Transferring from Minidisc to MP3

TinCool

Right, here's the scenario. I have a few Minidiscs which I want to convert the content of to MP3. I have my minidisc player hooked up to my SBLive via the Line out port on the MD to the Line in port on the SBLive.

What's the best way to go about this ? Is there a program that can encode to MP3 in real time, or would it be best to record in to WAV first and then convert to MP3. What's the best software to use ? If anyone has done this type of thing before, could you outline how you went about doing it and what software you used to do it ?

Cheers,
TC

DadaKopf

Line Out to Line In usually does the job, but expect some extra low level hiss - it happens generally because of your minijack to minijack lead but also in the circuitry of the computer itself. If you want to avoid this as much as possible, spend a tenner on a very high quality minijack to minijack lead. Also make sure your sound card is properly configured.

Sometimes, though, the Line In port will be too sensitive to the volume coming in so you'll have to turn it right down on the MD player - the alternative is to stick it into the Mic socket which is just as good and handles the volume in better.

Alternatively, you could opt for an SB Audigy - they gots Digital In and Out.

As for recording, I just use Cool Edit or Sound Forge and (though it's not ideal) you can clean up the noise if it annoys you too much.

Krusty_Clown

If you have a higher-end Minidisc player, it may have a digital/optical out jack. In this case (if your SBLive is not a Value card) you can (as DadaKopf said) record from your minidics to your computer digitally. This will greatly reduce the hiss etc., you would experience if you connect the two via the minijacks.

I have an SBLive value, which didn't have optical digital in/out (TOSLink) but I managed to get a daughter card with these inputs/outputs and it works just dandy..

TinCool

My MD has optical out, however my sb live value doesn't have optical in

I'll go with Dadakopf's suggestion.