>>Date:    Mon, 18 Aug 2003 19:18:32 EDT
From:    [log in to unmask]
Subject: Which Format?

Fellow Listers,

This is my first attempt at making music files.  I want to record music from
albums (remember those?  33 and 45 rpm) on to a cd.  I'm using win98se, 2.4
ghz, 512ram and an audigy 2 soundcard.  I successfully hooked up the phonograph
to the computer and can play albums through the computer speakers.  I want to
backup my albums before the vinyl deteriorates or the equipment to play them
goes obsolete.

My question is:  which format is most common and can be played back on a
normal cd player, mp3 or WMA?  At least those are the choices I have for formats.

TIA,
Kevin Nowicki<<

Hi Kevin,

I have been putting my 'vinyl' on CD for some time. You want to record the files to your hard disk as wav files. These can get very large, but are a 'loss-less' format which contains the most sound data. I use Cool Edit for this, but there are other programs that work as will. I believe the DMC Sound Tools are free and can be found here http://www.dbpoweramp.com/dmc.htm. Your sound card may have come with recording software.

After you have all your tracks converted to wav files, you use a CD burning program (like Nero or Roxio) to create an audio CD from the wav files. CDs created this way will play almost anywhere. Your CD burner should have come with some software for this purpose. I think MMJukebox and the later versions of the Windows Media Player can also do this.

You can convert the wav files to mp3 (or record directly to that format) but mp3 is a 'lossy' format and the music will not have the fidelity found in wav files. A CD of copied MP3s will play on your computer and on 'some' external CD or DVD players.

Good luck. I hope you enjoy listening to your old albums as much as I have enjoyed listening to mine.

Gail Titus
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