Converting cassette "Books on Tape" to WMA

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rabbitfufu
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Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 3:42 pm

Converting cassette "Books on Tape" to WMA

Post by rabbitfufu »

I would like to convert my cassette 'Books on Tape' into WMA. Based on what I am reading here I think GoldWave will do the job.

Couple questions.

I want to break the audio up into 3 minute segments, not paying any particular attention to the begining or end of actual chapters in the book. Does GoldWave have an automated feature to chop up my 45 minute cassette input into 15 three minute WMA files? Can it automaticly name these files? (the names can be as meaningless as file1,file2,file3.....)

Do you have any ideas for a cheapskate consumer digitize the cassettes faster than the playback speed? (books run from 15-40 hours in length, needing a cassette change every 1.5 hours.)
GoldWave Inc.
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Re: Converting cassette "Books on Tape" to WMA

Post by GoldWave Inc. »

There is an Auto Cue feature under the Cue Points tool in GoldWave that sets cue points at certain fixed intervals or at silences. Once cue points are set, the Split File feature automatically splits the file into sections, numbering them as you described.

Recording faster than playback speed is possible if you have a cassette deck that plays tapes at 2 to 4 times normal speed (but not using fast forward, which rarely gives a consistent playback speed). You'd record at a rate of 44100Hz, then use the Effect | Playback Rate command to set the rate to 22050Hz (2x) or 11025Hz (4x). Recording music at high speed is not recommended since it gives lower quality, but the quality is good enough for speech.

Chris
wwwood
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Joined: Wed Apr 28, 2004 1:37 pm

Post by wwwood »

I am using Goldwave to do exactly the same thing - maybe even the same series of books. This is a terrific program, very powerful and well designed, that will do pretty much exactly what you need. I am using 5 minute tracks instead of 3 minutes and I do go to the trouble to start each chapter on a new track. If you have any questions, I'd be pleased to help, if I can.

wwwood@w3engineering.com
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