Levi wrote:
I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

How did he do this? Did he use a PCM system that stored digital data
on videotape, like the old PCM F-1 system or the Sony 1610, or did he
use the Hi-Fi VHS tracks?

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my undersized
(for this purpose) laptop, but file space will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old cassette deck.
I've also got access to an old 4-track reel-to-reel, but it's not
convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

Am I likely to get better recording quality from the VHS format than
from a cassette?

Depends on the machine. The problem is that most modern VHS machines have
no metering and they have automatic gain controls that cannot be defeated.
If, indeed, you are thinking of using the Hi-Fi tracks, which are FM
encoded on top of the video carrier.

In the eighties before digital machines became cheap, Hi-Fi VHS was very
popular as a budget recording medium. It was better than cassette,
even though it had some pretty serious problems. Today, the quality of
VHS machines is lower than it has ever been before, and there are far
more alternatives.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my undersized
(for this purpose) laptop, but file space will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old cassette deck.
I've also got access to an old 4-track reel-to-reel, but it's not
convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

Am I likely to get better recording quality from the VHS format than
from a cassette?

Thanks!

Levi wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

Graham

In article , (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

Levi wrote:
I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

How did he do this? Did he use a PCM system that stored digital data
on videotape, like the old PCM F-1 system or the Sony 1610, or did he
use the Hi-Fi VHS tracks?

Circa 1985. He was probably using Betamax - I left that out because
it wasn't germane to my situation. Otherwise, I don't recall anything
else about his specific equipment and setup.


Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my undersized
(for this purpose) laptop, but file space will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old cassette deck.
I've also got access to an old 4-track reel-to-reel, but it's not
convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

Am I likely to get better recording quality from the VHS format than
from a cassette?

Depends on the machine. The problem is that most modern VHS machines have
no metering and they have automatic gain controls that cannot be defeated.
If, indeed, you are thinking of using the Hi-Fi tracks, which are FM
encoded on top of the video carrier.

Yeah, just plugging into the RCA jacks labelled "Audio In" (L)(R)

Um. No meters. Good point. Can you tell I'm a rookie?

So I gather that the automatic gain control could fool with my levels,
so a soft passage followed by a louder section would get adjusted? Maybe
not a big deal for me at the moment.


In the eighties before digital machines became cheap, Hi-Fi VHS was very
popular as a budget recording medium. It was better than cassette,
even though it had some pretty serious problems. Today, the quality of
VHS machines is lower than it has ever been before, and there are far
more alternatives.

grin I doubt that my off-brand, turn-of-the-millenium, $100 DVD/VCR
combo rank near the top of any quality survey...

Sounds like the reel-to-reel wins on quality enough to overcome the
inconvenience.

Thanks!

On 10/15/05 2:21 PM, in article ,
"Levi" wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my undersized
(for this purpose) laptop, but file space will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old cassette deck.
I've also got access to an old 4-track reel-to-reel, but it's not
convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

Am I likely to get better recording quality from the VHS format than
from a cassette?

Full speed (SP) VHS HiFi (non-HiFi audio tracks stink) can do well.
It's a fair alternative to a
VERY WELL-CALIBRATED cassette deck with
properly alligned noise reduction.

Understand that both of the descriptors above are pretty much GUARAnTEED
-not- to be the case with any cassette deck you may get your hands on.

On 10/15/05 2:38 PM, in article , "Pooh Bear"
wrote:



Levi wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...



Graham

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

But it is FM...

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video
tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space will
quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

"SSJVCmag" wrote in message

On 10/15/05 2:38 PM, in article
, "Pooh Bear"
wrote:



Levi wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used
video tape for recording music.

If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to
linear ) audio tracks , it would certainly be an
improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that
used FM...

Then, stay away from your living room! ;-)

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

I assure you, we were all stunned and amazed to see it also. We were
also deafened, mostly by head-switching noise.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

"SSJVCmag" wrote ...
I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

Hope you're sitting or lying down, then.
VHS "HiFi" is FM *by definition*, from day one.

I assure you, we were all stunned and amazed to see it also.
We were also deafened, mostly by head-switching noise.

Around 20 years ago, I wrote a brief review of Beta Hi-Fi, using the Sony
SL-HF900 VCR.

One of my tests was recording 20dB below peak level, then jacking up the
volume on playback. I heard very little switching noise.

SSJVCmag wrote:

On 10/15/05 2:38 PM, in article , "Pooh Bear"
wrote:


Levi wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

The 'hi-fi' versions of VHS do indeed use fm audio recording.

SSJVCmag shows his inimitable ignorance again !


Graham

Arny Krueger wrote:

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video
tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space will
quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

Uh ?

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of **** !

Graham

Levi wrote:

In article , (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

Levi wrote:
I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

How did he do this? Did he use a PCM system that stored digital data
on videotape, like the old PCM F-1 system or the Sony 1610, or did he
use the Hi-Fi VHS tracks?

Circa 1985. He was probably using Betamax -

There was a PCM system for use with Betamax. It was capable of very
high audio quality and was used by the UK National Sound Archive for
many years.


--
~ Adrian Tuddenham ~
(Remove the ".invalid"s and add ".co.uk" to reply)
www.poppyrecords.co.uk

William Sommerwerck wrote:
I assure you, we were all stunned and amazed to see it also.
We were also deafened, mostly by head-switching noise.

Around 20 years ago, I wrote a brief review of Beta Hi-Fi, using the Sony
SL-HF900 VCR.

One of my tests was recording 20dB below peak level, then jacking up the
volume on playback. I heard very little switching noise.

Now, try taking that tape to another machine of the same model. Unless
they are absolutely perfectly aligned the same way, there will be noise.
When it's good, it's pretty good. When it's bad, it's pretty bad.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

There was a PCM system for use with Betamax. It was capable
of very high audio quality and was used by the UK National
Sound Archive for many years.

The Sony PCM-F1 processor allowed 2-channel, 44.056kHz, 16-bit audio to be
recorded on any video recorder, not just Betamax. The sound was noticeably
better than that provided by semi-pro 15ips recorders, it was not up to the
standards of the best modern digital.

One of my tests was recording 20dB below peak level, then jacking
up the volume on playback. I heard very little switching noise.

Now, try taking that tape to another machine of the same model. Unless
they are absolutely perfectly aligned the same way, there will be noise.
When it's good, it's pretty good. When it's bad, it's pretty bad.

No doubt. But you would normally play the tape on the same machine.

William Sommerwerck wrote:
There was a PCM system for use with Betamax. It was capable
of very high audio quality and was used by the UK National
Sound Archive for many years.

The Sony PCM-F1 processor allowed 2-channel, 44.056kHz, 16-bit audio to be
recorded on any video recorder, not just Betamax. The sound was noticeably
better than that provided by semi-pro 15ips recorders, it was not up to the
standards of the best modern digital.

The sound was quieter, and had much better low end. Everything above
around 5 KHz, though, sounded awful. I remember doing A/B tests with
the PCM F-1 vs. the Scully 280, and depending on the source material,
the differences were split. And neither one was really very transparent.

Digital has improved a lot since then. For that matter, analogue has too.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In article , "Arny Krueger"
wrote:

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video
tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space will
quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

File space, file space, file space.


One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

Better than the reel-to-reel 4 track?

In article ,
Pooh Bear wrote:

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of **** !

The average $99.00 sound card is so much better, by anything you would
care to measure, than any cassette, video hi-fi, or consumer
reel-to-reel deck that anyone ever had.

Just get an M-Audio Delta (noise and other distortion below any human
proportion) and Audition or whatever software you'd like, and be happy.

This is not an expensive system at all, considering how good it is -
fidelity beyond the point of meaningful discussion.

As for the bag of **** onboard sound, it's true -- but some of the
NVidia chips for instance are just fine. You don't want an onboard
preamp, of course.

If there's a tape deck available for under $4000 that performs better
than my Delta 1010, I'll eat my hat. I don't really want to get into
the argument that "analog is better", a person with an analog fetish
needs to spend the money and buy the 2" tape console, and stay out of
this discussion.

Adrian Tuddenham wrote:

Levi wrote:

In article , (Scott
Dorsey) wrote:

Levi wrote:
I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

How did he do this? Did he use a PCM system that stored digital data
on videotape, like the old PCM F-1 system or the Sony 1610, or did he
use the Hi-Fi VHS tracks?

Circa 1985. He was probably using Betamax -

There was a PCM system for use with Betamax. It was capable of very
high audio quality and was used by the UK National Sound Archive for
many years.

A friend of mine even had ( still has ? ) one. Kinda redundant now.

Graham

On 10/15/05 3:31 PM, in article
, "William Sommerwerck"
wrote:

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

But it is FM...


BETA was FM

On 10/15/05 5:22 PM, in article , "Pooh Bear"
wrote:


SSJVCmag wrote:

On 10/15/05 2:38 PM, in article , "Pooh Bear"
wrote:


Levi wrote:

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video tape for
recording music.

If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

The 'hi-fi' versions of VHS do indeed use fm audio recording.

SSJVCmag shows his inimitable ignorance again !

My ignorance is HARDLY 'inimitable', it is on display 24/7 as it's an
excellent source of conversation-starters so that the
even-more-ignorant-on-any-particular-topic lurker might, without baring
themselves to pointless public derision (albeit perversely from many showing
me as but a small candle in a forest of lighthouses) and yet gain some
modicum of new knowledge and become ever -less- ignorant. Unlike some, I
have never claimed to know everything, ever. Neither do I find any and all
occasions of others' ignorance a cause for celebration and
self-agrandisement. If any and every exhibition of ignorance is cause for a
grand skeet-shoot of easy fish in a barrel rather than a pleasant chance for
correction of same, there's much MUCH more of a sad, shallow and demographic
crawling around here than ever before and another clear reason for the
decline in the neighborhood. Get thee a life, Pooh, get thee a life!

My concern here is that I'm under the impression that BETA nailed the idea
of an FM subcarrier betwixt the chroma/luminance signals and then VHS,
finding they'd left no room there and patent issues to boot, added an extra
spinning head set and wrote the audio hi-speed on a different layer of tape
oxide (use of separate levels/layers of tape oxide being a thing
incompehensible to me but hey... It seems to work).

"SSJVCmag" wrote in message
...
If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

Then prepared to be stunned and amazed. VHS HiFi was in fact FM, with
companding to lower the level of head-switching noise.

Peace,
Paul

"Levi" wrote in message
...

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

File space, file space, file space.

You can get a 120gig hard drive now for 40 US$, depending on which sale you
hit at Best Buy and what rebates they're offering. That'll work for a
desktop.

A USB or Firewire drive will run you more, but not a whole lot more.

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

Better than the reel-to-reel 4 track?

If it's running 4 tracks on 1/4" tape, yes; the signal-to-noise on that
setup is ****-poor due to the narrow track width. And the noise reduction
sometimes found on consumer-type 4-track reel-to-reels is ****-poor also.

Someone else on the list said that a $99 soundcard will beat all the
alternatives. I won't quite buy that, but a $199 sound card will. The Delta
44 is an excellent example of value-for-money. Laptop? Probably the Presonus
firewire interface will beat the pants off all the alternatives you've
mentioned.

Peace,
Paul

In article ,
Paul Stamler wrote:

Someone else on the list said that a $99 soundcard will beat all the
alternatives. I won't quite buy that

For 2-channel, the Delta 2496 is good enough for $50.00 street value,
that it won't be the weakest link in your signal path. If you are in a
position where this is incorrect, then you've got the stuff needed to
get a gig where you can buy what you want with other people's money
anyway.

SSJVCmag wrote:

My ignorance is HARDLY 'inimitable', it is on display 24/7 as it's an
excellent source of conversation-starters so that the
even-more-ignorant-on-any-particular-topic lurker might, without baring
themselves to pointless public derision (albeit perversely from many showing
me as but a small candle in a forest of lighthouses) and yet gain some
modicum of new knowledge and become ever -less- ignorant. Unlike some, I
have never claimed to know everything, ever. Neither do I find any and all
occasions of others' ignorance a cause for celebration and
self-agrandisement. If any and every exhibition of ignorance is cause for a
grand skeet-shoot of easy fish in a barrel rather than a pleasant chance for
correction of same, there's much MUCH more of a sad, shallow and demographic
crawling around here than ever before and another clear reason for the
decline in the neighborhood.

Very, very well put, Johnny.


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein

In article Dwh4f.2592$i%.670@fed1read07, wrote:

In article ,
Pooh Bear wrote:

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of **** !

The average $99.00 sound card is so much better, by anything you would
care to measure, than any cassette, video hi-fi, or consumer
reel-to-reel deck that anyone ever had.

Just get an M-Audio Delta (noise and other distortion below any human
proportion) and Audition or whatever software you'd like, and be happy.

This is not an expensive system at all, considering how good it is -
fidelity beyond the point of meaningful discussion.

As for the bag of **** onboard sound, it's true -- but some of the
NVidia chips for instance are just fine. You don't want an onboard
preamp, of course.

If there's a tape deck available for under $4000 that performs better
than my Delta 1010, I'll eat my hat. I don't really want to get into
the argument that "analog is better", a person with an analog fetish
needs to spend the money and buy the 2" tape console, and stay out of
this discussion.

grin The title of the thread is "Zero Budget.."

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi
system that used FM...

But it is FM...

BETA was FM

I don't know where you're getting your information, but both Beta HiFi and
VHS HiFi used FM carriers.

Paul Stamler wrote:
"SSJVCmag" wrote in message
.. .
If he was using the stereo 'hi-fi' fm ? ( as opposed to linear ) audio
tracks , it would certainly be an improvement on cassette at least.

I'd be STUNNED AND AMAZED to see a VHS Hifi system that used FM...

Then prepared to be stunned and amazed. VHS HiFi was in fact FM, with
companding to lower the level of head-switching noise.

...and increase the level of annoying pumping on transients!
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

In article ,
Levi wrote:

grin The title of the thread is "Zero Budget.."

Fair enough. I guess it depends on what you already have then.

In article , Pooh Bear
wrote:

Arny Krueger wrote:

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used video
tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem, music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space will
quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything you've
mentioned so far.

Uh ?

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of **** !


****ty or not, it's what I've got. The laptop is (was) a high
end Mac. Whatever A/D conversion happens there is what is.

After reading all the details, I really think your best bet is to
salvage an external USB case that some friend isn't using. There are
"small" (20G) hard drives piling up in dustbins alongside "slow" 32x
CD-burners. Get your hands on either one of them and you'll be fine.
A 20G drive will give you about 100 minutes of CD-quality PCM recording
time. How much do you need? A CDR will allow you to offload all your
recordings, so as long as you have 700MB free on your internal hard
drive, your only limit is having to stop every 74 minutes. Shouldn't
be much of an obstacle, depending on what you're recording.

What model Mac laptop do you have, what kind of optical drive is in it,
and how big/full is your internal hard drive?

"zero budget" shouldn't be an obstacle for you today. Computers,
monitors, hard drives, and CD burners are readily available for
literally no money. In fact, many companies are paying money to
dispose of them. Surely you have a tech geek friend who would be eager
to unload some "old junk" on you.

Right now I would place the level of "free" gear at about an 800MHZ
Pentium III, good 17" CRT monitors, 30G hard drives, any optical drive
that doesn't write DVDs, G3 iMacs, B&W G3 towers, and clamshell
iBooks. I have personally given away, thrown away, and/or turned down
free specimens of each in the last few months.

ulysses

"Pooh Bear" wrote
in message
Arny Krueger wrote:

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used
video tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem,
music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space
will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything
you've mentioned so far.

Uh ?

Please notice that I hedged my bets very carefully Graham. I
mentioned the audio interface already in your PC, which may
or may not be a POS integrated mobo 'sound card', *and then*
I also mentioned a inexpensive outboard USB-attached unit.

I then said "One of them no doubt sounds far better than
anything you've mentioned so far."

So, the better sounding audio interface could be the
outboard USB-attached unit.

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of
**** !

Far more true in the past than the present. You know how
digital is, Graham - price/performance keeps improving, and
improving, and improving...

"james" wrote in message
newswh4f.2592$i%.670@fed1read07
In article ,
Pooh Bear wrote:

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything
you've mentioned so far.

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag
of **** !

IME, the average new PC's integrated mobo sound card has
improved from total POS to something like mediocre.

The average $99.00 sound card is so much better, by
anything you would care to measure, than any cassette,
video hi-fi, or consumer reel-to-reel deck that anyone
ever had.

And, if you lower your sights to $39.95 or even $29.95,
similar good things can be true.

Today, there are even on-board PC audio interfaces that
outperform:

any cassette,
video hi-fi,
or consumer reel-to-reel deck
that anyone ever had.

Even my old Revox A77.

In article 1129495335.9bb69ac3ff5daa3ef6705ca0b4562fe6@teran ews, Justin
Ulysses Morse wrote:

After reading all the details, I really think your best bet is to
salvage an external USB case that some friend isn't using. There are
"small" (20G) hard drives piling up in dustbins alongside "slow" 32x
CD-burners. Get your hands on either one of them and you'll be fine.
A 20G drive will give you about 100 minutes of CD-quality PCM recording
time. How much do you need? A CDR will allow you to offload all your
recordings, so as long as you have 700MB free on your internal hard
drive, your only limit is having to stop every 74 minutes. Shouldn't
be much of an obstacle, depending on what you're recording.

What model Mac laptop do you have, what kind of optical drive is in it,
and how big/full is your internal hard drive?

Thanks for your support...I have been given some good advice over on
another ng - and learned that my laptop was minimal for this application.
grin Somebody even opined that I was setting sail on the ocean in
a rowboat. But it's primarily for "portable" recording, including
playback while laying down additional tracks.

http://www.pbzone.com/specs.shtml

266MHz CPU, 192 MB RAM, 3.8GB disk (presume that most non-system space
will be dedicated to capturing tracks). I have a small network of other
computers, so offload/storage is not a problem, either via ethernet or
to the removeable Zip100 drive unit I have for it if I'm remote (and
desperate).


"zero budget" shouldn't be an obstacle for you today. Computers,
monitors, hard drives, and CD burners are readily available for
literally no money. In fact, many companies are paying money to
dispose of them. Surely you have a tech geek friend who would be eager
to unload some "old junk" on you.

Well, that's how I got this one!


Right now I would place the level of "free" gear at about an 800MHZ
Pentium III, good 17" CRT monitors, 30G hard drives, any optical drive
that doesn't write DVDs, G3 iMacs, B&W G3 towers, and clamshell
iBooks. I have personally given away, thrown away, and/or turned down
free specimens of each in the last few months.

ulysses

"Justin Ulysses Morse" wrote in message
news:1129495335.9bb69ac3ff5daa3ef6705ca0b4562fe6@t eranews...
After reading all the details, I really think your best bet is to
salvage an external USB case that some friend isn't using. There are
"small" (20G) hard drives piling up in dustbins alongside "slow" 32x
CD-burners. Get your hands on either one of them and you'll be fine.
A 20G drive will give you about 100 minutes of CD-quality PCM recording
time.


If we are talking about 16-bit/44,1 kHz PCM recording, at ca.
5MB/minute/channel, a 20GB drive will give 4000 minutes recording time.
That's plenty.

Predrag

Arny Krueger wrote:

"Pooh Bear" wrote
in message
Arny Krueger wrote:

"Levi" wrote in message

I once knew a (self-proclaimed) audiophile who used
video tape for recording music.

Now, I'm looking at recording some of my own, ahem,
music.

Initially, my plan was to come off a small mixer into my
undersized (for this purpose) laptop, but file space
will quickly become an issue.

So I was thinking about "quick and dirty" to an old
cassette deck. I've also got access to an old 4-track
reel-to-reel, but it's not convenient.

Then I thought - why not to the VCR?

How about the audio interface already in your PC, or an
exepensive USB-attached unit?

One of them no doubt sounds far better than anything
you've mentioned so far.

Uh ?

Please notice that I hedged my bets very carefully Graham. I
mentioned the audio interface already in your PC, which may
or may not be a POS integrated mobo 'sound card', *and then*
I also mentioned a inexpensive outboard USB-attached unit.

I then said "One of them no doubt sounds far better than
anything you've mentioned so far."

So, the better sounding audio interface could be the
outboard USB-attached unit.

The average PC's integrated mobo 'sound card' is a bag of
**** !

Far more true in the past than the present. You know how
digital is, Graham - price/performance keeps improving, and
improving, and improving...

For integrated sound it's not so much the chipset as the normally
indifferent pcb layout that cripples it.


Graham

Justin Ulysses Morse wrote:

A 20G drive will give you about 100 minutes of CD-quality PCM recording
time.

Uh ?

2 channels * 16 bits * 44.1 ksamples /sec = 176 k bytes /sec

20 G / 176 kbytes / sec = 113 k secs = ~ 31 hours


Graham