Converting Minidisc to mp3 for ipod
Discussion
I've just cracked this nut and I thought I'd share the wealth... It's taken me a few years of failed tries, and every time I looked at my sad old minidisc collection I was spurred on to give the project another go.
What you will need:
1) Minidisc player
2) Lead to connect MD player to your computer (3.5mm plug or optical)
3) Computer with space on hard drive (1Gb per 50mins of sound)
4) Audacity 1.3 Beta http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Freeware
Steps.
1) Connect the minidisc player to your computer, coming in through the sound card socket ideally, if not the blue coloured input on your computer. I used the line out on my SONY MZ-R50 player.
2) Verify this link by playing your selected minidisc in the MD player and hearing the sound out of your computer's speakers.
3) Load up Audacity 1.3 Select the input as "Line in" (Middle of the window, drop down menu)
4) Find a loud section of your disc, press play and look for distortion, alter the Input Level Slider to stop the red bars crashing/distorting at the far right.
5) Now for the actual record: Press play on the MD player and hit the record icon on Audacity.
6) Wait for the disc to finish playing/recording and hit stop on Audacity. Real time record only as it's analogue to digital.
7) Save the data as the suggested .aup project file for now
8) Export the file, pick mp3 from Save file type.
9) When I export as mp3 I DIDN'T need to use the LAME encoder, you might have to: http://lame.sourceforge.net/download.php
my 50 mins of music on minidisc is now 50Mb of .mp3 file ready for my ipod.
Got loads of exciting things to do with Audacity now like splitting tracks automatically when silence occurs etc etc.
Joy!
Will
www.williamhage.com
What you will need:
1) Minidisc player
2) Lead to connect MD player to your computer (3.5mm plug or optical)
3) Computer with space on hard drive (1Gb per 50mins of sound)
4) Audacity 1.3 Beta http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ Freeware
Steps.
1) Connect the minidisc player to your computer, coming in through the sound card socket ideally, if not the blue coloured input on your computer. I used the line out on my SONY MZ-R50 player.
2) Verify this link by playing your selected minidisc in the MD player and hearing the sound out of your computer's speakers.
3) Load up Audacity 1.3 Select the input as "Line in" (Middle of the window, drop down menu)
4) Find a loud section of your disc, press play and look for distortion, alter the Input Level Slider to stop the red bars crashing/distorting at the far right.
5) Now for the actual record: Press play on the MD player and hit the record icon on Audacity.
6) Wait for the disc to finish playing/recording and hit stop on Audacity. Real time record only as it's analogue to digital.
7) Save the data as the suggested .aup project file for now
8) Export the file, pick mp3 from Save file type.
9) When I export as mp3 I DIDN'T need to use the LAME encoder, you might have to: http://lame.sourceforge.net/download.php
my 50 mins of music on minidisc is now 50Mb of .mp3 file ready for my ipod.
Got loads of exciting things to do with Audacity now like splitting tracks automatically when silence occurs etc etc.
Joy!
Will
www.williamhage.com
Arese said:
Well, I was going to take the piss but then I noticed you're an Orthopaedic Surgeon and might be able to help me with my bad back.
So, well done chap!
it's a step-by-step for amateur geeks like meSo, well done chap!
beats paying £40 at boysstuff.co.uk or Maplin for a box to do the same..
I'm pleased....
The_Doc said:
Arese said:
Well, I was going to take the piss but then I noticed you're an Orthopaedic Surgeon and might be able to help me with my bad back.
So, well done chap!
it's a step-by-step for amateur geeks like meSo, well done chap!
beats paying £40 at boysstuff.co.uk or Maplin for a box to do the same..
I'm pleased....
I see that there's a hardware option that can do the transfer for you, but it's $5000.
Hi there, I know this is in response to a really old post but I've been trying to find a way to convert mini discs to mp3's on and off for about 10 years and this guide has been invaluable!
Wondering if anyone can answer one question though - I don't think my laptop (Acer Aspire Timeline from about 2012) has a 'line in' function, only a microphone port that I can connect the mini disc too.. The mp3 recordings I get are really tinny, despite messing around with the levels, and I think it's because of the low quality of the input.
Any ideas on how / whether possible to resolve without buying a newer laptop? Cheers.
Wondering if anyone can answer one question though - I don't think my laptop (Acer Aspire Timeline from about 2012) has a 'line in' function, only a microphone port that I can connect the mini disc too.. The mp3 recordings I get are really tinny, despite messing around with the levels, and I think it's because of the low quality of the input.
Any ideas on how / whether possible to resolve without buying a newer laptop? Cheers.
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