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Analog to Digital Music Conversion. Jim Meskauskas. Introduction Many of us:. Have a vinyl record collection Like to still listen to those albums Hate to toss away all the history & memories Would like to convert our music to digital Struggle with how to make the conversion. and money.
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Analog to Digital Music Conversion Jim Meskauskas SIRS - Computer Users Group
IntroductionMany of us: • Have a vinyl record collection • Like to still listen to those albums • Hate to toss away all the history & memories • Would like to convert our music to digital • Struggle with how to make the conversion and money SIRS - Computer Users Group
Points We’ll Cover • Should ”YOU” convert your collection? • Options available • Equipment needed • Walk-through examples: • Conversion process using Roxio 7.5 • Collection management using Windows Media Player SIRS - Computer Users Group
Should “YOU” Convert your Collection?Things to consider to guide your decision: • Do you have a lot of records to convert? • Have many of these albums been repurchased as CDs? • Are they in really bad shape? • Are you an audiophile (ardent music lover with a keen ear)? • Do you have mostly tapes to convert? • More difficult to “clean up” music due to tape stretch • Spoken word converts relatively well SIRS - Computer Users Group
Should “YOU” Convert your Collection? Things to consider to guide your decision: • Do you have access to cable or Sirius music? • Do you listen to single songs or albums? • Are you looking for “near perfect” recordings? or • Do you want a database of music? • Do you download music to a portable device? • Would you like to share your music? • Do you want to commit the time? SIRS - Computer Users Group
Once you Make the Decision Equipment Needed • A dedicated converter Record players that are designed to handle conversions Examples SIRS - Computer Users Group
Dedicated Equipment Sampleswww.frontgate.com SIRS - Computer Users Group
Dedicated Equipment Sampleswww.ion-audio.com Personal music player = iPod SPECIFIC! Not yet compatible with VISTA SIRS - Computer Users Group
Dedicated Equipment Sampleswww.crosleyradio.com SIRS - Computer Users Group
Once you Make the Decision Equipment Needed • Dedicated converters Or • Turntable • Stereo system (need an amplifier) And • Computer • Audio card or audio input jack • Music management software • CD burner (or MP3/iPod player) • Large disk drive if building a library SIRS - Computer Users Group
Once you Make the Decision Walk through an example using • A laptop computer • Roxio Easy Media Creator (7.5) • Windows Media Player SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator From stereo equipment To computer Wire output from turntable or receiver to computer SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator Tell computer where to look for input These choices depend on your computer hardware and software This is to insure the signal from the player is being received by your computer and software SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator This choice depend on your software options Notice my choice here was based on using the microphone input jack Fine tune recording levels We’ll talk about this setting in my next slide SIRS - Computer Users Group
AUDIO FILE TYPES • Format technology evolving to handle larger amounts of data • WAV files used in most older file systems • Inefficient storage of data • Fairly large files • Audio format used in most older autos and CD players • MPEG-1 (Movie Pictures Experts Group) called Mp3 • Can “compress” music 90% from original • Used in most wide variety of new equipment • Compatible with emerging digital capabilities • AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) used by iPod • Better quality across more bit-rates than Mp3 • Not compatible with many mP3 players • WMA (Windows Media Audio) used byMicrosoft • Targeted to compete with Mp3 and RealAudio for streaming audio • Zip-like file compression w/o loss of data SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator Set output location and auto parameters Be careful your settings don’t stop the conversion due to the pause between record tracks! Useful if you want to pick a piece of music off a recording Particularly important to control saving location if you’re building a database of music SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator Set output format Can use mono if recording “spoken word” media Higher settings gives higher quality but bigger files SIRS - Computer Users Group
Example Using Roxio Easy Media Creator Set track identification specifications SIRS - Computer Users Group
The Roxio Sound Editor SIRS - Computer Users Group
The Roxio Sound Editor Notice track separations Export Tracks/Clips to save SIRS - Computer Users Group
The Roxio Sound Editor Information from the editor show here Notice I didn’t title the tracks Don’t forget to set the file(s) output location This tab pulls up another menu to specify file type and quality settings SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your Music This now shows the individual tracks and where the are on my computer SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your Music • iPod • Rhapsody • Napster • PhatNoise • Many others Showcase Windows Media Player SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player Highlight the songs to use the WMP library search tool (internet search) Right mouse click Through WMP file settings, the files I saved from the editor automatically load to my library Select ‘ Find Album Info’ SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player This screen helps you to find and upload data about the album and tracks, including the album art SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player Type in the artists or album name Pick the correct album Click to Search SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player When your satisfied you have the correct album, select ‘Finish’ SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player Here it is cataloged in my music database SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player Drag to Sync window Sync to your portable player SIRS - Computer Users Group
Migration to Database & Management of Your MusicWindows Media Player You can also burn your music to a CD by dragging to the burn window SIRS - Computer Users Group
In Summary: • Many options for analog to digital conversion and management of your music collection are available • Conversion of your analog collection is achievable but time consuming • Conversion is a good option to save a large collection • Good quality is achievable with reasonable effort • Highest quality recordings require sophisticated software • Conversion of well used tapes do not give good results due to tape stretch SIRS - Computer Users Group
Analog to Digital Music Conversion Questions & Answers SIRS - Computer Users Group