[HANASHIR:10866] Re: MD 2 CD

[kgohr <kgohr...>]

Hello all;
 Sorry it took so long to get this info posted, but you 
know how life gets at times..., Hopefully this will make 
sense to you. If not please feel free to e-mail me 
privately with your questions. 
 Mini discs can be converted to regular CDs, but since 
they use a different format to store the information 
than regular CDs the process is not as quick as one 
would hope. It is however fairly simple. Incidentally, 
the process is also the same one used to convert 
cassette tapes, records, or live voice to CDs. 
Basically what you need to do is hook up your device 
(MD, tape player, etc) into the microphone input of your 
computer and record the audio onto your hard drive as a 
wave file using software capable of handling these 
sizable files, an 80 min. CD can hold up to 700 
megabytes of data.
 What you need:

 1)A CD burner

 2)A stereo patch chord with a male mini jack on each 
end to connect your device to the microphone input on 
your computer. The usb chord that comes with some of the 
newer MD recorders is specifically designed for 
DOWNLOADING mp3 files onto the unit, it is not designed 
to transfer files from te MD to your computer. note:to 
make things easier on myself, I've plugged a headphone 
extension chord into the mic. input on the back of my 
own computer, this makes switching devices much easier 
since you don't have to pull the unit out each time you 
want to change from MD to microphone, etc.

 3)A software program capable of recording huge wave 
files and converting/burning them onto cds. I use 
cakewalk pyro, a simple basic program that will 
accomplish this, about $40-$50 last time I checked.
As long as one is not expecting studio quality results 
this program should be adequate. Whatever you buy, just 
make sure that it specifically states that you can use 
the program to convert tapes or records to CD.

 4)Lots and lots of hard drive space. Remember a typical 
CD fully loaded can store up to 700 megabytes of 
information. note:once you've made your CD you can then 
delete these files, once again freeing up the space to 
make more!

 After you've installed the software, follow the 
directions for recording audio. This means that you must 
sit there and play your stuff in real time(remember I 
said that this was not a quick process), recording it 
onto your hard drive. After you've done this you can 
then "split" the file into tracks, add effects, create a 
playlist and FINALLY burn your CD. note:I've found it 
helpful to edit my MD before I record it, this way you 
can get rid of dead space and get some idea where you 
want your "tracks" to be on the CD.
 Once you get over the shock of the time involvement 
required, the possibilities are endless. You can make 
teaching cds for your students, bar and bat mitzah kids 
can now listen to there haftorah portions on their 
walkman! Since most of these programs also do mp3 
conversion you can compress your files and e-mail them 
as attachments! Those of you who know me know that I've 
done this myself many times. As long as the file is less 
than one megabyte(about 2 minutes long using the lowest 
quality rate) it will go through with no problem, only 
taking about 3-4 minutes to download. Just don't try to 
post them to the list, Adrian would not be happy...,

 Anyway, I hope this is of some use to you. If I can be 
of any further assistance, please E-mail me privately, I 
promise to be more prompt in my reply. 
B'shalom;
Kathy Gohr,
Grand Rapids, MI

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