Need advice/info on: vinyl to PC and more

Entree
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
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This is rather long winded but if I don’t explain myself I would waste a lot more of your time posting, so please bear with me. In addition, hopefully some or all of the info gathered here would help other readers out too!

I’m putting together a pc setup that will hopefully be a multimedia wonder, lol. First I want to move some rare and precious (maybe only to me) tunes from records and cd’s to mp3, but I want to end up with a true multimedia setup.

I have put together: Win xp pro, ECS K7VTA3 v 8.0 mobo, athlon xp 2400 cpu, 512 mb ram, 40 g hd, onboard audio and usb2.0, cheap, older video card. I have a few usb external boxes, will use for storage and backup. Imagine I should be adding in another 512 mb ram and a video and sound upgrade are in order? I only have a cd burner on it but I have a dvd burner on my main pc and will be moving the dvd burner over to this unit.
I also have the ADS instant music RDX-150 here: http://www.adstech.com/products/RDX-150/intro/RDX-150_intro1.asp?pid=RDX-150, comes with Nero Audio Suite and Nero Photoshow. I don’t know if they are limited versions or full versions, does anyone know?
I have an older, good quality Sansui (yes, the Sansui 8 even, lol) stereo system, record player, cassette deck. I have read that with an older system it will have a pre-amp in it so I will be good to go in that department?
I have a few sets of good to very good speakers and a few different creative pci audio cards, I have the orig live drive, think I have a live drive 2, and I have an audigy card as well, and a few better video cards so I have to get back on that.
All I have done is build the pc as above and pair it to a 17 in crt monitor and boot up.

What I would like from you guys/gals is your input on how I should set this up for what I want to do now, changing lp and cassette music to mp3 format. What might I need that is missing for now and for the future, in the way of both hardware and software, what to do and what not to do. As stated above, I want to end up with a fairly true multimedia setup. I have bought some software, kind of in anticipation of doing this down the road, Pinnacle suite 9.3 for one, and I have more and can get my hands on just about any software I need, so just let me know what is best for me to use. I only want to get decent sounding music and decent looking video, doesn’t have to be professional quality, but I would like to have a few options as well, so go ahead with that part.
All info is welcome. Even if I don’t use it, someone else may!
As for my abilities and such. I have more know-how with hardware than software, I would say that overall I would be in the mid-range of abilities and know-how. If you want to give me info that you cant post please email me.
Thanks in advance.

Sean

Guest

Hey man, all you really need to create MP3 files from any external audio source (a cassette deck, a record player, a radio, etc.) is some sort of audio-capturing program (which you already have) and the proper audio cable.

I’ve done this several times already, making MP3 copies of a few cassette tapes and even a copy-protected CD.

My computer isn’t anything above average, and you don’t really need anything more than that make sweet copies of all your old music collections.

First of all, what kind of sound card do you have on your PC? Are there left and right A/V input jacks (like the red and white ones in the back or maybe front of your TV, also known as auxiliary) on your card? Or is there just a small, 3.5 MM (the same size as most headphones, also known as line-in) input jack?

Next, you need to consider the external device from which you’re getting the audio from. What kind of output does it have? More than likely, if you’re planning on making copies of typical audio mediums (cassettes, vinyl, etc.), the outputs on the player will be the left and right auxiliary type (like the TV kind).

From there, it’s pretty simple (as if it was that hard anyway, lol). Head out to your friendly, neighborhood Radio Shack and get the right cable that will fit: 1 - Your player’s outputs, and 2 - Your sound card’s inputs. For example, my soundcard has the 3.5 MM 'headphone' type input, and my cassette deck has the left and right auxiliary type outputs. So...brilliant deduction, Watson! That’s right, I used a cable that had red and white plugs on one end and a headphone sized plug on the other.

I can’t help you out too much with the use of your specific audio programs, as I don’t have any of them. I just have the Nero wave editor that came bundled with my CD burner. I don’t think it’s the same thing as Audio Suite, although, they are both Nero so who knows. Make sure to check out the help topics thinger in your software and read up.

Go into 'Control Panel' and click on 'Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices.' Over on the upper left, there’s a little box that says 'See Also.' Click on 'Advanced Volume Controls.' Make sure that the line-in or auxiliary (whatever you’re using) levels aren’t muted. From there, click on 'Options' and then 'Properties.' In the box the says 'Adjust volume for,' put a green dot in the white circle next to 'Recording.' Click 'OK.' Now, make sure to put a check in the box that says 'Select' under whatever input you plan on using (whether it be auxiliary or line-in). Now you should be set.

I apologize my face off for being so freaking redundant and for dumbing down this entire post; I just want to make sure you could understand (ha, although I probably made it worse by doing that). Oh yeah, and I wanted to see if I could beat your long-winded post.

Good luck; if you get stuck or something, I’ll try my best to help you out.

Entree
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Joined: 19 Jan 2006
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Sean, thanks for the reply. Yes, it’s fairly straightforward but there are lots of little tricks and tips, look at the tips you gave me!
Yours is a perfect example of what i am looking for in the way of advice.
I figure the prices are about as low as they are gonna get, so I went and bought myself a dual layer burner last nite, so i will be ready for video when i get that far, lol.