You guys are the greatest. Many, many thanks to those who so generously
sent the instructions on how to convert cassettes to cds. Although you
can't see me, I am doing the happy dance right now because I have so far
successfuly converted 5 cassettes to cds!
I was asked to post a hit, so below you will find the terrific details on
how to do this.
Thanks again!
Vicki Nelson
OHS Library
Odessa, Texas
vickinelson@grandecom.net
Hi Vicki--
Since the document I'm trying to attach to this e-mail is too big, I'm
putting
it on my website for you to either download or view directly (or both!).
http://www.midfield.k12.al.us/~rsager/cdconversion.html
P.S. I re-read my last e-mail to you, and I discovered I need to make
something clearer. I said that I didn't use any fancy editing software when
I
recorded audiobooks, that iTunes or Media Player did all the work. I was
slightly wrong. You don't need any fancy EDITING software, but you do need
RECORDING software in order to record from external auxiliary sources (the
PolderbitS software I mentioned records as well as edits, I think; I only
used
it for editing). The reason why I forgot is because I used the software
that
came with my sound card for the actual recording. You still use Windows
Media
Player or iTunes to organize your recordings and burn a CD. Does what I
said
make sense?
Anyway, if anything in the instructions is confusing, let me know! I will
work with you until we produce a successful recording.
Cheers,
Robyn
****************************
Robyn Sager
Librarian
Midfield High School
Midfield, AL
(205) 923-2833
rsager@midfield.k12.al.us
Hi Vicki--
I have converted cassettes (books on tape) and vinyl (music) to cd, and it
isn't that hard. I'm assuming that you have read up on how to hook up your
tape player to your computer. If not, let me know and I will give you step-
by-step instructions. You will need a halfway decent sound card.
I did not use any type of audio editing software for converting
books-on-tape
to cd. You really don't need any type of special software for this, as
Windows Media Player or iTunes takes care of all the work for you. However,
for converting music to cd, where clarity, balance, fade, etc. DOES matter,
I
used a shareware program called PolderbitS Sound Recorder and Editor. It is
an excellent program and relatively user-friendly for those who are not
absolute computer novices. You can download it from www.tucows.com.
I guess the "hardest" part about converting is babysitting the computer--
unless you have good timing (I do not), you have to sit with the computer
and
make sure that you stop the recording session when the tape says, "End of
side one" (or whatever) and then you change sides and start recording again.
I usually set the speaker volume on low (this does not affect the recording
volume) and carry a good book. I have also had problems when the tape
twisted over and so the wrong side was playing. In my opinion, it is easier
catch problems like this when they're happening instead of discovering them
as you are about to burn your recording to cd and then having to record all
over again.
As far as converting recordings to MP3, you do not need to do that. Media
Player or iTunes records cassettes or records as a WAVE (.wav) format. This
is a lossless format, which means that the computer does not need an
algorithm to compress the information--it is a straight recording. This
takes up a HUGE amount of hard drive space, which is why most music stored
on
a computer or storage device is in MP3 format (a lossy recording--it uses an
algorithm to take out a small amount of data and compress information). If
you were to store an audiobook on an iPod or some other storage device, you
would convert it to MP3. In other words, you could record your audiobook to
your computer and then burn to cd without any type of format conversion, and
it would work fine.
P.S. Converting vinyl or cassettes to cds make GREAT gifts! I converted
some of my dad's old albums to cd and he loved it! It takes a little more
work than just recording audiobooks, but I think it is worth it.
If you need any more help, feel free to e-mail me! I will be happy to
answer
any questions you may have.
Hope this helps--
Robyn
I am sending you two articles from Dr. Bombay, a sarcastic, but good
columnist. The first he wrote as an answer to your question a few weeks ago
and the other is the information. It works great.
Column
Dear Tale: Maybe they just didn't want to be implicated in your 30-year
bootlegging crime spree. So, as the shysters would say, let's talk about
this hypothetically.
You can do this pretty cheaply, assuming you have a sound card and CD burner
in your computer already, and it's pretty hard to find one without those two
items anymore. Additionally, you're going to need a cassette deck with
line-out (audio-output) jacks, some cables, a pretty big hard drive and a
lot of free time. You'll need to download a copy of Audacity, a free audio
editor, from audacity.sourceforge.net, and you'll also need the CD-burning
software that undoubtedly came with your burner. If you lost that, go get a
copy of Nero or Roxio Easy Media Creator from a store.
You can get detailed instructions at www.nsftools.com/misc/TapeToCD.htm, but
here's the CliffsNotes version:
First, connect the right and left line-out jacks from the cassette deck to
the line-in jacks on the back of your computer. Slap in a cassette and fire
it up and see if you hear it playing through the computer speakers. If not,
go to the Sounds icon in the Control Panel, then click the Advanced button
on the Volume tab (or just double-click on the speaker icon on the system
tray at the right side of the Task Bar). Either way, you'll get the master
volume control. Make sure the Line In section doesn't have its "muted" box
checked and that the volume slider isn't pegged at the bottom.
If everything works, center your treble and bass controls on the deck, start
Audacity, click the Record button and roll tape. A recording of the entire
side of the tape can eat up a gigabyte or more of space, so make sure you
have enough room before you start or you'll wind up cutting off that Cream
album in the middle of Sunshine of Your Love.
Now you can use Audacity to digitally clean up the big file you just
created. No one wants to hear tape hiss, no matter how nostalgic it may make
you feel. Next, you need to split the file into individual tracks. Audacity
can help you find the silence between the songs with an audio display just
like those machines that go beep on CSI. All you have to do is a quick
cut-and-paste from there into a new audio file. Trust me, it's easier than
it sounds.
Finally, you can use your burner software to create CDs. Essentially, you
simply drag and drop the files into the software, arranged however you like.
When you've got enough for a full CD, burn it. The files will be magically
converted to CD audio format, and you should be able to play the disc in
just about anything.
I mean, hypothetically . . .
First set of instructions:
TapeToCD[1].htm
If you open this in notepad, it will display as an html document.
The url is in the Bombay article.
Good luck with this. It is easy to use and works well.
How is West Texas? I started teaching in Pecos some years ago.
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