--- Forwarded Message from "Harris, Leslie" <[log in to unmask]> ---
>From: "Harris, Leslie" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: "'LLTI-Editor '" <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: RE: #5897 question about digitizing audio
>Date: Wed, 17 Jan 2001 15:26:51 -0500
Hi, Denise.
I thought I'd respond to your questions one at a time.
> 1) Is .rm the best format in which to save materials?
> I just tried recording a song onto my PC, and the file
> was quite large (5mb).
The "best" format actually depends on how your audience will access the
digital files. If you're in a lab that's networked to a server, and if your
network speeds are pretty good, then MP3 will probably work very well for
you. MP3 files are about 1/10 the size of the WAV or RM files, so the
resulting MP3 version will be a much smaller file and a very fast download
from the server. The quality of the MP3 file is also excellent, despite the
compression. There are a bunch of free programs that allow you to convert
between file formats (for example, WAV to MP3), and my recollection is that
RealProducer should allow you to convert from RM to WAV, since it certainly
does the opposite direction. Otherwise, you can digitize the clip into WAV
format to start with, and then convert to other formats from there.
MusicMatch Jukebox (free download from http://www.musicmatch.com) is one
converter that I've used in the past.
If your students will be accessing the files from home, via a dial-up
connection, then streaming audio is crucial, and RM will be a good format.
For an oral history site that was a class project, we ended up using both:
MP3 format for those with fast connections, and RealMedia format for slower
connections. See http://www.goucher.edu/harbel/ for the site I'm referring
to. (You'll have to make your way into the actual content of the site to
find the audio clips saved in both formats.) We did the original audio
capture on a Macintosh, using SoundEdit 16.
> 2) I have been recording from a cassette to the
> computer by connecting a cord from the headphone jack
> on my boom box to one of the jacks on my computer
> (probably not the best way, but it works for now). Is
> there any way to reverse the process (record from the
> computer back to a tape)?
When we did the audio capture for that "harbel" project, we used a stereo
cassette recorder with "right" and "left" audio outputs. A cable with two
RCA audio connectors on one end and a stereo mini-audio connector on the
other end connected the cassette recorder to the sound input jack at the
back of the Macintosh. I'm not sure why you'd want to go in the reverse
direction, but computers do have "sound out" jacks, and the Marantz PMD430
stereo cassette recorder we used does have "right" and "left" inputs, so
theoretically you could reverse the process. Alternatively, you could make
an audio CD from the digital audio files, and then record from the CD to
cassette--assuming you wanted a cassette version and not one on audio CD.
Of course, to create the audio CD, you'll need a CD burner. The software
for the burner will assist in the process of converting WAV files to an
audio CD.
Good luck!
Leslie Harris
Decker Chair of Instructional Technology
Goucher College
[log in to unmask]
-----Original Message-----
From: LLTI-Editor
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: 1/16/01 8:24 AM
Subject: #5897 question about digitizing audio
--- Forwarded Message from Denise Hamwey <[log in to unmask]> ---
>Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2001 16:42:16 -0800 (PST)
>From: Denise Hamwey <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: question about digitizing audio
>To: [log in to unmask]
------------------
Hello,
As we have a new computer-based language lab in our
school, I have been playing around with my computer
for some time in an attempt to figure out how to
digitize audio files, particularly cassettes. I now
know how to save material from cassettes and CDs as
Real Media files (.rm), using RealProducer. My
questions are the following:
1) Is .rm the best format in which to save materials?
I just tried recording a song onto my PC, and the file
was quite large (5mb). I don't know too much about
other formats, so this may be a very "basic" question.
Can someone give me some advice, or give me some
Websites I can look at to better my understanding on
this topic?
2) I have been recording from a cassette to the
computer by connecting a cord from the headphone jack
on my boom box to one of the jacks on my computer
(probably not the best way, but it works for now). Is
there any way to reverse the process (record from the
computer back to a tape)?
Thanks for your help!
Denise Hamwey
=====
Denise Hamwey
Melrose High School
Melrose, MA
[log in to unmask]
http://www.geocities.com/dehamwey
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