[HANASHIR:15139] Re: Mini Discs for dummies "How To Copy to the Computer & Burn CDs"

[Ros Schwartz <ros_schwartz...>]

(I apologise if this question has already been addressed.  I just got 
home from CAJE & there were more than 50 Hanashir posts awaiting, so I 
might have missed the answer ... )

TO COPY FROM MINIDISC TO COMPUTER & BURN CDS:

1.  Use the appropriate connector to plug the minidisc "sound out" into 
the "microphone in" jack on your computer.  (In theory you could play 
the minidisc through speakers, and record onto your computer with a 
microphone.  Don't do this!  You will _significantly_ lose sound 
quality.  If you don't have the right wire, go & buy it.)

2.  Then use whatever software package you like to record the sound from 
the minidisc onto the computer.  There are many many recording software 
packages out there, depending how fancy you want to get & how much $ you 
want to pay.  I use Audacity, which I downloaded free from the web, only 
because my son recommended it.  (It's probably at Audacity.com, or do a 
websearch for it.)  I've seen other people using Cool Pro & Cool Pro 
Edit, but I don't know anything more about them.

***If others have recommendations for other software, free or purchased, 
I would be most interested in hearing them***.

3.  Note that many software programs restrict the way you can save 
files, because of copyright issues.  For example, if you want to record 
mp3s, you may have to download a special extra program as an add-on to 
the main program.  (Also available for free.)  If you need more info, 
let me know & I will have my son write up how to do this!

4.  Open the computer program.  ***Make sure you have fresh batteries in 
your minidisc player, or plug it in*** ... it's really frustrating if it 
dies, halfway through a long recording.  Press "record" on the software, 
then "play" on your minidisc.  (If you do this in the reverse order, you 
may miss the first few seconds of your recording.)  You can do this 
track by track, or the whole minidisc at once.  Do a few trial runs, to 
check out the correct volume settings, noise reduction, etc.  You can 
usually alter the settings on _both_ the minidisc & the software, so you 
might want to play around a bit in order to figure out what sounds best.

5.  You can save the file in various formats, some of which will easily 
allow further editing, others of which will not.  It's usually not hard 
to edit out segments (e.g. audience clapping, etc.) but it may be harder 
to edit out background noise (e.g. coughs, audience rustling, etc.) 
This depends on the software.

In general, the larger the file, the more information is retained, and 
the more easily you can edit it later.  I don't have time to do much 
editing, so I just save as mp3s, which are reasonably good quality and 
comparatively small size.

6.  If you intend to keep your recordings on your computer, think of a 
logical way to name & file them, so you can find them easily.  I have a 
folder called Music, then a subfolder called Hava Nashira 2003.  I name 
the files using the "metric date" format:  yyyy mm dd hhmm, so they show 
up in order by day, within in the folder: e.g. "2003 05 31 1030 
Children's Songs"

7.  Once the files are on your computer, it is comparatively simple to 
burn them to a CD as files, in the usual fashion according to your 
particular computer setup.

8.  As Jeff puts it, you have to do the transfer in "real time", meaning 
that a two hour session will take two hours to copy.  You can just set 
the machines to copy & then leave ... but this is risky, since assorted 
glitches can occur.  I usually listen in as the copy is being done - 
either through the computer speakers, or through a headset plugged in to 
the computer.  If the recordings are of importance to you, & you plan to 
erase the minidisc, I would strongly recommend listening through the 
copy either on your computer or on the CD that you have burned, to make 
sure it came out correctly, before you erase the original.

9.  Anyway, the aggravation of this whole thing is why I decided to 
bring my laptop & record directly onto it!  I bought a good-quality 
external mike, which I plug into the computer, & use Audacity to record 
directly to the hard drive.  It's harder to shlep around than a minidisc 
recorder, and takes more room to set up, but it's way easier once I get 
home.

Hope this outline helps ...

- Ros


Jeff Klepper wrote:
 >

Subject: [HANASHIR:15098] Re: Mini Discs for dummies
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 2003 14:34:21 -0400
From: Jeff Klepper <jeffklepper (at) yahoo(dot)com>
Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
 >
 > You can copy files from a CD to minidisc (MD) but not the other way
 > around.  Right now the only way to transfer files from MD is to record
 > them onto your hard disc in real time.  (At some point someone will
 > invent software to do it...)
 >
 > jeff
 >

Gail Nalven wrote:

Subject: [HANASHIR:15083] Mini Discs for dummies
Date: Wed, 13 Aug 2003 13:22:01 EDT
From: Golda18 (at) aol(dot)com
Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org

>>I have files on minidiscs that I want to transfer to my PC and then onto a
>>cd.  They were recorded on a Sony MZ-N707, and I've installed their
>>(frustrating) software, where the tracks do show up, but I can't drag them
>>into another (burner) program to get them off the Sony MD and onto my hard
>>drive.  But I understand this is done all the time. 

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