Buzzy--Bee

Hello, I have a Vinyl and Cassette tape collection of music that I dont listen to much, but dont want to throw away and I dont want to physically take it to Oz.

Does anyone know if it is possible to copy these to electronic format eg MP3?

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers

Buzzy

Steve Zodiac

Hi

You can get some software called (hold on while I look for it) Microsoft Plus Digital Media System - its great but a bit slow and painfiul at first. Or, and I haven't seen one of these you an get a pretty flash type of MP3 player that will accept analogue from your amp and convert to MP3.

I decided to keep the vinyl but can't decide what to do with the tapes coz the quality of some of them are a bit iffy. Best thing to do is subscribe to a free music download site and gradually replace everything.

Hope this is helpful

DunRoaminTheUK

The biggest obstacle is finding a hi-fi system that provides you with a digital-out connection to allow you to send your vinyl and/or cassette music to a digital device (be it a mini-disc recorder, hard-drive or mp3 player/recorder)?

In the case of the cassette player I think it will be far more probable that you will be able to find a compliant hi-fi system. In the case of the vinyl collection I think that you will need to find a hi-fi system that accepts the phono as input and has a digital-out (i.e. build your own hybrid system).

One demi-solution would be to put your vinyl onto tape on an older system and then copy the tape to a digital device using a newer system.

Good luck and here's hoping that all of your music does not end up sounding like the complete collection and David And The Chipmunks (I only know about these because my Dad had an old '78 of them when I was knee high to a Japanese business man).

Hutch

Just get a lead with 3.5mm jack at one end (for the PC) and either stereo phono plugs (the old red and white slipover things), or 5mm or 3.5mm plug (to go in the headphone socket) at the hi-fi end. Plug the 3.5mm into the line-in socket on your PC, hook up the other end to the headphone socket or line-out on the hi-fi and then use something like Roxio's RecordNow to get your vinyl into digital.

Steve Zodiac

With Microsoft Plus Digital Media System you need a twin RCA lead which goes from the auxilliary outputs (red and white) from your amp and goes in to a single microphone jack in the back of your computer on the sound card. The software does the A to D conversion, it works well but it is a bit on the slow side. Actually a good excuse for playing all your old records.

galloping gaijin

Get one of theses... iMic .. and it takes the line out from the HiFi, converts it and inputs it to the PC/Mac through the USB connection. Then you can use the software already on the machine to import the files, although IIRC some come bundled with the iMic. So it's just like saving a file from any other external input.

Buzzy--Bee

Thanks for all the replies guys - very helpful.

Cheers

Buzzy

Hutch

Couple of years ago I converted a stack of vinyl from my DJing days using nothing more than a lead with 3.5mm jacks on either end and Microsoft Sound Recorder. Converted the .wavs to MP3 with Winamp. Things like this are as tricky or as easy as you care to make 'em.

Buzzy--Bee

OK I have just taken delivery of one of these devices so I'll let you know how I get on.

Cheers for the recommendation.

Buzzy

galloping gaijin

Hope it works out, I used mine mainly for connecting up a wireless laptop to the HiFi, so we could play the UK radio from the internet through the HiFi - quite handy for when the parents visited and they needed their fix of Wogan

wmoore

I've got a Netgeat MP101. $150 through work (I think they're about $175 retail) and it's a gem.

Through a convoluted system including Winamp and Shoutcast I can get BBC radio through my hi-fi - convoluted because BBC uses RealMedia which nobody else in the universe supports

galloping gaijin

The iMic takes the sound O/P from the USB on the laptop, and the signal goes into the Aux in through the normal inputs, and as it takes the O/P from the laptop, it doesn't matter which mediaplayer is being used.

The only other option would have been an Airport express, but then it would have just been Virgin radio off of iTunes.

steve`o

loads of info at microsoft

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...vice/0081.mspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...e/0081.mspx#EV

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...tepByStep.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...tepByStep.aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/plu...ogRecorder.asp

wmoore

I realised that - I've used a phono -> 3.5mm jack to do the same thing in the past. The Netgear connects to your wireless network and picks up the MP3s from your PC so you don't need to plug your laptop into anything.

So I have most of my music as MP3 on my PC and can play them all through my hifi using the MP101, as well as picking up radio streams.

Buzzy--Bee

Just wanted to let you know that the iMIC solution is working really well - have copied about 200 12" singles and there is no loss of quality from the vinyl to the MP3.

Now I've just got to find the best place to sell the vinyl....

Cheers

Buzzy