Convert Casettes To Cd

[bapak]

Looking for a place that will convert casettes to CD. Suggestions please.

Cheers, Bapak

[webfact]

If you have a chance to visit Singapore than contact this company

http://www.tangerinenet.biz/vcd_dvd/

In MBK in Bangkok I've seen a similar service offered by a shop which sells the kind of DVD we are not supposed to talk about...

Guess it was located on the 3/Fl. near Mangpong but can't remember the exact location.

[lothda]

Looking for a place that will convert casettes to CD. Suggestions please.

Cheers, Bapak

You seem to want to convert music cassettes to audio CDs. The famous place at MBK will convert video cassettes to video CDs or DVDs (no doubt keeping a copy for themselves ). I don't know of a professional service that would do the audio thing, but with a cassette player and a computer with some audio software you could do it yourself.

[RKASA]

If you still have or can get a player.  Take the headphone out and input to the audio that can be found on the back of the PC.  Careful the levels (don't overdrive it) and then capture the audio.  After that use something like mp3gain to readjust and repair audio levels for the whole collection. Then burn them to your cd archive.  If you have a good input they come out OK, but don't use a mic input only an Audio input.  I would think the hard part is finding a good player that still works.

[filingaccount]

If it is music tracks, then the easiest thing would be to download the albums. Fair use and all.

If it's more personal audio, and not overly critical that quality is perfect, then as suggested run a cable from the line out on the cassette player to the audio in on the computer and use a recording software to capture the stream. I used CoolEdit before to do similar things. Not sure if it even exists today, but it was a nice enough program then.

If you rather pay someone money to have it done in Bangkok, then I suggest IT Mall, Pantip Plaza, Zeer Rangsit or MBK. Prices will range from ridiculous to surprisingly low. Honestly, it's almost like a lottery finding a decent place do convert audio from one media/format to another without ending up paying dearly.

[MKAsok]

If it is music tracks, then the easiest thing would be to download the albums. Fair use and all.

If it's more personal audio, and not overly critical that quality is perfect, then as suggested run a cable from the line out on the cassette player to the audio in on the computer and use a recording software to capture the stream. I used CoolEdit before to do similar things. Not sure if it even exists today, but it was a nice enough program then.

I'd agree. Much easier to download them. If you do have to record them (assuming it's music and you're concerned about quality) make sure you use a decent quality tape deck and audio cable. You can use Audacity to record (it's free and very easy to use), then use the FLAC frontend to convert the resultant WAVs to FLAC (assuming you want to keep lossless copies on your computer). If you're happy to just have CDs, go ahead and burn the WAV files, but I'd strongly recommend the former option. I wouldn't rely on burnt CDs as a permanant record, particularly bearing in mind all the hassle it would have taken to produce them.

[bapak]

If it is music tracks, then the easiest thing would be to download the albums. Fair use and all.

If it's more personal audio, and not overly critical that quality is perfect, then as suggested run a cable from the line out on the cassette player to the audio in on the computer and use a recording software to capture the stream. I used CoolEdit before to do similar things. Not sure if it even exists today, but it was a nice enough program then.

I'd agree. Much easier to download them. If you do have to record them (assuming it's music and you're concerned about quality) make sure you use a decent quality tape deck and audio cable. You can use Audacity to record (it's free and very easy to use), then use the FLAC frontend to convert the resultant WAVs to FLAC (assuming you want to keep lossless copies on your computer). If you're happy to just have CDs, go ahead and burn the WAV files, but I'd strongly recommend the former option. I wouldn't rely on burnt CDs as a permanant record, particularly bearing in mind all the hassle it would have taken to produce them.

A little update to my post... Tapes are audio. And I know how to convert but do not have a player and to mean to buy one.

Bapak

[webfact]

If it is music tracks, then the easiest thing would be to download the albums. Fair use and all.

If it's more personal audio, and not overly critical that quality is perfect, then as suggested run a cable from the line out on the cassette player to the audio in on the computer and use a recording software to capture the stream. I used CoolEdit before to do similar things. Not sure if it even exists today, but it was a nice enough program then.

I'd agree. Much easier to download them. If you do have to record them (assuming it's music and you're concerned about quality) make sure you use a decent quality tape deck and audio cable. You can use Audacity to record (it's free and very easy to use), then use the FLAC frontend to convert the resultant WAVs to FLAC (assuming you want to keep lossless copies on your computer). If you're happy to just have CDs, go ahead and burn the WAV files, but I'd strongly recommend the former option. I wouldn't rely on burnt CDs as a permanant record, particularly bearing in mind all the hassle it would have taken to produce them.

A little update to my post... Tapes are audio. And I know how to convert but do not have a player and to mean to buy one.

Bapak

Do it yourself! You might well find an old player for a few bucks in Chinatown, Chatukak, Pantip, Seri, Sekon or Fortune. Even if you have to spend 1000 Baht on that piece in the long run it will save you a lot of money rather than to have that converted by a third party. Expect 400-500 Baht (even more) per tape. Thats my guess!

[nikster]

Recently suggested the same to a friend who wanted to convert his old VHS tapes - download the movies and burn to DVD.

Same with this, download the music, and burn to CD. Unless you really have very valuable tapes...

Why do you want to convert the tapes?

[A] I have very valuable and rare albums / bootlegs that would be forever lost

I want to save money

If , downloading and re-purchasing (mp3 disks are cheap and even though often of poor quality they'll be better than the converted tapes). If [A] => high end audio shop...

Edited June 13, 2009 by nikster

[lifemagic]

I did this about six months ago. I had two cassettes, one of them 30 years old so I didn't want to trust it to anyone else.

So I did it myself. I had a battered old sony walkman. Then I went to Maplins (a UK electric shop) and bought a 3.5mm. male to male lead. This was mono. You need a different one for stereo. If you google the word 'audacity', and 'audacity tutorial', this is open source software you can get for free and is fairly well documented. Basically it looks a bit like an mp3 player. I plugged one end of the lead into the walkman headphone jack, the other end into the mic socket on the computer. In audacity I pressed the red record player button, and pressed play on the walkman.

It saves as AUP native format. So, then it was 'export as... MP3', choose a saving location (anywhere, then just burn a cd).

It was a pain in the oeifhowehfj though; audacity has a bit of a learning curve, but I managed it to an acceptable degree. Now the audio is safely archived on the web and I'm all done.

[filingaccount]

Now the audio is safely archived on the web and I'm all done.

No such thing.

Keep triplets by yourself. (eg. HDD, gold plated CD/DVD, memory stick)

[lifemagic]

Yes, I know.

When I said 'it's safely on the web', what I mean is, it was a 30 year old cassette that could have broken and was deteriorating daily. It worked, so now it's safe i.e. further deterioration won't make any difference.

I have the on the website, plus local website on usb key, and a cd, so it is indeed 'in triplicate'.

[triffid]

...The famous place at MBK will convert video cassettes to video CDs or DVDs ...

I want this service so please give me specifics of this place. Also where is MBK? (I am not a BKK resident.)