Import audios from VCD, DVD, RealMedia, casette tape, vinyl record, etc.?

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Level 2

215 points

Import audios from VCD, DVD, RealMedia, casette tape, vinyl record, etc.?

Hello,

Is there a way to record/rip these other sources beside CDs to an iPod Nano? This is for someone who is using one and a Windows XP Media Center SP1 (all updates). He is not a computer expert so he won't know how to convert, pick bitrates, etc. Are there any software products that can rip/record, convert, etc. with ease like Apple products?

Thank you in advance. 🙂

Toshiba Notebook, Windows XP

Posted on Sep 3, 2006 2:25 PM

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Answer 1

Zevoneer

Level 9

52,705 points

Sep 4, 2006 4:01 AM in response to antdude

To answer part of your question, one way to record vinyl is to connect your player (through the Tape out sockets of your amplifier) to the audio in socket of your computer. On the computer you'll need audio editing software to capture and edit the resulting long file into individual tracks that can be added to the iTunes Library. There are a number of commercial programs for this (I use Sound Studio for the Mac but there are Windows programs). If want to try out the process first you could try the open source program Audacity which has Linux, Mac and Windows versions at this link: Audacity

In addition to the software you'll need RCA to 3.5 mm audio plug cables to connect the Tape Out sockets of your amplifier to the audio inputs of your computer. There's a short guide to recording here: How to record from vinyl and cassette to a computer also from the BBC Copying Vinyl Recordings to CD

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Answer 2

antdude Author

Level 2

215 points

Sep 4, 2006 10:11 AM in response to Zevoneer

To answer part of your question, one way to record
vinyl is to connect your player (through the Tape out
sockets of your amplifier) to the audio in socket of
your computer. On the computer you'll need audio
editing software to capture and edit the resulting
long file into individual tracks that can be added to
the iTunes Library. There are a number of commercial
programs for this (I use Sound
Studio for the Mac but there are Windows
programs). If want to try out the process first you
could try the open source program Audacity which has
Linux, Mac and Windows versions at this link: Audacity

In addition to the software you'll need RCA to 3.5 mm
audio plug cables to connect the Tape Out sockets of
your amplifier to the audio inputs of your computer.
There's a short guide to recording here: How
to record from vinyl and cassette to a computer
also from the BBC Copying
Vinyl Recordings to CD

Thanks. This sounds more complex than I thought it would be. Is there a specific file format that the recordings have to be in? I recall in the past that I had to record as WAV format before even converting to MP3, but that was years ago.

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Answer 3

Zevoneer

Level 9

52,705 points

Sep 4, 2006 10:51 AM in response to antdude

I record mine in Aiff format to get a full quality uncompressed version that can be burned to CD for archiving and playing on a regular CD player. Once you have that, you can convert it in iTunes to MP3 or AAC to get a smaller compressed version for use on the iPod.

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Answer 4

antdude Author

Level 2

215 points

Sep 4, 2006 10:56 AM in response to Zevoneer

I record mine in Aiff format to get a full quality
uncompressed version that can be burned to CD for
archiving and playing on a regular CD player. Once
you have that, you can convert it in iTunes to MP3 or
AAC to get a smaller compressed version for use on
the iPod.

Ahh. Does iTunes have DVD, VCD, etc. audio ripping too beside CDs? I don't use iPods, iTunes, etc. I don't even have QuickTime on my PCs. 🙂 This is for my father.

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Answer 5

Zevoneer

Level 9

52,705 points

Sep 4, 2006 11:02 AM in response to antdude

You can import CDs into iTunes and depending on your import settings it will convert them to a variety of formats. You would need other software for DVDs or VCDs, I've never ripped either of these so I can't suggest any from personal experience:
How To Choose Import Settings
How to convert a song to a different format

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Answer 6

antdude Author

Level 2

215 points

Sep 4, 2006 11:10 AM in response to Zevoneer

You can import CDs into iTunes and depending on your
import settings it will convert them to a variety of
formats. You would need other software for DVDs or
VCDs, I've never ripped either of these so I can't
suggest any from personal experience:
How To Choose Import Settings
How to convert a song to a different format

Yeah, I already know about the CDs already. That was totally easy to do. I wished iTunes or another programs could do this for DVDs, VCDs, etc. It seems like I need a bunch of hardwares, softwares, etc. just do do that!

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Answer 7

Zevoneer

Level 9

52,705 points

Sep 4, 2006 11:18 AM in response to antdude

There are certainly programs that will do what you want but DVD and VCD isn't something I can help you with I'm afraid. I hope you get some use out of the information on recording from vinyl, take care.

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Answer 8

antdude Author

Level 2

215 points

Sep 4, 2006 11:27 AM in response to Zevoneer

There are certainly programs that will do what you
want but DVD and VCD isn't something I can help you
with I'm afraid. I hope you get some use out of the
information on recording from vinyl, take care.

Thanks again. 🙂

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