Sinister: on the joys of mp3 recording

[Dan Cohen]

> Also, do any listees know how to transfer mp3's to CD or tape??? I'm
> preparing myself for the Y2K hit (am i silly?) and want to save all my
> precious mp3's!!! Please help:)

Here's what you need.
1. A computer with a sound card. Preferably a nice one, as it will make
a difference if you use digital out, if you have it.
2. A CD recorder and some mastering software. Barring that, you can
utilize the Cohen Method for recording mp3s to tape. Keep in mind that
when saved to tape, they will not be accessible as mp3s, but rather as
regular old audio files.

The CD-R method:
Get a CD recorder, or start the (Adaptec/NTI/CeQuadrat/Nero/et cetera)
software that came with the CD recorder you already own. You will need
to have some CD-R (not CD-RW) discs as well. 
Then, create an image file of up to 650 MB of the data you wish to burn
to a CD. Check your mastering software documentation on how to properly
do this. You can copy the files directly as mp3s, which will take up
much less space but not allow you to play the CDs on regular stereos. 
Or you can decode them to WAV files, and then copy them over to .CDA
format (Winamp, I know, contains a helpful plugin to do just this, and
you may be able to do it with the CD mastering software itself), which
will allow you to store up to 74 minutes of audio on one CD and play it
on just about any CD player, as long as you use CD-R media. CD-RW discs
are unable to be read by anything but Multiread-compatible CD drives.
Very few CD players, stereos, etc. are Multiread; newer CD-ROM drives
and all CD-RWs are Multiread compliant.

The low-budget Cohen Method (cassette):
This is the one that takes a bit more time to set up, but is nice if you
like analog tapes (especially if you have a car stereo that only plays
them). You will need to have a stereo with an RCA line-in jack in the
back. On my Aiwa system, there are RCA inputs for an external Minidisc
and television, and those work just fine with my computer's sound card.

Get a one-eighth inch MiniDIN-to-RCA adapter. Plug the red and white RCA
jacks into the two stereo RCA jacks on the back of the stereo. If your
stereo is too far away from the computer for this to reach (I know the
adapter I bought was only three feet long), buy a suitable length of
one-eighth inch stereo patch cable and extend the length of the adapter,
which you will then plug into the line-out port of your sound card. Then
merely tune your stereo to the proper input device and press record on
the tape deck as you play mp3s to your heart's content. Easy and fun, as
all the cool kids say.

If that made no sense, merely smack me and walk coolly off.

-Dan
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