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After recording how do ya transfer to the PC?

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Ash

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Okay so i've been recording my own and couple of mate's bands doing a few gigs and that and now i want to transfer it all to my PC so i burn them onto Compact Disc. But what do i need software wise? I don't really wanna use my crappy XP mono sound byte recorder because its just crap. What should i get that will do the job proper?

Cheers guys!

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You record in realtime from headphone out of MD to Line in of PC. Connect MD headphone out to PC Line In via plug-to-plug cord.

WinNetMD at

http://christian.klukas.bei.t-online.de/fi...md/winNetMD.htm

will transfer track-mark and title info to the recordings via NetMD and USB connection; it needs Open MG or Sonic Stage 1 (2 is not supported yet) and Microsoft's .net framework, a big free download.

If you haven't already edited the tracks on the MD, then Audacity is a good free recording program.

http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

It will make one long track that you can edit.

An hourlong MD will take about 1G of disc space for a .wav recording.

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Hi,

I make MD recordings of my band and transfer to PC using a brilliant software package called:

Magix Audio Cleaning Lab de Luxe 3.0 :cool:

It is a superb program with all sorts of uses. Once in to the PC you have many editing possiblities - cut, paste, eq, stereo, convert to MP3, WAV and so on.....! When all is sorted you can then burn to CD. rolleyes.gif

The program is easy to use! [Has to be for me blink.gif ]

There are earlier and later versions available. If you buy this you will not be disappointed. You have total control over your MD recording once in to the Magix Audio Cleaning Lab [This software is also superb for "cleaning up" vinyl & cassette recordings then burning to CD]

If you need any more info please post back :smile:

Cheers

PS Resident of Devon too!

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Hi Eltel,

Yes, i have got the Magix Audio package but i was bit unsure whether it could do the job or how to go about it as the manual isn't very helpful there. Obviously you have been doing well with it!

So i plug the MD player into the back of my PC via the mic socket do i then have to select (in the record dialogue - level control box) the

Mike feature as opposed to Line In etc?

If you could tell me the procedure that you do your music transferals it would be most apprecaited.

Thank you!

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Hi,

First make sure you are connected between your MD [headphone mini stereo jack out] and the line in on your PC. [stereo mini jack plug to stereo mini jack plug lead required]

Open up the Magix Audio program. On screen in the middle is RECORD AUDIO [to the left is .WAV .MP3 .WMA and to the right is 'import audio cd]

Click on RECORD AUDIO then on the new smaller window that opens up with the recording bar levels to the right, click on LEVEL CONTROL.

This opens up the RECORDING CONTROL window. Select the LINE input [click in box to put a tick there - you now have your MD signal coming in to Magix Audio Lab]

Play whatever you wish to be recorded from the MD and adjust the RECORDING CONTROL volume fader so that the levels on the RECORD window stay in the yellow range [you should hear the sound from your PC speakers] When you are sure that the levels are not clipping or too low in volume, you are ready to record.

Press record [bottom left in Record window] and away you go! You can watch as Magix records the signal across the top with its highs and lows!

Once in to Magix you have all sorts of editing possiblities under the CLEANING section. Also you can "export" as MP3s or WAVs and of course you can "burn" to CD.

It's a great program. I have prepared many CDs from original MD recordings of my band.

Hope this helps! :smile:

If you need any more info - no problem :cool:

Cheers

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Any audio stereo editor/recorder will do the job in this case.

Audacity is free so you might want to start with that. You might need to get the lame mp3 encoder/decoder if you want to make mp3s of your recordings.

You can purchase the expanded versions of Musicmatch Jukebox and Real Player One -- they both let you record from any source and convert the file straight to mp3 or real audio file. You get limited editing on these...

You can try windows media producer - I think it is free download via microsoft's site.

Magix Audio or some of the other Magix programs will do the job, but I believe once you buy them you have to dish out extra $$$$ for the mp3 encoding so keep that in mind.

If you can afford Steinberg Wavelab, Cool Edit Pro or Sound Forge -- they'll do much better job.

lso your quality won't be too great cause your built in PC card is usually a cheapo piece of garbage. You might want to start looking into getting decent audio card if you're trying to do this right.

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Magix Audio has a lot of capabilities that look promising, but as far as getting the sound from the MD into the PC, it will work the same as Audacity or CoolEdit/Audition or any other sound recording/editing program. That is, it will record from the MD as one long track that you have to edit.

WinNetMD (link is in previous post above) is a lot more convenient if you have a NetMD recorder and you've already edited the track marks onto the MD. It records each track to a separate .wav file, and will also just record selected tracks. It's a real time-saver: one realtime recording session, and then you have individual tracks ready to burn to CD or whatever.

The only question is whether it's compatible yet with SonicStage 2--it works great with Sonic Stage 1 or even the awful Open MG.

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This is about the most useless forum I have seen. mad.gifmad.gif

Maybe you start the live recording topic with.

CAN NOT BE DONE

Instead of filing pages with bullshit about what is the best audio recorder.

Is there no one in this brave world who has hacked the header information of the MD file ??. If files are flag copy protected, it shou7ld be possible to change the flag.

No one any info on this ?????

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There are apparently built-in hardware as well as software limitations that prevent NetMD from uploading. It's not as if people haven't been trying.

For instance:

http://www.marcus-brinkmann.de/files/freemd.html

Of course, if you can outdo the folks who have been patiently working on it since NetMD was released, hack the header information yourself and enable USB uploading, everyone here would certainly love to see the solution.

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Hi,

Hack the header :ninja:

USB uploading huh.gif

Useless forums :whatever:

Is'nt it about recording your MD content to PC with recommended software? :rasp:

The Magix Audio package is excellent in every which way. It will mark individual tracks and there is no charge for MP3s. :wink:

Cheers :cool:

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This is about the most useless forum I have seen. mad.gif  :angry:  

Maybe you start the live recording topic with.

CAN NOT BE DONE

Instead of filing pages with bullshit about what is the best audio recorder.

Is there no one in this brave world who has hacked the header information of the MD file ??.  If files are flag copy protected, it shou7ld be possible to change the flag.

No one any info on this ?????

Hi,

Read the forum from the top :wacky:

It's all helpful advice based on the first enquiry :cool:

Cheers

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How does Magix Audio Cleaning Lab recognize tracks?

I'm using version 4.0 and I see it has Automatic CD Track Recognition, but I'm talking about recognizing MD tracks from a live recording the way WinNetMD does (and it needs a USB connection to get that info).

I just tried recording in a live microphone recording that has track marks, with Auto CD Track Recog checked, and Magix Audio didn't pick up the MD track marks--it was all one long track. Live shows don't have those convenient silences between tracks.

The Magix Help file index doesn't even recognize "minidisc." If there's a way to get it to pick up MD track marks, please enlighten me.

Also, although my version is activated, it seems to want some additional activation code for MP3 encoding.

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Hi,

Yes, that is correct. :wacky:

You will need to manually edit the Magix file prepared from your minidisc recording of live music. :sad:

That's where the fun and interest is though because you are in control of the edit. :cool:

Magix will then automatically add markers to your edited music file, but better to do it manually as you go along. rolleyes.gif

Magix will not obviously recognise the MD track markers as it is not set up to do that. :ohmy:

Cheers :cool:

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Thanks for clarifying, Eltel. People who are new to this might have misunderstood your previous posts.

As for me, if I've already edited the minidisc by placing track marks, there's no "fun and interest" in doing the same thing again with Magix. WinNetMD will continue to do that job for me.

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Hi

Glad that all is clarified now, A440! :wink:

Is'nt editing a long MD live recording on MD fiddly, having to place all the marks? :sad:

Just record it into Magix [or other appropriate recording software] and then you have the whole music file on screen for editing. :smile:

Could you let us know what exactly WinNetMD is and how it can be used to advantage?

Thanks mellow.gif

Cheers :cool:

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You can find WinNetMD information in the link I left at the beginning of this thread. OK, here it is again.

http://christian.klukas.bei.t-online.de/fi...md/winNetMD.htm

I place the track marks during the recording.

If I know that I pushed the button at the wrong time, I go back, listen and fast-forward and remove/replace whatever marks were in the wrong place on the MD. It's a lot quicker than dumping a 1Gb file into the hard drive and trying to determine from the waveform, or a lot of listening, where the breaks are all over again.

WinNetMD connects via the USB connector for track information and via headphone out/line in to record. It needs OpenMG or Sonic Stage 1 to work; it also needs Microsoft's .net framework installed.

When you open it, it lists the tracks on the MD--with titles, if you've put them in--and you can decide which ones you want to record. It will then record each selected track as a separate .wav or .mp3 file with the title. That gives you tracks that are ready for computer play or CD burning.

It doesn't do all the other things a full recording program will do. But for getting music from MP3 to PC, it's ideal.

I'm still wondering why my Magix 4.0 is demanding a surcharge for MP3 encoding when all sorts of programs, from Audacity to DB Power Amp, will do it for free.

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I had a question about getting a better sound card for my pc. Where can I get this? Does someone have to install this for me?

Also, Sorry for this beginner's question, but what jack do I need when recording from mini disk to computer for editing. I understand the "Headphone mini stero jack out to line in on pc" I just am not sure about what kind of cable, if I have it or not.

Thanks for your help! I have some great music on a mini-disk, and can't wait to put it on a cd.

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The terminology may be fancy, but don't get intimidated. Think of it as plumbing--you're piping the sound out of the MD (Headphone Out) into the computer (Line In).

Line In looks like your basic stereo plug. It's probably near your headphone jack on your PC, and looks the same, maybe labeled Audio In. If you have your computer manual, see if it has a diagram of the ports.

The cord is a simple cord with a stereo plug on both ends--like your headphone cord with another plug instead of headphones. It's a standard cable, at Radio Shack or hardware stores. Bring along your headphones to compare the size.

Some laptops (like mine) only have Mic-In and not Line-In (to save space and $$). If it's not labeled Mic-In, it may have a little microphone icon instead. If so, you can go from headphone out into Mic-In--same cord-- but that sends the signal through a pre-amp that adds noise and distortion. You'll have to use lower levels on the volume coming out of the MD and/or the levels set on the recording program.

Either way, try it first before investing in anything else--it might do the job for you. On my PC, the Mic-In jack was loose and crackly, so I had to escalate, as follows.

The easiest way to add Line In is with the Griffin iMic, which is not a microphone but a USB connector for sound input/output. It looks like a little flying saucer, Mac style, but also works with Windows 98 and later PCs.

http://www.griffintechnology.com/products/imic/

It has Line In, Line Out, Mic In and Mic Out jacks and plugs into a USB port. I was using one for awhile, and it does the job. $40 list, often discounted (all over Ebay). You're still using your PC's soundcard, which may or may not be ideal.

Escalating further:

The easiest way to add a soundcard, if you have desk space, is to get an external one that you can plug into a USB port, no physical installation required. Windows recognizes it as Plug and Play or you run an installation CD.

I have a Creative Labs Extigy refurbished by Creative Labs itself, which cost me $85 (incl postage) and works fine--Creative Labs sells them through Ebay, I think with a 90-day guarantee. It has all kinds of inputs and outputs and a volume control, and sounds much better than the soundcard in my laptop did.

http://www.soundblaster.com/products/extigy/

My only gripe is the software, which tries to take over all the playback on the computer--do a Custom installation and install as little as possible of the "suite." There are also Options to prevent it loading its own player at startup, etc., once it's installed. It's annoying but it can be overcome .

If you have a desktop you can also install an internal soundcard yourself. All you have to do is open the box, take out the old soundcard (a matter of unscrewing a few screws and pulling it out of the socket), and gently plug in a new one (and redo the screws). I'm no computer engineer, but I've installed various cards and it's completely straightforward.

People have recommended Turtle Beach and Creative Labs/Soundblaster models as good for music. Just check to see if whatever models are available now have Line-In. (Optical in and out is also nice but not essential.) If you search "soundcard" on this forum you should find some other info.

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Thanks! I just went to the Soundblaster link, and ordered the external sound card. Wish me luck!

One more question. My mic jack on my mini disk recorder is kind of funny looking. It has the one pointy jack thing, and then several little pins that fit into the recorder. Can I still use the 1/8 to 1/8 jack in my mini recorder, from Radio Shack, and forget about those little pin holes?

Thanks again for all your help.

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You're going to be using the headphone jack of the MD recording to send sound out to your computer.

But I'm curious about that Mic jack. What make/model MD recorder do you have?

Incidentally, the Extigy has some software specific to Minidisc, though I've never used it. But you might want to try it.

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Oops, I meant my headphone jack has the pointy thing, and the little pins to fit into my mini disk recorder. I have a sony mini-disk recorder. I'm at work, and don't have it with me, but will check the model when I get home. I got it last month.

Thanks for info re: software. What software do you use? Do I need other software to record from my MD to my computer?

THnak you again.

Linda

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I will try the software that comes with the soundcard. I paid $129.00 for sound card; does that sound about right?

By the way, through this site, I found link to people who will transfer the music from the mini-disk to a cd, for about $50.00. If I can't figure out how to do it, I might pay someone to do it for me. But I'd like to learn how to use it an do it myself.

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I will try the software that comes with the soundcard.  I paid $129.00 for sound card; does that sound about right?

By the way, through this site, I found link to people who will transfer the music from the mini-disk to a cd, for about $50.00.  If I can't figure out how to do it, I might pay someone to do it for me.  But I'd like to learn how to use it an do it myself.

It's real easy. Looking through the message boards & asking questions, you can figure it out no problem.. The Magix program is great, you can get a used copy off Amazon or EBay for just a couple dollars. It is a pain that you have to register for MP3 compatability, though.

Contrary to another post in the thread, using Magix to determine where the track markers should be put just takes a minute, and is much easier than doing the same thing on your MD.

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Linda: I think the pins you're talking about are for the remote control--in a rectangle to the right of the actual headphone jack. But you can plug any headphone with a miniplug into the round hole and use the controls on the unit itself.

$50 per MD seems mighty steep for something you can do yourself.

As for recording software, I've used CoolEdit/Audition (expensive, full-featured, snazzy), WinNetMD (under $20, specialized for NetMD, automatically transfers track marks and titles, but no sound-manipulating features) and Audacity (free, lots of features). Links and info are on Page 1 of this thread.

I'd be curious to hear from you or anyone else who has used Creative's Playcenter and its minidisc options about what they do and how well they work.

Anont: How do you get the track marks via Magix? I have it installed and would love to use it. Is it just cut-and-paste where the applause makes white noise, or is there something more automated like WinNetMD?

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Thanks anont, and A440.

So, I checked my mini disk recorder and it is a: MZ-NF810CK. Sony.

It has a usb port on it; can I use that with the sound card, I got A440?

I wish I could draw a picture of the jack at the end of the headphones. It has one long pin and two shorter pins. There is a picture of the headphones by the jack hole, and the pins match. There is also a mic hole, and a line in (optional) hole, and the usb port hole.

thanks for the info on the software.

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Linda--

The long plug is your actual headphone plug. The shorter pins are the remote control connection (and probably radio on that model, I'm not sure). On my MZ-N707 they're all outlined together in black, but they're really two separate things. The headphones can plug into one end of the remote control--which plugs into both the headphone jack and the remote connector--or directly into the headphone jack.

There are a number of things you have to do only once, and then you can record from MD to PC forever. Basically what you're doing is sending the sound out of the headphones and into the computer via sound card--an analog connection, sorry not USB--and a sound recording program.

If you don't want to spring for WinNetMD, you can record the MD as one long track with other recording software, maybe even with the Extigy's software.

EDIT: OK, I looked at Extigy's Playcenter software. Under Sound Blaster Extigy, it has a Recorder and an audio editor, WaveStudio, so you won't need another recording program unless you want WinNetMD's track-info feature. Creative's Minidisc Center just collects tracks to output from PC to CD.

If you use WinNetMD, as it records it also sends track info from the MD's USB port to the computer and makes each track a separate .wav or .mp3 file, easier for burning later.

One-time chores:

Once your Extigy is installed--directions on and in the box--make sure in Windows Control Panel (Start-Settings-Control Panel--Sounds or Multimedia) that sound is going both in and out through the Extigy.

If you do want to use WinNetMD, you need to install Sonic Stage 1 (came with your MD) and the Microsoft .net Framework (free 25MB download) and to buy WinNetMD (under $20).

Did your MZ-N810 come with all its cords? If not, you may need to get a USB to mini-USB cord. (Try searching MZ-N810 USB on Ebay.)

Here's the hookup I use with the Extigy and WinNetMD.

With the plug-to-plug cord, connect headphone out from the MD to Line-in on the Extigy (it's clearly marked on the front). Then, with the USB cord, connect from the mini-USB on the MD to another USB port on your computer. The display on the MD will look something like PC-->MD. (Little do they know you're going in the opposite direction.)

If you can switch the output to Line Out on the MD--through the Menus--then do that. If not, remove any bass boost or other changes you've made to Sound. Turn the volume up about 75% of the way.

Start WinNetMD. It will list the tracks on the MD--information it's getting through the USB connection and Sonic Stage. Select the tracks you want to record or all of them. There's a recording-level setting on WinNetMD--mine is set at 18%. (You may have to experiment with volume out of the MD and recording level; record one track, or part of it, and see how it sounds. But when you find settings that work you can always use them, so write them down.)

Click Record on WinNetMD. Take a stroll, read a book, have dinner, watch a video, call your mom, whatever, for the length of your recording (realtime). Return to your PC and the tracks will be in there, nicely numbered.

Again, this is only going to be a pain the first time. Once you have the settings, all you have to do is connect the MD, start WinNetMD (or recording program of your choice) and let it roll, baby, roll.

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Wow, A440, I can't believe you took all that time to be so helpful. Thanks so much. You made it so clear, and now I am not intimidated! I'm going to print out your instructions and paste them in a notebook. My sound card should be here early next week.

I feel guilty asking you one more question, but, then once my concert recording is up in the computer, i can download to a cd? Will I need yet another software to do this final step to sharing my wonderful music?

Also, why is it so complicated? Why can't we just upload the music with a cord of some type?

Well, thanks so much. Your posts will help a lot of people. It sure helped me.

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Once the music has been digitally recorded in your computer, it's yours to play with, just like a ripped CD. You will have recorded it as .mp3 files or .wav files. You can play it in your PC player, burn it to CD, share it on KaZaa, DJ a big dance party....

If your computer has a CD burner it probably has a CD burning program, like Adaptec or Roxio or whatever, that will burn .wav files (high-quality CD audio) or .mp3 to CD. Otherwise, free ones are all over the internet. Here's one at Cnet:

http://download.com.com/3000-2646-10280818...ml?tag=lst-0-15

Also, why is it so complicated? Why can't we just upload the music with a cord of some type?

Ah, the big question. The short answer is that Sony is a schizophrenic company: electronics and music. The tech guys come up with amazing palm-size digital recorders, and then the record-company guys get all upset that they could be used to copy music. (Noooo!) So Sony decided to made the MD a dead end: music goes in, but digital files can't come out.

Hence the whole one-way NetMD: you can dump digital music files into the MD but not get them out digitally. Fine if you want a player--Ipod is the same, tethered to the computer--but annoying for those of us who record. How they convinced Sharp, which is only an electronics company, to go along with NetMD is a mystery.

Now, under commercial pressure from unrestricted hard-drive recorders from Archos, Iriver, Philips and Creative--which can upload digital files, but aren't as small or as microphone-friendly as MDs--Sony is about to introduce Hi-MD, which promises genuine digital uploading. But some of the fine print I've read here suggests that the uploads are going to get trapped in Sonic Stage, and I wonder if Sony is still going to try and restrict them somehow.

If not, I'll be thrilled with Hi-MD.

Meanwhile, even if we both upgrade to Hi-MD, if your old soundcard was as lame as most built-in soundcards you'll still be happy you got the Extigy, because you'll hear the improvement through your headphones on everything you play in the computer. And when next-generation Windows starts trying to lock down music with software and hardware "upgrades", you'll still have the outputs.

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Audition is the renamed CoolEdit. I've used Cool Edit with the Imic, and it works fine. Goldwave should also, like any other program that records through line-in.

The iMic is an adapter to get the music into your soundcard, while the Extigy completely takes over for your soundcard. Whether the Extigy is an improvement really depends on the quality of the soundcard already installed. If it's a little laptop, probably yes--a good desktop with a brand-name soundcard, maybe not.

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No moving parts except on-off switch and volume control, so used is probably fine if it's not abused. You can find them used on Ebay.

It's also worth checking Creative's website, which sometimes has serious rebates if you get it new.

The cheapest price I found was for a factory-refurbished one with a 30-day guarantee, from Creative itself on Ebay--$70 plus $15 shipping. Mine works fine. I don't know why people on Ebay were paying more for used ones.

There are other external soundcards too: Creative's higher-grade Audigy, and Philips' Aurilium. Probably more expensive, but you might shop around.

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Anont: How do you get the track marks via Magix? I have it installed and would love to use it.   Is it just cut-and-paste where the applause makes white noise, or is there something more automated like WinNetMD?

Hello, sorry for the slow reply. I may have a different version than you, mine is an old one.

First of all, Magix has an auto-recognize, that works pretty well for recordings that make a clean break between songs (not all do this & it's worth double checking, though).

Secondly, to set the track marker, there's the line where the audio plays from, marked by the yellow triangles (hard to describe plainly, but it's obvious when you have a look). When it's where you want it to set a track marking, right click on the line and "set track marker." You have to do this by listening & looking at the levels, but since you can go around so quickly and have the visual aid, I find this much quicker & easier than MD's slow & clumsy forward/reverse.

Later, when you export the audio to MP3 or WAV, make sure the "each CD-Track in a file" is clicked.

ALSO, about the Creative Audigy 2: I had it, and I think it's TERRIBLE. The installation software is buggy, it doesn't sound much better than the on-motherboard sound (with huge amounts of hiss), it's poorly magnetically shielded, and in general I can't recommend it. I ended up selling it and just getting an internal card. Then again, I don't know if there's anything better in terms of external USB audio.

Reading reviews, all the Creative products seem to get pretty low marks from Audio people - they're more made for gamers with money to burn, I'm afraid!

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Thanks for the Magix info, Anont.

Sorry to hear you had Audigy problems. I know Creative has its detractors, and I'm definitely not saying the Extigy is perfect. I've posted before that it's best to install the software Custom with the absolute minimum of modules. But after I read your post I ran some music and silence through my Extigy and didn't hear any hiss, and it's definitely an improvement over my laptop soundcard. I've got it about 3 feet away from my laptop, on a lower shelf, so maybe that lessens interference problems.

A review I read of the Philips Aurilium said it's got better audio than Extigy, so that might be worth investigating. But the Aurilium draws power from the USB rather than a wall adapter, and I don't know if that's an improvement.

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Hey, A440, how are you?

My Exitgy sound card came today. It looks so slick. I installed it, and it is sitting here on my desk, ready to go. Upon your advice, I am going to read the manual and see if they have any mini-disc information. If it doesn't, does that mean I will have to get another softward, like you suggested?

I installed it completely; I don't feel comfortable doing those customized installation. So, I will see if I have the same frustations you talked about with it.

So, I'm still a little intimidated. I got the special 1/8 cord from Radion Shack. And I am going to put the cord from the mic portal to the line in portal. Should I plug my mini recorder into power source, or will the battery work okay?

Thanks again for all your help. I am so excited to share these concert recordings I have. I'll let you know how I do.

Wish me luck...

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Sorry, 440, I have another question.

Your instructions said to plu the 1/8 x 1/8 cord from the mini-recorder to the sound card, and then the a USB cord from the sound card to the computer. Then did you mean that I connect another USB cord from the mini recorder to my lap top? I don't see another USB port. What should I do?

Thank you.

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Linda--

I guess I'm spoiled--my laptop has 3 USB ports.

You would only need a second USB port if you use the Extigy WITH WinNetMD, since that sends track info through the NetMD connection. But if you don't have a second USB connection, the heck with it. Just record the whole MD into a recording program--Creative Recorder that comes with the card will do it.

For the MD, you might as well use AC power, just to be sure, though as long as your battery doesn't run down you'd also be fine with that.

Plumbing again: out of the MD and into the PC via plug-to-plug. Just as you used the Mic Input to get the music (source) into the MD recorder, now you're using the MD as the source out to the PC as the recorder. The connection is via the Line In jack on the soundcard.

First, make sure the PC will listen to the MD. Go to Programs/Creative/Sound Blaster Extigy/ Creative Recorder (might be named slightly differently--it's on my other computer) and open the Recorder. It probably has an Options or Mixer to tell it where to record from--put a check mark on Line In, make sure any volume control is up. You may also have an option to specify what format it's recorded in, like .wav or .mp3. Make sure it's using .wav--better fidelity. Set it once and forget about it.

The 1/8 plug-to-plug connector goes from Headphone Out (not Mic) to Line In on the soundcard. (Don't worry about the remote-control pins.) Click the Record button, play the MD and you should be good to go. As the sound goes into Recorder you should see a nice fat crinkly waveform in the Recorder window.

It it's flattened on the top, it's distorting, and you need to turn down the output volume from the MD or the volume control on the Recorder's mixer. If it's really narrow then you probably need to turn up the output volume on the MD or the mixer. You'll have to experiment with these settings, so just record a short track the first time to test. But once you find settings that work, note them and use them the next time.

If you plug a pair of headphones into the Extigy's headphone jack (on the front below Line In), you can monitor the sound from the MD as it's recording. Once you're sure it's coming through clearly, you can leave it to record unattended.

After it's recorded, you can play back .wav files with Windows Media Player, Realplayer, Winamp, the Creative Player or whatever else is playing back CDs on your computer.

Once the MD has been recorded into the PC, it's yours to play and play with. You could use Creative WaveStudio to cut it into separate tracks. You play it back, listen and watch the waveform and decide by ear or eye where you want to cut it. I haven't used WaveStudio, so I don't know if you can simply insert track marks or if you need to select each track and paste it into a new file (like cutting and pasting text, only it's a sound). The tracks can be burned to CD with whatever CD burning program you have.

BTW, Creative's Minidisc Center is only for exporting music to MD, so it's not relevant here.

Despite this long and elaborate post, you'll easily get the hang of it. It's as if your PC is just a big ol' cassette recorder listening to the MD. Happy recording.

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Thank you so much for your help, again.

I am going to keep trying; I appreciate your support.

I must have different version of Sound Blaster. when I click on the CREATIVE link, I don't get soundblaster as a choice. I get Creative media source, and when I clidk that, I get "creative audio, creative media source go, and organizer." I think I saw a screen that had a picture with a recorder button, and a way to select the line and the choice of how to record it, wave or mp3.

Thanks again; sorry to belabor you with this, but it is so hard! I know, I know, I'll get it eventually.

Bye for now... Wish I could promise I won't have any more questions, but in all honesty, I can't

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