Recording music from YouTube to MD

[Soundbox]

I enjoy listening to rare tracks or remixes that are sometimes uploaded to YouTube (usually they just have a still photo on the screen) and it crossed my mind that it would be good to save the best onto MD (what else?) for future listening and without too much quality loss.

Now, looking at my laptop I have a headphone output which I think is probabably the easiest way (link to line input on my portable) but I have a couple of questions that perhaps you may be able to help with.

1. There are two volume 'sliders' - one on the YouTube video itself and one in the bottom right of my screen. Would it be best to run the YouTube slider at maximum and then moderate the output via the main slider in the bottom right? I don't want to overload the line input...

2. Sometimes when playing YouTube, the sound stutters a tiny bit as if there is a break in the data or sometimes the buffer runs out and the sound stops altogether. Playing the video a second time solves both these issues but is there a way to stop playback until it has fully buffered so as to save playing everything twice?

Thank you for your thoughts.

[PsychoPimpKiller]

I have recorded some songs off of youtube and some other websites onto my MD. It was quite easy, all I did was what you suggested, use the headphone out to my line-in on my MD recorder. It's been a while but I believe I just used the overall volume on my computer to regulate a good listening level so it didn't sound all distorted. I hope this helps.

[Giant_Rick]

In my opinion it's like wanting a very bad quality file..

By the way, if I were you I'd use a YouTube downloader and then download a ''lossless'' version of the audio; I mean, a YT video has a lossy audio, why would you make lossier an already lossy file?

Otherwise volume of hte video almost full, and then volume near max. of your sound card..

[md user]

I enjoy listening to rare tracks or remixes that are sometimes uploaded to YouTube (

the sound stutters a tiny bit as if there is a break in the data or sometimes the buffer runs out and the sound stops altogether. Playing the video a second time solves both these issues but is there a way to stop playback until it has fully buffered so as to save playing everything twice?

Thank you for your thoughts.

As others say - download completely; save file.

Open file in a media player.

Adjust volumes according to VU on MD recorder. (It may be better to maximise player voiume and only to lower soundcard volume - test noise levels doing it both ways. It may make no difference - depends on software design methinks.)

Don't be too fussy if in lossy audio ... it didn't cost much did it?

Buy CD quality if really good?

Whatever. Enjoy!

Regards,

mdmad.

[Soundbox]

Thanks for the comments. I have never tried anything like this before so I did not want to damage my MD recorder by overloading the pre-amp.

I just tried the headphone socket method with volume sliders set as suggested and it records fine. I normally do buy the CD but some tracks are deleted or not on CD. Sound quality was fine, but not as good as a proper signal (but wavery and metalic). My portable MD recorders do not have computer audio connect sockets so I am afraid it must be line in.

Thanks again.

[Giant_Rick]

What recorder do you have?

[Soundbox]

You mean recorderS - this is the MiniDisk forum after all

I have the following:

MZ-R30

MZ-R50

JE510 (home recorder)

and a new home recorder JB980 that I have not understood/wired up yet.

[sfbp]

I enjoy listening to rare tracks or remixes that are sometimes uploaded to YouTube (usually they just have a still photo on the screen) and it crossed my mind that it would be good to save the best onto MD (what else?) for future listening and without too much quality loss.

Now, looking at my laptop I have a headphone output which I think is probabably the easiest way (link to line input on my portable) but I have a couple of questions that perhaps you may be able to help with.

1. There are two volume 'sliders' - one on the YouTube video itself and one in the bottom right of my screen. Would it be best to run the YouTube slider at maximum and then moderate the output via the main slider in the bottom right? I don't want to overload the line input...

2. Sometimes when playing YouTube, the sound stutters a tiny bit as if there is a break in the data or sometimes the buffer runs out and the sound stops altogether. Playing the video a second time solves both these issues but is there a way to stop playback until it has fully buffered so as to save playing everything twice?

Thank you for your thoughts.

I would ignore all of the above (no offence!) and use my Sound card on the PC that has optical out, recording to MD at an appropriate bit rate.

The other means is to use something like WaveRec, which (AFAIK) makes only 1411 kHz LPCM "WAV" files, but honestly the optical input on the MD is the best way to get the Type-R bit reallocation to kick in and make a nice ATRAC version of whatever you found on the internet.

If you're looking for cards with opti-out, there are many but the cheapest (which also has Opti-IN) is the Terratec, should be available to you in the UK.

Stephen

PS added shortly after.. I now see that maybe you don't have a PC, only a PC laptop (Macbooks tend to have optical out anyway). It really is a good idea to avoid Sound cards on PC's at least the analog side to them. You can make a bunch of wave files (wait until you got 'em all in one place) with WaveRec, burn them to a CD-R with Nero, then go from the CD to an MD with optical out from the CD player (which is pretty likely, though of course not assured).

[Soundbox]

Thanks Stephen.

Your method sounds good - and yes, I only have a laptop (running Windows Vista). I will have a go saving the music to CD with wave files as you say. I may as well stop at that stage really if it works out as I could just play the CD on my deck and miss off the MD part. My Sony CD player has only analogue outputs so there would be another loss at that stage I feel.

Ian

[sfbp]

Yeah - capturing sound with Windows is easy (at least with XP***) And doesn't really involve the sound card.

Here's waverec - it's in German but that is a small price to pay for a brilliantly simple gizmo (it includes a timer and scheduler). And the only price!

http://www.waverec.de

Seems like a lot of great sound products for the PC are from Germany; TerraTec and Nero are there, and so is the team working on liberating the SonicStage monstrosity for NetMD transfer - there's a real interest and tradition for some reason.

*** In a sense this is the "big hole" in Windows that the RIAA/MPAA people (have) want(ed) plugged from the very beginning of people manipulating sound on their PC's. 10 years ago it was self-limiting because HD capacities were smaller, but when you have people boasting about 8TB hooked to their HTPC's you can see the dilemma. Windows 7 undoubtedly is going to have all the content protection stuff so I am less sure about that raw ability, Vista must be somewhere betwixt and between.

[Odyssey]

I enjoy listening to rare tracks or remixes that are sometimes uploaded to YouTube (usually they just have a still photo on the screen) and it crossed my mind that it would be good to save the best onto MD (what else?) for future listening and without too much quality loss.

Now, looking at my laptop I have a headphone output which I think is probabably the easiest way (link to line input on my portable) but I have a couple of questions that perhaps you may be able to help with.

1. There are two volume 'sliders' - one on the YouTube video itself and one in the bottom right of my screen. Would it be best to run the YouTube slider at maximum and then moderate the output via the main slider in the bottom right? I don't want to overload the line input...

2. Sometimes when playing YouTube, the sound stutters a tiny bit as if there is a break in the data or sometimes the buffer runs out and the sound stops altogether. Playing the video a second time solves both these issues but is there a way to stop playback until it has fully buffered so as to save playing everything twice?

Thank you for your thoughts.

=================================

The advantage of listening to UTUBE is someone usually has recorded a video of some of the old lost songs that even though they were good fun sounds, they never made it up the charts so the radio stations won't play them.

I use the line in. if stuttering becomes a problem, wait till the song is completely downloaded and try that.

I had a problem once and I had to use a mixer to try to get an acceptable recording.

The quality is completely dependant on how the donor recorded it or where he found the recording. It is no more complicated as how well you record your recordings only in the case of UTUBE, you have very little control in how good it will sound since you are recording whatever comes from the donor. If the recording was done carfully from a good source, it will sound pretty good, if from a scratchy old 45, not so good. you can't do much about that.

But a lot of the lost songs are there and a complilation would be a fun thing to do some time.

Keep those MDs spinning

[bat21]

Sometimes when playing YouTube, the sound stutters a tiny bit as if there is a break in the data or sometimes the buffer runs out and the sound stops altogether. Playing the video a second time solves both these issues but is there a way to stop playback until it has fully buffered so as to save playing everything twice?

Wait until the slider bar is completely red before playing the video.