Cassette tape to mp3. Best way to go about this?

[Isaac]

I have a 25 year old tape player and some a PC desktop with a 3.5mm mic jack. But I feel like this could add noise and might even lower the quality of the audio.

Have any of you done this in a way that really preserves the audio?

My goal is to record some tapes made in the 80s and upload them to youtube. Because they'll be the only copies of these songs on the internet, I know I'll have to use Audacity and remove noise. But I know that too much noise removal can be bad. The only way to prevent this is to make sure the recording process itself isn't adding noise.

I've seen RCA/3.5mm to USB capture devices and I've seen tape players that record directly to thumb drive. These seem like they could be an improvement over capturing from the pc mic jack.

I know how old this forum is. I'm sure some of you have had to go through this. I look forward for to hearing about any experience you've had and thanks in advance.

[Tunnelcat]

I did this using the audio output jack from my tape deck and imputing into the line in (not mic) jack on my old Win 98 HP computer years ago. Let's just say the audio quality wasn't stellar. The trouble with cassette tape by now is that it already has noise on it from recording flaws, dirty tape heads, age and magnetic print through. I've got a ton of old VHS animation tapes I'd like to digitize, but they're so old I'm almost afraid to run them through a player and not have them disintegrate or show severe print through. I did use the program Audacity back then to do the converting to another file type, MP3 at the time, but I can still hear the lousy quality in the music. I'm afraid a more lossless format may accentuate the noise too, requiring extensive work to clean up. I had more vinyl records then tapes, so I mostly got those transferred, with only a little noise and quality downgrade. I did have some really old 8-track tapes I would've liked to transfer, but they were well before computers and they're long since gone.

[fliptw]

ideally, its the tape player line out to your audio device's line in.

analog mic and head-phone jacks are pre-amped assuming the devices being plugged into them are un-powered - you don't want to use those. but you can in a pinch

[Isaac]

ideally, its the tape player line out to your audio device's line in.

analog mic and head-phone jacks are pre-amped assuming the devices being plugged into them are un-powered - you don't want to use those. but you can in a pinch

I had to switch to powered RCA to get any signal from the player. Turns out my cassette player didn't work. I had to resurrect a laptop.... long store.. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. My mom says she has one I can have, so later today I'll drive by and pick it up. It probably won't be the best quality, but at his point I'll be glad to record.

I did this using the audio output jack from my tape deck and imputing into the mic jack on my old Win 98 HP computer years ago. Let's just say the audio quality wasn't stellar. The trouble with cassette tape by now is that it already has noise on it from recording flaws, dirty tape heads, age and magnetic print through.

My brother and I have different ideologies when it comes to this. He doesn't want me to clean the audio. He thinks those original unclean recordings are the best quality. On the other hand, I think I should even try to use ai "remastering" after using Audacity's noise removal and try to get a version that's way better than the original. I'm going to probably upload the original tracks plus the cleaned-up version, so everyone is happy.

[Tunnelcat]

If you want to enjoy the songs, clean them up as best as possible and use a good lossless format. I've got a couple of recordings where a skip was in the original media (a CD of all things) and I always notice it when I listen. It kind of breaks the enjoyment of the song. Fortunately, it's right at the beginning of one song, so it's easier to ignore. I also meant "line in" on my sound card. Not mic. I still have my JVC cassette deck stored in the basement, but I haven't gotten around to transferring any of the few remaining tapes I still have. They've probably printed through by now after nearly 25 years of storage. Maybe when I'm bored some day....

[Isaac]

Thanks a bunch. it turned out pretty good.

I made a new channel for it:



I felt I didn't need to clean it. I think it's pretty good without me tampering with it.

[Tunnelcat]

Turned out very nicely. Did you use Audacity and in what file format?

[Isaac]

Turned out very nicely. Did you use Audacity and in what file format?

Thanks! I was surprised that a cassette could still sound good after all this time.

Yeah, I just used Audacity to record and exported to mp3. Then OpenShot to make into an mp4 for YouTube.

[Tunnelcat]

How old is the cassette? I think some of mine are over 26 years old. I haven't even tried to play them. And I usually put music into the MP3 format because my car stereos play them without issue.

[Isaac]

My mother said 1988 so that's what I put on the youtube video. So about 35 years?

[Tunnelcat]

Whoa! I'll have to drag out my cassette tapes and player to see what's still viable. I wonder about VHS tapes? I have some old rare animation tapes that I'd love to digitize. A whole box full of them. Plus I own an S-VHS player that allows you to index tape positions very accurately.

[Isaac]

Video might be easier than you think. At work, we've been able to utilize video ports (HDMI, VGA, DVI, coax, etc.) with USB connectors. The USB component is recognized as a webcam, so your computer doesn't require special software to record. Thus, whatever program you're accustomed to using for video will likely work. You can even use VLC player, among many other options, to record webcam footage.

[Tunnelcat]

My problem isn't the transfer. It's the condition of the tapes themselves. I guess I'd have to check each one for deterioration and hope they don't fall apart while being played in the tape deck. Would you convert VHS to mp4 or some other format?

[Isaac]

I've done it before in the early 2000s when you needed a whole PCI capture card. And the quality was terrible even on a "new" tape. That being said, the USB adapters make it where almost any device using any OS could capture in a much better quality than my old setup could.

If you're worried about tapes, they're still finding video tapes in Pripyat, Ukraine within the exclusion zone. And they're playable. If tapes have survived the Chernobyl disaster with sound and image, I'm sure the ones you have are in much better shape.

[Tunnelcat]

Any decent USB to either Component or S-video adapter available? I now might have a use for my old Win 7 gaming rig.

[Isaac]

S-Video only gets you around 480i or 720 × 480. With the USB you'll get to capture all the little speckles and analogue artifacts.

Something cheap like this would probably work with all your tape devices:



but there are more adapter choices than that, if you check the ports on your video players. If you have DVI or VGA on your VCR then you can get an even better picture quality.

[Tunnelcat]

No, my players are too old. Only component or S-video. Not even one with VGA output.

[fliptw]

S-Video only gets you around 480i or 720 × 480. With the USB you'll get to capture all the little speckles and analogue artifacts.

Something cheap like this would probably work with all your tape devices:



but there are more adapter choices than that, if you check the ports on your video players. If you have DVI or VGA on your VCR then you can get an even better picture quality.

if you are going that way, you need to ensure you are capturing to hi-fi quality FLAC

[Isaac]

No, my players are too old. Only component or S-video. Not even one with VGA output.

Do you see the black round connector? That's supposed to be S-video

[Isaac]

S-Video only gets you around 480i or 720 × 480. With the USB you'll get to capture all the little speckles and analogue artifacts.

Something cheap like this would probably work with all your tape devices:

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but there are more adapter choices than that, if you check the ports on your video players. If you have DVI or VGA on your VCR then you can get an even better picture quality.

if you are going that way, you need to ensure you are capturing to hi-fi quality FLAC

True. I don't think a USB capture card is intended to be the best quality. This is just a cheap and easy solution. But if spending more is an option, then that's always going to be a better choice.

[Tunnelcat]

When I have the time, I'll need to dig out my more modern S-VHS player stored in my basement. It was specifically set up for editing tapes and my hubby wanted to use it for tape editing before he got sick. It may have a VGA input.

But you want to talk about old. He also purchased a Sony U-Matic 3/4 video tape cassette machine way, way back that was the precursor to Betamax and VHS. TV studios used it. There are cassettes floating around that it plays that I need to view as well, but the thing weighs a ton and I have a herniated back disk that prevents me from moving it.

[fliptw]

the best that VCR could have would be component out, maybe SCART if its an import.

if it did have something that wasn't an RCA or s-video jack it could have a serial port for being controlled - but that would be pro-level equipment

[Isaac]

the best that VCR could have would be component out, maybe SCART if its an import.

if it did have something that wasn't an RCA or s-video jack it could have a serial port for being controlled - but that would be pro-level equipment

I'm assuming TC isn't going to spend more than $20 to make this happen. But if she has access to this high-end equipment, that would be cool.

[Tunnelcat]

I'm betting component or s-video out only. The other issue is that those animation tapes I want to preserve are commercially produced. There is in all likelihood copy protection of some sort on them.

[fliptw]

copy protection probably won't be an issue when capturing digitally. it was designed to flub up tape to tape, not direct digital capture.

[Tunnelcat]

That's good. But I still have the problem of going from analog to digital and having the result look halfway decent. Would it flub up when doing tape to DVD transfers on one of those combo transfer machines? There are about 25 VHS tapes too, most of it older, subversive or rare animation. I'd really love to digitize it for posterity instead of going to DVD. This might be one of my winter projects if I can find the best way to go about it.

[Isaac]

'd really love to digitize it for posterity instead of going to DVD. This might be one of my winter projects if I can find the best way to go about it.

This video covers the process pretty thoroughly. If you don't have time to watch it all, just watch the beginning to see the clarity he gets:

[Tunnelcat]

Thanks Isaac. I'll check this video out when I get around to doing the transfers. I've got to dig out both the tapes and the player.

[Isaac]

Do you have any rare bootlegs or illegal recordings of broadcasts? If so, they might be worth putting on youtube if there are no other copies in existence.

You'd be amazed what used to be considered cheap recordings that are now the only existing copy of that version. Treasures!

Story time: My mom wanted to make me and my siblings a mix tape of all the Christmas on Sesame Street songs off PBS as it was playing on our TV. The recording came out pretty good. That cassette tape was played all the time during Christmas. Decades later and my brother is frustrated that the only existing copies of those songs online have all been recast or changed over time. So when I made the mp3 recording of the tape my brother confirmed that the version our mom made in the early 80s had Mr. Hooper singing in it and some other differences to the current online versions, like the original voice actors. Is it stupid that grown-ass men are spending this much time on a kid's show illegal recording? Yes. But is it worth rescuing the only surviving copy of those songs? Absolutely.

[Tunnelcat]

Gads, I've got a bunch of 8mm tapes and even some of my aforementioned 3/4 U-Matic video cassettes I'd love to see what's on them. It's going to take some work to even find that out, let alone transfer, so I'm going to have to get my herniated disk to heal so I can move stuff and obtain an analog to digital interface to view them. To give you an idea of what electronics my husband collected, he even got a hold of an old teletype that was going to be tossed out at the U. of M. when he was a student there. It works with a proper interface as far as I know. But it has a slight stink. The oil of choice to lubricate it back in the day was sperm whale oil. Nasty stuff when it gets old.

[Isaac]

If your back has issues, get someone to do this for you that's already setup. CVS and Walgreens can both digitize to USB drive. Not sure what limitations there are and I'm sure it's not super cheap, but it's worth checking out.

[dissent]

Thanks for starting this thread Isaac. I may take a swing at making digital copies of some of my old tapes, and not just music.

[Isaac]

Glad to hear that! Anything we can look forward to seeing or is it all private?