Cassette tapes onto PC

[scotman]

Various items are now available for about £30 which say that they enable old style cassette tapes to be copied onto PC. Has anyone used these. Are they reliable? What formats can you save the tracks in?

Appreciate any comments and suggestions.

[NazNomad]

I've used the 'line-out' on a standard cassettte deck to transfer tapes to mp PC. I guess a dedicated machine would do the job easier.

You should be able to save the files in most any format you want, that would be decided by yourself using whatever software you choose. I imagine the machine you refer to would come with software.

Tape-hiss might be an issue (unless you like it 'raw') but most programs will have a filter to take out hiss if you choose to.

[Buenchico]

I've not used one but there would seem to be cheaper ways of doing it. All you need is
1. Something to play the tapes on ;
2. A lead between that device and your PC ; and
3. Some suitable software.

For item 1 you could use a Sony (Cassette) Walkman or similar, as long as you keep the volume control set to a fairly low level. It would be better to buy a 'hi-fi separate' tape deck (cheaply from a charity shop), which has phono outputs.

For item 2 you'd need a lead with a 3.5mm jack on either end if you were using a Walkman - sold in Maplin Electronics, some 'discount stores' and 'pound shops', or in some supermarkets.

If you were using a tape deck you'd need a 'twin phono to 3.5mm jack lead'. (Sources as above).

All of the commercial devices seem to come with Audacity software, which is a fre download anyway:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/
In its native form, because of licensing issues, Audacity can't export files to MP3 format (which is what you'd need to do). However you simply need to download and install the LAME MP3 encoder to fix that problem:
http://audacity.sourc...install&item=lame-mp3
(NB: The current 'final' version of Audacity supports all versions of Windows EXCEPT Windows 7. You'd need to try the new 'beta' version if you've got 7).
It would also be sensible to download the documentation and/or read the tutorials:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/

The commercial systems which are sold d

[Buenchico]

. . don't offer anything that my 'cheapo' method doesn't. (As I've stated it's almost certainly the same software anyway).

Chris

(I hate it when AB cuts off the end of a post without warning!)

[scotman]

Thanks for reply. My 'proper' cassette deck is indisposed at the moment and I am unsure whether to waste time/money fixing it. This is why I am thinking about getting one of these transfer machines for a one-off copy onto PC.
I am assuming the machine comes with its own software. It is that I have no idea what capability typical software would have that is concerning me.
Maybe a visit to local Maplin will help.

[scotman]

Thanks to you as well Chris. I was typing to Naz and missed your posts.