hook up to other devices like Video tape player and External DVD player. I am sure they are trying to market it as prefect media center.

I am not certain what quality would you get by ripping videos from VHS tapes

Here thoda information: http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?showtopic=21237

May help you to get the overall idea of how video ripping and compressing works.

For that you need Easy Capture Capture card or a thing similar to that to capture Video from analog sources including VCR, TV etc

Ummer.

Ok, this is so not good for all of you people who still think I'm a guy, lol, but here it goes anyways.

My year old VAIO has both rear and front sets of inputs for: s-video, and tradititonal yellow video, white audio left, and red audio right jacks. Instances where these might be useful - if you like to record a lot of different video feeds at once. For example, say you want to watch one TV show, but record another that airs the same time on a replay or tivo, you can do that. I usually keep the replay hooked up to the rear of the computer (as well as the television), I can then save the replay file as mpeg with the Giga Pocket software that comes with Sony, preserving on DVD if desired. At the same time, I can record a third show in the same time slot on the VAIOs built in TV Tuner. And unlike most current "windows media pcs", I am not restricted to wma formats, I can record directly in mpeg2, minimizing transcoding time when burning the DVD. The front inputs I generally reserve to transfer from VHS - good thing if you want to capture audio from a film on VHS as well. Seems to work better than hooking the VHS into the line in audio on the back. I find that most users who have such computers do not use them to their full potential, often not having cable hooked into their tv tuners. I usually don't have any empty inputs, lol. The inputs can also be used for various video cameras.


Most computers will show 3 audio jacks, one microphone, one line in, one headphone, unless you have 5.1 sound, then you will see 5 like the pic above.


As far as the whole cassette to mp3 thing, I wrote this tutorial long ago, adapting it from an old roxio tutorial and it has changed over the years, hope it benefits people, any questions are most welcome.

Before starting, make sure your cassette player is in top condition, using a cassette cleaner and/or demagnetizer before you begin. Also sometimes, minor surgery is required on the source cassette for our wonderfully manufactured desi cassettes, especially if they have been sitting unplayed for years, or are housed in cheap quality plastic. You can remove the reel and put in a good quality casing for the recording.


Hookups:
Minimizing electric feedback and stray electromagnetic radiation:
- Turn off the computer and stereo when you make you connections.
- Try to make sure that cables do not touch each other to minimize electromagnetic feedback. For example, try and separate audio cable from power cables, etc.
- Keep your cell phones away from the recording area.
- Keep the cassette player as far away as possible from CRT monitors.

Check your cassette player to see if you have LINE OUT RCA jacks.




(Red and White, Right and Left Channel Jacks). You will need an RCA-to-headphone jack (1/8 inch mini jack) cable which can be found at Radio Shack, Fry's, other electronic stores, etc. It will look something like this one: http://www.monstercable.com/productPage.asp?pin=135. (And please, please, make sure it's a STEREO one, it will have 2 ribs, vs mono ones which will have 1 rib.)

Connect the RCA jacks to your cassette player's Line Out jacks (red side to right channel and white side to left channel). Connect the mini 1/8'' headphone size jack to your computer's line in jack (this can be found on the back of the computer, near the headphone/speaker and microphones jacks). You probably have computer speakers hooked up already to the headphone/speaker jack of your computer. These speakers can be used to monitor the way the song sounds. Personally, I like to disconnect them and plug in headphones for better monitoring while recording.

Preparation:
1. Turn on your computer.
2. In Windows XP, go to Start --> Control Panel (in category, not classic view)--> then pick the category: Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices.
3. Under Pick a Task, choose Change the Sound Scheme. A new window will open with the title Sounds and Audio Device Properties displaying the Sound Tab.
4. Before you do anything else, you may want to save your current sound scheme so you can return to it later, so choose Save As... and pick a name and save. Then change the Sound Scheme to No Sounds, click Apply at the bottom, and then OK to close this window. (This is done so that the regular sounds heard during a computer's operation are no longer heard and are therefore not recorded into your song). You can change this back after you are done recording.

5. On taskbar, (near the time and date), double click the speaker/volume icon. A window will open labeled MASTER VOLUME. Under Options, choose Properties. In the Mixer Device, you will see the name of your soundcard, drop down to the rear input so that you see that you can adjust volume for RECORDING. Click OK and you should see a new volume control window labeled RECORDING CONTROL. Under the Line In volume control slider, make sure that you put a check mark next to Select. By doing this, you are telling computer to record this input only. Keep this window open.

6. Now, go back and double click the speaker/volume icon, again to open the MASTER VOLUME window. In the Mute box under every volume slider, put a check mark to mute them – all except the ones for Line In and Master Volume.
7. Now open your program that you will be recording with. For example, if you have Roxio Easy CD Creator, under "make a music CD", choose SoundStream and then Spin Doctor. Alternatively, you can use Adobe Audition (formerly known as cooledit pro). Even if you use Roxio, it's a good idea to open Adobe Audition so you can monitor the sound levels more precisely. I think newer versions of Nero also have wizards for this.
(screenshots of some programs have been added later in the thread).

Recording:
1. It's always a good idea to forward cassettes a few times each side to straighten out the reels. Then go to the song you would like to record and hit play on your cassette player.
2. Now click the record button in Adobe Audition. You will see 2 channels of waves start to form and move to the left. At the top you will also see sound levels in dB – starting with green on the left and increasing to orange and then red on the right. Listen to your song and watch the levels. The goal is to keep the highest part of the song below -3 dB – if it goes into red too much, the recording will be distorted. If the levels are too high, go to the RECORDING CONTROL volume window and slide the volume level under LINE IN a little lower – experiment with this until sound levels look good. You can now stop your cassette and hit stop on Adobe Audition. You can close this file as we are not saving it – it was just to set the sound/input levels.
3. Rewind cassette to before the beginning of your song. Hit play, and then hit record in Adobe Audition. When song has finished, click stop in Audition. Go to File --> Save As. Under "save as type" choose mp3PRO (FhG) (.mp3). Click Options. The following should be selected – CBR (constant bitrate) and MP3, from drop down for encoding, choose 256 kbps, 44100 Hz, Stereo (5.5:1). The rest should be fine. Hit OK to close this window. Now back in the Save As window, name your file (the song's name) and click save to save it to a location you will remember. NOTE: If you would like to back up an entire cassette to CD first, I would record in .wav instead of saving as mp3, that way you won't lose any thing when burning to CD. You can also save another copy as mp3 for the computer.

4. That's it. Now you may need to apply cleaning filters to filter out hiss depending on how the recording turned out. You can also remove blank space in front of the song or cut off the end of the file if you didn't hit record in time – that's all pretty easy to do in Audition. You can also fade in/ fade out the song if you like.
Wrigley Video has an awesome video tutorial you can download and play in wmp that will give you an idea of how to use Noise Reduction in Adobe Audition. While they are trying to do something else, the principal is the same.

For first time recorders, I have to recommend Roxio Easy CD Creator's Spin Doctor which was packed with the older Easy CD Creator 5 versions. This is because if one doesn't know how to clean up a song, it has built-in filters for cassettes and vinyls that you can apply during recording, and preview before you ever hit record. Simply Launch Roxio --> Soundstream -->Spin Doctor. In preferences choose 256 for MP3. Launch Adobe Audition as before to set your sound levels (you can do this in Spin Doctor too, but you get a more precise look at the dB in Audition). But then record in Spin Doctor. Select rear input as source. You can play the cassette, click preview in Spin Doctor to listen to how it sounds. Under sound cleaning settings click the cassette icon. Now you can slide the sound cleaning to less or more based on how the song sounds. While in preview mode, the mute box under the Wave Volume in the Master Volume window will automatically become unchecked. When you hit stop, it will be muted again. When you like the way the song sounds, rewind the cassette and hit record and the song will automatically be cleaned while recording.



Good luck. Again, if anyone has any specific questions, please ask. I've been doing this for more than 4 years now. And I've recorded many cassettes for others on here, they can vouch for the quality of the method. I used to record directly in .wav instead of mp3, simply because the sound editor in roxio only accepts .wav. But since I have Adobe Audition now, I just record in .mp3. If however, you would like to back your source recording to CD first, I would recommend recording in .wav.



As far as transferring from VCR to DVD, there's always those 2-in-1 stand alone VCR/DVD units, but if you have a pc with a tv tuner that can not only record tv, but can also select input(s) for recording, (in my case, I can select rear or front input), you can record anything that comes into the input, exactly as you would record on a vcr from another vcr, or TV. So that's the way I do it, using the tv tuner/recording software that came with the vaio. The quality has been very good, As always these things depend on quality of the source, the cables, and the equipment used. My VCR has s-video out, so I use that instead of the yellow video jack, as it renders superior video quality. I never use anything less than monster cables for all recording hookups.


CNET also has a great tutorial with video for vinyl, but can apply to cassettes as well:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-10163_7-6226087-1.html
I used to listen to this guy all the time when the Bay Area had CNET radio during the dot com boom, miss that station and all the programs on it, learned lots from there.

Also helpful:
How to digitize records and tapes with Adobe Audition (there is also a link for doing it with GoldWave there).
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/audio/...tion/index.html

great stuff deewani !! this would be useful for many of our members, i'm sure !

...and it is so so good that you're not a guy.........b'cos it kinda restores faith in humankind ..and proves that this kind of thing doesn't have to be considered a male domain

didn;t get the point you made about front audio connections turning out to be better than the rear line-in option...is that from experience or is there another explanation - better quality of connection perhaps ?

..and, which model of VAIO do you use ?

Sri

Thanks for you comments.

I realize that I should clarify something, I certainly didn't mean to imply that the RCA jacks on the front of the computer were any better than the RCA jacks on the back, it's simply convenient to use (and I know you were not asking about that, but just in case someone gets confused about it).

Now as far as the RCA jacks working better than the line in, the only thing I can think of is that the sound card likes the Left to Left and Right to Right connection better, there was less pickup of the internal sounds of the VHS.

And yes, it was from personal experience, I recorded a song from VHS using the same cable I would use for my cassette player, taking Right & Left Audio RCA Jacks and hooking them to the line in jack. I then recorded the same song using a pair of RCA to RCA jacks, connecting Right RCA jack output from VCR to Right RCA jack input on computer, and Left to Left. In both cases, monster cables were used (I avoid the free cables that come with the VCRs like the plague, lol).

I use the PCV RS720G, which I bought at the end of it's model year and got a great deal on, the previous years model PCV RS430G also had the same features. When waiting for the price drop on the 720G, I happened upon a VAIO rep and I asked about the current years models, he said that they are eliminating the second set of inputs for the tv tuner card and are now "windows media pcs". So I was pretty set on getting that particular model. Plus it acts like a second replay unit. If I am not at home, and I realize I want to set a recording for a particular TV show, if I can access the web, I can log in to a website, choose the program I want to record (this is also true for replay users, at least with the older units that dont have subscriptions), and the computer will turn on at the appropriate time, record the program, and then shut off.

Now all this might make people think that I watch a lot of TV but nothing could be further from the truth, lol. I just like to record my Depp interviews before movie releases. And I like to make my own "Bonus DVDs" for other DVDs I buy like Gladiator, Troy, etc. recording various related discovery, history, and biography channel programs, and editing out the commercials. I can't abide commercials so really hate watching live TV.

Please clarify if I dont have RCA (red and white inputs) on my computer how do I connect my tape recorder I have only S/PDIF input on my PC ..... LOL .. JK

Read this also:

Sony RDRVX515 DVD/VCR Combo
Playback: DVD - DVD Recorder - Recording Media DVD-R

Details
Get rid of those clunky VCR tapes and record old movies to DVD with this dynamic Sony DVD VCR combo. Equipped with DVD video recorder function, this DVD VCR combo amps up any home theater system. Hook up this system to the television and get ready to enjoy hours of classic VCR tapes! Going out on Friday night? Set up the DVD video recorder to capture that riveting episode of 20/20.

Click to view attachment

BJ -

Mahesh yes that's the kind of 2-in-1 stand alone VCR/DVD units I was talking about. Easiest way to transfer VHS to DVD by far.

Yesssssssss

Yipppeeeeeeeeee I also managed ( difficult to convince spouses to buy any music/movie related gadget ) to buy a LG make VHS-DVDRW player !!! USD 265 only !!!

One touch and DVD is ready !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Now hopefully in the coming months ( years ? ) I might be able to transfer my entire video collection to DVD's

Congratulations on your purchase, kcp ji, tab tak na jaane kaun si technology hogi. At least once it is digital, further conversion will be easier. Plus you can re-discover some tapes you haven't watched in some time.

I read last month that the new VAIOs are shipping with the new blu-ray technology with DVD burners capable of burning 25GB and 50GB dual-layer Blu Ray DVDs - this will be the new beta vs vhs debate - Blu Ray vs HD DVD formats. Awesome for data backup, but at this point in time, more expensive than an external hard drive, making the costs prohibitive. Only good I can think of is that maybe normal dual layer DVDs will drop in price, cause I have a drive capable of burning dual layer, but have never bought an 8GB DVD yet b/c again, it costs more than external storage. I don't even want to think about replacing my DVD collection.

You simply cant.... replace your old hindi movie collection. This technology is for going further..... Those High Definition DVDs needs a lot more of gigabytes of space. And hence a technology to burn more data and re-produce a better high definition signals, this two technology was researched and introduced... Soon Tweeter would be selling many of such DVD players for $599 to $999.

All the old DVDs which were made in standard definition would stay in standard defination unless they were shot with high definition digital technology. Unless like me if you have few hundred DVDs for Inglish films I dont think you have to worry about replacing our old hindi dvd collections.

Mere paas Hindi DVD collection ho, tab na? I was actually thinking of my english ones.

Friends;
I have many musical files downloaded from internet / recorded from cassettes into low bit rates as low as 16 to 64 kbps and later on written on to CDs. Some of the audio/video/DVD players are not able detect these files when these CDs are put into them and therefore not able to play them. Is there any player available in the market which can play such CDs? The other option obviously is converting them into higher bit rates which may result in loss in audio quality as I am told. I require suggestions.

--Balaji

Balaji, are you burning in CD format (.wav) from your mp3s? And the players still don't recognize the CDs? (And if so are you finalizing the Cd? Or is it that you are burning your mp3s to the CD in the format of an mp3 CD?

The trouble is only with the lower bit rate files? And which software are you using?

The files are already in the .mp3 format in the said bit rates on my computer hard disk. I use Nero to burn them in the same format on the CDs. In case I get them (from the net) in .wav or .ra formats I convert them to .mp3 before writing. Normally I finalise the CD when the Nero returns me a message that there is no space unless I do so. Most of the players---makes from the reputed ones--recognise files which are >/=64 kbps.

--Balaji

I am stumped, sorry. I have never tried to burn low bit rate files to CD. Hope someone with more experience can help you. My only suggestion would to be trying a different CD burning software and see if that helps you. Just wondering, do the CDs you burned play on your computer? These days most players will play burned CDs, the problem seems to lie with the files themselves or the software, as far as I can tell.

One solution for you :

Collect all such problematic songs (16 to 64 kbps ) in one directory. Then download this software

http://www.litexmedia.com/wma_workshop/

Then convert all the songs into MP3, ONCE AGAIN through this software. This can be done in a SINGLE BATCH ( write for me to get the serial, offline )

Then I think they will play on your players ( unless they are recorded in some other complex bitrate format )

KCP

My wife tried some kids cartoons yesterday but the DVD's were not playing on any computer....can somebody givel me a solution to play these converted DVD's on PC's ??

I have never tried those stand alone units - but just a thought - do you have to tell the player that you are done with adding programs to the DVD when burning? A friend had one and I remember she would add and add until the DVD was full, and then I think it underwent some kind of finalization process so she could play it (she has sent to me some dvds too and they work fine).

Deewz ur friend's mistake turned out to be a gain for u

Lol, actually we trade DVDs quite often, I am sure you can guess on which subject - we like to record interviews, appearances, etc.

Came across this web tutorial today. Found it well written with screenshots, thought I'd share the link:

How to digitize records and tapes with Adobe Audition (there is also a link for doing it with GoldWave there).
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/audio/...tion/index.html

Balaji reduce the burning speed to 16 kbps in case of audio files and 8 kbps
in case of video file. This should solve your problem.

Sorry Sonu, I don't have any experience with BPL, perhaps someone else can advise you on that. The software should work fine, it just captures the sound card's input. As far as cleaning, I use Adobe Audition, only the NR feature, nothing else, and I apply it fairly lightly. I don't believe in playing with anything like bass, treble, amplifying levels, normalization, cloning channels, etc, etc, because like Omkar, I like to have the best recording of the cassette itself, an organic recording, if you will. Some people may not like that about my recordings, but that's too bad. Bottom line is this: Are you happy with the recording you have made? Because in the end, it's you who recorded the music for your own enjoyment, right?? The complaints I have received about my recordings are miniscule compared to the numer of raves I receive. I am constantly being asked my method, which is why I posted that tutorial here as well. Please go through this thread when you have time, there are links to offline tutorials for various things contained in the posts of this thread too like NR, and recording with Audition. And then, if you have more questions, please post them here, thanks.


As far as what you have mentioned Omkar, if one's stereo has a true LINE OUT coming from the cassette player (see the picture in my tutorial), then the volume on the cassette player should have NO EFFECT on the recording volume (nor should any settings such as bass, treble, etc on the stereo) - the input level on your PC recording volume alone will determine this. If, on the other hand, one is using another way of getting the sound from the cassette player, such as a microphone jack or headphone jack, then every setting on the cassette player WILL affect the recording. Which is why I choose a true LINE OUT, cuts down all such variables and it's very purpose is served. It's very important to me. Many so called "tech gurus" often lump the line out/headphone jack as the same thing, THEY ARE NOT!! I have all 3 on my stereo: LINE OUT, Microphone Jack, Headphone Jack, each serves a DIFFERENT purpose. And then input levels can be monitored using the recording software such as I've written in the post I referred to. (Musicmatch software came with your iPOD?, that's like impossible, lol. Apple would never have endorsed that). But if one does not have a line out, then the headphone jack becomes a viable option, but as you have said, one has to play with the settings on the player itself in addition to adjustments on the pc to strike the right balance.



Even if one owns an iPod and then connects it to a car stereo via the headphone jack of the iPod, or connects it to their home stereo, the sound quality will differ compared to getting a pure line out sound which can only come from it's docking port, hence the need for an ipod Dock, or for example something like this:
http://www.sendstation.com/us/products/poc...lineout-fw.html Otherwise, you have to play with both the volume on the iPod, and the volume on your car stereo or home stereo to enjoy the sound via speakers.

Deewaniji, in my SONY cassette player, I did not have any LINE OUT. So I had no option than to use 'Headphones' jack. Anyways finally I was successful in recording my cassettes.. And Musicmatch surely give you the option to record from different source. I have attached the snapshot of my settings in Musicmatch, u can see by urself the various options in 'Recording Source' I was very lucky to get this software.. Its a wonderful software.. I still use it to rip my CDs now...

Cheers!!!

One thing that I am not seeing in that screenshot, and forgive me, cause I have never used that software, is audio level adjustment lever to control the inputs. Does that show up after you go to the next menu? Just wondering. Thanks for the screenshot. The debate on which software is the best for recording or for ripping CDs is endless, there are entire forums dedicated to this like Hydrogen Audio, there are so many encoders that the softwares use for ripping, lame, fhg, flac, etc, it's never ending, lol. (current personal preference for cd ripping: EAC with lame encoder - probably because it's the most widely used among rippers on the web as I have been told and come to discover after research on my own, be careful though, you may be in danger of becoming an EAC-aholic like many of us already are, lol)

Deewaniji, no need to say 'forgive me'... 'Unknown is always greater than known'.. Here are all the snapshots of the setting applet.. See if it can help u??

How can I get the EAC software? I dont mind getting EAC-aholic?? lol... Anyways, I am really happy with Musicmatch and also I am emotionally attached with Musicmatch now... It gives me exact result I want.. I am not a music composer who will look at the sound so minutely... I am an ordinary listener, and to me this is enough....

But still you can tell me how I can get EAC encoder...Just to let me have knowledge about it.

Cheers!!!

Thanks Omkar, it's all foreign to me and especially after glancing at this tutorial for musicmatch:
http://www.dak.com/reviews/tutorial_lp_record2.cfm, it seems overcomplicated and also I see no place to adjust the level of the recording. I'll post some screenshots of the software I use later on, have to run for now.


EAC links:
http://www.exactaudiocopy.de/

related links
Hydrogen Audio wiki EAC http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?ti...xact_Audio_Copy
Hydrogen Audio wiki EAC with Lame http://wiki.hydrogenaudio.org/index.php?title=EAC_and_Lame
Coaster Factory tutorial for EAC http://users.pandora.be/satcp/eac-qs-en.htm

This program however is a bit complicated at first, to set it up. It's considered one of the best for a number of reasons, one of them being you calibrate to the exact make and model of your cd-rom in your computer. I hope I didn't confuse folks, we are talking about CD ripping only now.

Hey Deewaniji, u know one thing?? I just remembered noww.. The latest versions of Musicmatch does not have this facolity of various recording sources.. I was so much surprised.. You were right in saying that Apple wouldn't endorse these things.... But then I was lucky I got my iPod as a gift when it was JUST introduced in the market..... I am using very first version of iPod.. Since then I have been enjoying iPod.. So may be at that time Apple might have brought this software in the market to push their sales,??? may be, who knows!!

iPod as a gift is the best thing, isn't it? Best gift of my lifetime for sure. But the very first iPod was only for Macs, and did come with iTunes. Beware, OCTS (obsessive compulsive tagger syndrome) goes hand in hand with being an EAC-aholic.

Anyways, here's some screenshots of the software I used as mentioned in the tutorial post:
Spin Doctor main screen:


You can see, it's fairly simple, you choose your source - in other words the sound card's input. Turn on the cassette player, play your cassette, click Preview, you can see the input levels here, there is a slider below it, basically you don't want to see red at all. There is a cassette filter you can apply on the right side, the level of cleaning can be altered to your desire, you never hit record until you are satisfied with levels. Depending on cassette I either use the cleaning filter slid towards the less side, or if the cassette has excellent sound quality, I don't use it at all, and then use Audition to clean if it needs more. Once you hit the record button, you see this:



You can choose to record to a file, and also choose the format to save it in as shown here:



All fairly straightforward and simple to use.

The new Nero has a similar facility, you can find it from this screen, click "Convert Tape to CD":



This is what it looks like:



You can see that there is a place here to change the audio input settings as well. Pretty much a similar program. All very easy to use. I stick with my old program for the reasons I have mentioned countless times to so many folks over this past year: you can PREVIEW what it will sound like before you record and you can apply the built-in filter AS YOU RECORD. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Now the day will come when evil Windows updates will render my old program obsolete, until then I ain't budging.

And screenshots of Adobe Audition can be seen in the link I posted before in this thread:
http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/audio/...tion/index.html

thanks deewani - for all these screen shots and your views

i have been using Nero wave editor...which seems to have similar possibilities. I check on the preview first before beginning the recording..and prefer to make all sound adjustments later - since any part of the wave file can be chosen for that purpose. Normally, I save the file as a wav file so that all alterations could be made when necessary( volume change, removing hiss, pops, L/R equalisation etc) without reducing the quality of the original recording. Then I convert the final wav file to mp3 at the desired bit rate using Nero Burning ( which has a facility to encode files to mp3 /mp3pro).

Since I got this software with my DVD drive, I started using it and have found it to be quite convenient and effective. As you rightly pointed out - if it is working well then why change ?

sri

Deewaniji, are you a teacher??? You explain things so nicely!!! Thanks for all this pracious information.. I am even copying into word and saving it to help anyone else.. thanks a lot!!

Thanks sriji, and YW. I think as you said wav is the best, esp if one is going to work on the file.

Guilty

I added some more screenshots to the original tutorial.

Deewaani Deewani Million thanks

Mujhe yaad karna padega ki kab maine 1-2 members ke liye itne efforts kare hain

Thaanks again

My reply is bit short but I have copied all the instructions and iam lookinf forward to practically doing all this soon.

( may be this week)

Infact one more HFM fan wanted help in this regard. I will be forwarding the infor part to him also.

Incase I get any problem I will come back to my Guruni and Guru(omkar)

( dimaag wala kaam hai issliye mujhe khoob sara time chahiye sammjhne ke liye. hehe : D )

Thanks to omkar ji also.


God bless both of you !


Sonu

Well Sonu, even if one person benefitted from the tutorial it would have been worth it, I have linked to this tutorial myself many times b/c I get asked often in private (both from HFers and non-HFers), so it saves me the hassle of explaining it again and again. And as far as helping, that's in my nature, it can't be helped, lol, many times it's unsolicited, haha. Questions are always welcome. Most of the things I have learned about the web and tech I've learned from the internet itself, that's the beauty of the net - to share experience, knowledge, and information. And many people and many different things on the web went into this tutorial so it's nothing but a record of a lot of people's hard work. And we all know that preserving the music is important, especially the albums that have been long since forgotten about, or ones for which the original music company no longer has the masters, etc. Tape has a limited lifetime, digital makes it immortal in a way.

And it's not as hard as I seem to have made it seem. It's all very simple, trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.

What to do with them afterwards.
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/6634727.stm

Hello Friends,

Few weeks back, i luckily got hand on many 80's titles that i was looking for.. somewhat abt 40-50 titles on tape and tht too sealed ones manufactured in d year from 1996-1998 relased under venus & T-series.. the tapes are in top condition, im lookng frwrd to covert them into mp3's.. jus thought of taking help frm u guys.. i do hve a panasonic cassette player but d conditon is not ideal for converting tapes it has been kept waise ka waise for 2-3 years, dhool mitti jam gayi hai .. i hve been suggested by some members that a walkman works better than home stereo.. i hve shortlisted 2-3 sony walkman ranging from Rs1800-3000.. does a sony walkman or anyother really better for converting tapes than home stereo ?? as i was going through this thread i found Deewani mentioning a true line out is a must to get desirable results.. but in a walkman i dont think there is a line out jack avlble.. only d headphone jack is der, so one has to play wid d walkman for getting desirable volume level ya fir headhone jack is same as a line out jack in case of a walkman.. another thing i would like to ask is about the stereo cables, In India monster cables are not avlble as far my knowedlge goes, then which company stereo cables would be best to use.. rest i hve already gone through Deewani tips to convert tapes.. jus wan help regarding these 2 things.

Regards,
sOnu

IMHO a walkman DOES NOT work better than a home stereo, for the very reason you have mentioned - a second variable is introduced because there is not a line out. That said, I have heard several recordings using walkmen and they can turn out decent. So it really depends on the type of quality you are striving for, I often find that clarity is compromised in those recordings. If you home stereo is dirty, open it up and clean it, also de-magnetize the heads.

As far as equivalent cables, just make sure the cables are of heavy gauge, well shielded, and have low impedance, and that there are 2 ribs - for stereo sound.

Lastly, use a GOOD pair of headphones to monitor the recording, especially during the hiss removal.

There are so many variables involved that lead to the end result as I mentioned before, so my philosophy is, try to minimize those by using the best equipment you can get your hands on, and monitoring the sound and watching the input levels carefully during the recording.

Any further help, you can ask in this thread, others may have other suggestions for you. Good luck. Curious though, aren't most albums in that time period already on CD?

Thanks for the useful info. D.. i will stick wid d idea of home stereo, mere chachaji ke paas Aiwa ka home stereo hai and tht too of the period u mention, but im not sure if it has independent Line out jack also tht system needs repairment.. will ckhck and let u know..

Talking abt titles, Deewani most of d titles frm 80's r der on CD's.. but d late 80's ones relased on T-series & Venus, most of which r not on CD's.. i will name few tht i hve on tapes.. Kroadh 90, Taqdeer Ka tamasha 90, Billo Badshah89, Aisa Pyar Kahan 86, Dosti dushmani 86 and many more..

Regards,
sOnu

Deewani must be referring to the date range 1996-1998 that you have mentioned in your post. May be its a typo.

Here is the answer to your other question
Zulm Ki Hukumat 92 - HMV
Baaz 92 - TIME
Aisa Pyar Kahan 86 - VENUS
Bewafai 85 - T series
Zakhmi Aurat 88 - IS it venus ( not sure)
Anjaane Rishte 89 - T series
Parda Hai Parda 92 - I am looking for this myself
Khoj 89- Venus
Paanch Paapi 89 - T series
Kirayadar 86 - HMV
Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani 88 - VENUS
Nafrat Ki Aandhi 89 - T series
Gola Barood 89 - Venus
Kali Ganga 90- T series

Thnks for d info sangeet.. this will make my job easy.

Regards,
sOnu