Please Help with Computer Audio

[DJSnare]

Usually when I record, I use cassette tapes. But in this age of technology which we live, everything nowadays is digital. So, basically, I'm looking for a way to record stuff directly to the computer (as .mp3 or whatever). My mixer outputs to a stereo RCA (red/white) cable, but I don't see anwhere on the back of my computer where I can plug it in. What kind of plugs, cables, hardware, or programs would I need to accomplish this task? Is my computer even powerful enough to do this kind of thing? (I think it's a pentium)
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr Unne]

Computer speed shouldn't have much to do with anything. I don't know what kind of cable exactly you're talking about though.

*moved to Help Forum*

[Garland]

Not all computers come with AV inputs in the back. None of mine have. Most computers do have a microphone port. I've been able to record from my keyboard through the microphone port. Either that or you can buy a new sound card with the stereo inputs you need. The third option is to simply work in MIDI, and use midi cables. Almost forgot, recording the first two ways will produce a WAV file. The last I looked there were many freeware wav to mp3 converters.

[Dr Unne]

Yeah, plenty of programs that convert .wav to .mp3 . http://www.download.com has a lot. I've also managed to record to my computer through the microphone jack, and through a "Line-in" jack that I have on my soundcard. I guess not all soundcards have one of those. I used a cable that had an adpater on each end of the sort that the end of microphones and headphones have (not sure what that kind of cable is called). It's a cable that came with my subwoofer, that lets me connect my subwoofer to the audio input port on my soundcard. It also worked when I plugged one end into an audio output port (on a handheld game) and plugged the other end into the Line-in jack on my soundcard though.

[crono_logical]

Most morerecent computers (probably a few years old) should have the line-in jack on the back, next to the sound-out and microphone sockets. If not, you can always get a cheap 16 bit soundcard, they'll still do the job well enough, you don't need top of the range stuff for stereo recording

[DJSnare]

I checked the back of my computer, and I found three slots for plugs (all beside eachother). One is black, one is red, and one is blue. The black one appears to be the computer's output, because it leads to the speakers. I have no clue what the red and blue ones are for, though, 'cause there's nothing plugged into them and there are no icons.

I don't know what kind of cable exactly you're talking about though.

It's a basic stereo cable. There's a red plug and a white plug on both ends.

I was thinking of maybe plugging the red plug into the red slot and the white plug into the blue slot. Or, I also have a stereo "Y-adapter" which can turn my red/white plugs into one single plug. Maybe I could plug that into either the red or blue slot.
The problem is that I have no way of telling whether or not the computer is actually receiving the input. What program(s) would I need to record or test the connection?

[crono_logical]

They're probably line-in and microphone, though I don't know which way round

The red plug and white plug are phono plugs. Do they fit in the inputs of the PC? I'm thinking they won't, you'll need a converter to change the red/white into a single 3.5 mm stereo jack, then plug that into one or the other socket on the back of the computer - you'll have to experiment to see which one is best. The line-in will have better recording (and be in stereo) than the microphone socket. Your stereo Y-adapter sounds like it will do the job. (the single end should be the 3.5mm plug, standard for most PC sound cards)



Winamp should do fine for testing the connection - just tell it to read from the line-in port by opening the location box (right-click the eject button to see), and enter <B>linein://</B> - Winamp will then play what's coming in the line-in to your speakers until you stop it.


I've yet to work out how to use Winamp to actually record from the sound jack to the HD, though I'm sure with the right plugins, it would be possible.

[DJSnare]

How do I get this "Winamp" program?

[crono_logical]

www.winamp.com perhaps?