Converting Cassette tapes to digital

Joined
Feb 13, 2011
Messages
89
Points
18
Location
Guntur
Dear forum members,
I am planning to convert my cassette tapes to digital.
I need suggestions regarding
1. which software will give best results ?
2.Does I need any soundcard?

Experts in this field please give advice for good results.
 
A good soundcard is required as the Tape Deck out will be inputted to it.

There are many softwares available, I did this years back for songs which are difficult to find....the rest were downloaded over the years....

Sony Sound Forge should work....
 
I have some experience with digitizing vinyl, this is not much different. Audacity works but you will need a good external ADC, I got very good results with an Edirol device(UA-25). It's very similar to the Focusrite devices that are available on Bajaao or Amazon. You will need XLR to RCA cables from MX which are cheap and easily available. With the Edirol, using the advanced driver I could digitise to 24/96. A computer with minimum 8GB RAM and SSD is preferable to avoid any latency issues. Best to use the preamplifier output and set level just below clipping, this will vary based on the original recording.
 
Hi,
I too have many MiniDV cassettes to be digitized. I am having Sony camcorder 2004 model which is still working. I saw few youtube videos showing that a capture card(Ex: Dazzle DVC100) or video 2 pc(Ex: ION) adapter is required to transfer the videos on tape to pc. Did anyone try like this? Any best practices? What would be the price of these tools in India? Any local tool which is as effective as the above stated tools?
Thanks in advance.
 
Hi,
I too have many MiniDV cassettes to be digitized. I am having Sony camcorder 2004 model which is still working. I saw few youtube videos showing that a capture card(Ex: Dazzle DVC100) or video 2 pc(Ex: ION) adapter is required to transfer the videos on tape to pc. Did anyone try like this? Any best practices? What would be the price of these tools in India? Any local tool which is as effective as the above stated tools?
Thanks in advance.
Mini DV is already digital. If your camcorder has a FireWire port, then all you need is a laptop with firewire and a FireWire cable. Older ThinkPads(T60) had one by default, it is difficult to find it on newer laptops as USB has made FireWire redundant.
 
Hi,
I too have many MiniDV cassettes to be digitized. I am having Sony camcorder 2004 model which is still working. I saw few youtube videos showing that a capture card(Ex: Dazzle DVC100) or video 2 pc(Ex: ION) adapter is required to transfer the videos on tape to pc. Did anyone try like this? Any best practices? What would be the price of these tools in India? Any local tool which is as effective as the above stated tools?
Thanks in advance.
Do you have a desktop?
Best would be to get a Firewire PCi card. I have used Hauppauge brand card in the past for the very same thing.
 
Dear forum members,
I am planning to convert my cassette tapes to digital.
I need suggestions regarding
1. which software will give best results ?
2.Does I need any soundcard?

Experts in this field please give advice for good results.
Use a behringer uca222 (or 202) iwth a good tape deck. Easiest and cheapest option. Very good results.
Run the resulting file through audacity for noise cleanup, level adjustment etc.
Job done.
 
Do you have a desktop?
Best would be to get a Firewire PCi card. I have used Hauppauge brand card in the past for the very same thing.
I have laptop. What is the option in this case?
 
Anyone having first hand experience with Dazzle? Since this is one time activity, I would prefer to buy a used one. Anyone wants to sell?
 
I have started digitizing by old cassettes recently. The chain is like this. Casette deck --> pre-amp --> Alesis Multimix 8 Mixer (I am running it in bypass mode) --> USB Out from mixer --> PC USB in --> Audacity. Quite happy with the results. Keep an eye on clipping indicator in Audacity (found on top-center of the screen) and avoid going above -6db on input recording level. Set volume knob on mixer accordingly. Hope this helps.
 
Dear forum members,
I am planning to convert my cassette tapes to digital.
I need suggestions regarding
1. which software will give best results ?
2.Does I need any soundcard?

Experts in this field please give advice for good results.
1. Software is irrelevant. Only the post-processing matters because you might want to reduce cassette hiss after digitization and, in some case, want to retouch the digital recording. In both scenarios, your experience matter. Being a free DAW, Audacity is very popular and suitable if your sole purpose is digitization.

2. If you have a desktop, you really don't need any extra soundcard. The LINE_IN port is enough for this. But if you are a laptop user, you need an ADC, aka external soundcard, with a LINE_IN port. Consumer-grade Creative or Asus USB soundcards were enough for this purpose, but they are now hard to find for some unknown reason. There is an alternate solution. Home recording is becoming popular nowadays. And for this purpose, many Audio Interfaces are available easily. They are basically external soundcard relying on USB BUS and its technology mainly focus on the audio recording to the computer. These can also be used in the Desktop environment. These being a studio-grade portable gadget, are the best available solution for digitisation in present days. They tend to give a flat recording response curve. Therefore, the recording is nearly devoid of any colourisation.

3. The choice of your cassette player is crucial. Try to choose a player that produces less hiss and devoid of noise issues like hum etc. The SQ of the player will somewhat be retained on the digital recording. The player should be in its optimum condition, free from any mechanical or electronic error. So choose your player wisely.

4. Use a well-shilded cable to connect the player's output to the input of the Audio Interface. You can use DIY cables. A locally available good quality microphone cable is enough.

5. Use a pristine quality audio cassette for digitization. The cassette needs to be completely free from fungus, as it affects the reproduction, hence digital recording.
 
Follow HiFiMART on Instagram for offers, deals and FREE giveaways!
Back
Top