Adding music files

[Trudy]

This may be a really dumb question - but I am not up on music stuff.

Can I add a music file from a CD to one of my slide shows? If so, how? On my CD they are CD audio files and I know that for pte they have to be mp3 files. What is the difference between the tracks on my CD vs. an mp3 file - I know its a music file of some sort? In order to add one to my slide show do I have to buy a different kind of music??? Can I convert a CD audio file to an mp3 file?

[pixelpete]

Trudy,

You will surely get more informed responses than mine, but I guess I'll go first. Assuming you have a CD-ROM drive and can play CDs in your pc, you will also have a sound card. Almost all sound cards come with software that will not only let you play CDs (and music from other input devices as well), but also record music. On Windows machines, go to Start, Programs, and look in Accessories; or in my case, I have Creative's Sound Blaster card, and it's programs are found in Start, Programs, Creative. If your pc does not have a recording program, there are literally dozens available, and some are probably free (other forum members, help out here, please).

Open your recorder program, and choose a directory in which you want the sound file to be stored. Then put your CD in the drive and if it doesn't start playing by itself, open your player program. Start playing the track you want and at the same time, hit the record button on the record program window. It will put a file called something like "Untitled 1" in the directory you chose, and it will most likely be a "wave" file, with a .wav extension (Untitled 1.wav). You can then change the name to whatever you want, but don't change the extension.

BTW, you can stop here, since p2e does accept wave files. But they're generally huge files, which is why most users "rip" them to MP3 format before adding them to shows. This greatly reduces file size without noticeably decreasing audio quality. MP3 encoder programs are also plentiful, and again some are free (more help needed here from forum members, again).

That should get you started. You might also wish to do a search on this forum for more info.

pete

[alrobin]

Hi, Trudy,

Pete has laid out the basics very well, and you could probably create a "wave" file from your CD based on what he has described, and run with that. However, there is just one other thing you should know that may save you some effort. It's called "ripping".

This is basically the process of extracting the data directly from a CD and into a "wave" or "mp3" file. With this process, you won't have to wait for the duration of the CD playback for each song you convert as it's all done digitally.

For this you need a CDROM capable of "data" mode (most of them have this capability today), and some simple software which will extract the data for you. The information on the CD is already in data format, so it's simply a matter of extracting it and transforming it, using this special software, into a "wave" or "mp3" file.

There are some excellent programs available, both as freeware and shareware, that you can donwnload. One that I use is "Audiograbber" (shareware, but you can download a free trial version), but there are others equally as good (I'm sure some other members will reply as to which ones they recommend). Audiograbber can be found at: Audiograbber

If you don't have a data CD, or "ripping" software, you can input the CD's line output into the "microphone" input of your sound card (there are usually three jacks at the back of the card), and then use a program such as the one that came with the sound card (e.g. Creative Labs, etc.), or one such as Cool Edit 2000 from Syntrillium, or one from Acoustica, to convert the analogue input to digital "wave" or "mp3" format.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

Ciao,

Al

[Ian]

One other point - if you don't have a CD Ripper, you could use your CD writer software (eg Roxio/Adaptec, Nero etc) to do the same job. Put in an audio CD, and open the "make music CD" software. If you right-click the names of the tracks you should see an option "extract to file" which will make a wave file from the audio track.

Ian

[Guest guru]

Only a little explanation, Trudy, about a subject maybe not so clear...

You say "On my CD they are CD audio files". On CD there are not audio files, but streaming "tracks".

For this reason you cannot "copy" a CD (or a CD track) on computer, but you have to "extract" it, that is to convert it into a sound file (xxx.wav). But since a WAV file (as others said) is very large, about 10 MB per minute, it is convenient to compress it making a Mp3 file, tipically 11 or 22 times smaller.

[Trudy]

Thanks everyone for the tips. As mentioned in the last post I can extract a track to and mp3 file with the adaptec software on my computer. Another little thing I didn't know I had until I asked.

Thanks again,

T

[pixelpete]

As I said, others more knowledgeable than I will surely respond... and I'm glad they did . I, like Trudy, did not realize I could use the software that came with my burner to extract CD tracks to .wav format; I had been playing and recording them in real time! Thank you, Ian, for the excellent tip. However, I would like a little more info about what Al said regarding using the soundcard's input jacks (sorry if this is OT for this forum).

If you don't have a data CD, or "ripping" software, you can input the CD's line output into the "microphone" input of your sound card (there are usually three jacks at the back of the card)...

I have a lot of old vinyl LPs I want to digitize, and I tried running a cable from my stereo's preamp into the "Line In" jack on my SoundBlaster Live card, but I couldn't get any signal. When I switched to the "Microphone" jack, it worked fine, but unfortunately the signal was mono, not stereo. I used a "Y" adaptor to take the L & R preamp outputs into a cable with a 1/8 inch mini plug on the other end, which should have maintained the stereo signal into the soundcard jacks. I even tested this by plugging it into a boom box, and I did in fact get stereo output. Does this mean there is something wrong with my soundcard, or does it indicate that there is a reason why Al recommended using the Mic jack? Is that the only one that will work, and if so, is there some other way I can capture an LP in stereo?

Thanks in advance,

pete

[alrobin]

Pete,

I use exactly the method you are describing to convert old vinyl LP's to cd's, and don't have any problem with hearing both stereo tracks. I input to the sound card's "mic" jack, too, as, like you, I don't seem to have any success with the "line" input.

Maybe the mini-plug isn't setting properly into the jack on your pc. Or, there could be a loose connection within the pc. Do you have the same problem inputting stereo from other sources? Maybe you could try another plug in case there is a loose connection within the plug itself. More likely the pc, though, or the sound card, if the plug works OK elsewhere.

Good luck!

[Leif]

I input to the sound card's "mic" jack, too, as, like you, I don't seem to have any success with the "line" input.

Maybe the mini-plug isn't setting properly into the jack on your pc. Or, there could be a loose connection within the pc.

I hesitate to ask but ...

Did you double click on the speaker in the taskbar? The line in must be chosen there! Under Recording.

[Guest guru]

Yes, Pete and Al, I too hesitate like Stu...

And I would add that "Mic" input is sure not the best to connect a line signal (typically 0.775V), neither as for its voltage nor for its impedance (very lower than Line in).

If there is current on Line out connectors of the amplifier (or preamplifier) and nothing comes to computer through Line in, the sound card is defective or line input is disabled in the recording mixer (speaker icon in the taskbar, as nobeefstu says).

[Ian]

I hesitate to ask but ...

Did you double click on the speaker in the taskbar? The line in must be chosen there! Under Recording.

Sometimes this can be a bit tricky to find. When you double-click the "speaker" icon the dialogue box may initially only show the 'output' settings and not the 'input' ones. On the Options menu choose Properties and you will then be able to select 'Input' controls and see the Lin-In checkbox.

Ian

[Ian]

Now that I've looked (should have done this first...) it actually says "Playback" and "Recording" rather than Output and Input.

[alrobin]

Guido,

I think you are right - I only have the problem with my laptop. The desktop soundcard seems ok as far as line-input is concerned. And, I have all the systems at max on the pc mixer controls, too.

Pete,

I should have mentioned re the LP recording that I run everything through a mixer so I can control and mix various inputs (microphone, CD, MIDI, TV, radio receiver, and 2 pc's). Then I have one output going to my stereo setup, and the other output to the pc. (I have to remember to turn down the pc outputs when I'm recording! )

You may have a problem with the correct input levels from an LP player, if you're going directly to the pc, unless you have some kind of a pre-amp.

[Guest guru]

You may have a problem with the correct input levels from an LP player, if you're going directly to the pc, unless you have some kind of a pre-amp.

Sure, a direct connection from a turntable (i.e. a magnetic cartridge) to Mic input causes a serious unbalance between low and high frequencies, with a strong lack of < 1000 Hz and a big magnification of the high notes, because of RIAA equalization of the sound in LPs.

But normally most integrated amplifiers (and obviously all preamplifiers) have one or more "line out" or "tape" outputs.

[alrobin]

Guido,

My LP player doesn't have a line out. Needs to go through an external amp. It's an old one - like me it needs an extra boost!

[Guest guru]

No boost, Al... Only a little adjustment!

[alrobin]

Yeah, that too! I'm not up on all the technology re hi-fi like I should be - I have a hard enough time keeping up with pc's and one step ahead of my wife!

[pixelpete]

Thanks, everyone (Al, Leif, Guru & Ian) for all the great ideas. Unfortunately, whatever bug I have is spreading. First of all, yes, I was careful to verify that the "Recording" and "Line In" options were chosen. In fact, the recording software that came with my SoundBlaster card makes this quite easy; you can choose between CD, Mic, Line In, MIDI, and a few other inputs right on the recorder GUI screen without having to double click the speaker, choose Options, Properties, etc. But I did anyway, just to verify it was working. Also, my phonograph's output is connected to the phono stage of my preamp, and I am taking the normal L&R line out from the preamp (which would normally go the power amp).

Getting at the back of my stereo to make these cable swaps is a real pain, but I got inspired yesterday after reading your replies and gave it another try. As mentioned earlier, in the past I was able to get a signal I could record only by plugging into the soundcard's Mic jack. Now, neither the Line In nor the Mic jack is working. I either have a bad soundcard or bad patch cables.

It will be a while before I can get in there and try again, but I didn't want to leave the impression I was taking your knowledge and not responding. This forum is such a wonderful resource of knowledgeable, helpful people, and even an OT request gets many replies .

Thanks again, all. I will report back if I ever get it to work.

pete

[Guest guru]

Pete, if you have a tester (you can find one for few bucks), it's very easy to verify your cables. Set "Resistence" and the lowest range ("Low ohm" or "100 ohm" or lower), and check if between central pin at two ends of the cables the resistence is near 0, and the same for the ground (external crown of RCA pin connector, or section nearest to cable in mini-jack).

But it's even easier to control your card inputs: take a short (1-2") not insulated electrical wire (but also a needle or a thin all-metal screwdriver) and holding it with a hand touch the internal contact(s) of card inputs - but don't contact also external ground! With record and playback cursors at max, you should hear clear "crack" noises from your speakers.

[pixelpete]

Guido,

Thanks for your suggestion. Your simple diagnostic has confirmed (unfortunately) the worst. Using a sewing needle, I have determined that neither my Line In nor my Microphone jack is working . A sound card is a lot more expensive to replace than a patch cord.

I have been thinking of getting a new pc in a couple months - an expensive way to replace a sound card, to be sure . I think I will simply wait until then to begin digitizing my vinyl LP collection.

Thanks again to all for your help,

pete

(now, back to playing with the beta!)

[Guest guru]

Pete, console yourself with thought that my (many!) LPs are waiting since some years, despite my excellent 8-channels digital-analogic card (Emagic Audiowerk) and my 6-feet audio rack! I haven't a place where to put my old turntable, nor time to start this big work!...