Record MiniDisc to MP3 (in Analog)

MiniDisc player/recorders take portable digital recording out of the hands of the DAT-toting elite and enable anyone to make great-sounding recordings of concerts, lectures, interviews, found sounds, or just about anything else. But that's where the convenience ends; computers don't have MiniDisc drives, and most folks don't have a MiniDisc player. But recording MiniDiscs to your computer is easy and will allow you to convert your digital recordings to MP3s, which can be transmitted across the Web.

Note: This tutorial concerns digital-analog-digital recording, which lets you use any normal sound card with a mic or line-in socket. In order to record from digital to digital, you'll need a sound card with a digital S/PDIF input, such as the Creative Labs Extigy.

Required Attention Span: 2 hours
 
   Before you start, you'll need to gather these elements:

  • A sound card with a line-in jack (most have one)
  • A simple WAV editor
  • MiniDisc player/recorder
  • A cable (with headphone-style plugs on both ends) connecting the MiniDisc player/recorder to the sound card
  • About 11MB of disk space for every minute of audio you want to record: 10MB for the WAV file (temporary), plus 1MB for MP3s (permanent)
  • An MP3 encoder
  • Headphones, computer speakers, or some other method of hearing computer audio (in other words, a stereo hookup)
 
Follow These Simple Steps

Step One
Use the cable to connect your MiniDisc player to your sound card's line-in jack. Connect your headphones, speakers, or stereo (through the auxiliary input jack) to your sound card's output.

Step Two
Turn the volume on your MiniDisc player to the middle of its range and press Play, adjusting volume as necessary on both the receiver and your sound card's line-in volume control. If you can't hear anything, try the mic input on your sound card. If you still don't hear anything, try again with your WAV editor activated. Once you've arrived at what sounds like a good level, you're ready to record.

Note: Some WAV editors let you see recording levels before you record. Make sure that the bars never get all the way to the zero dB mark, or your MP3s will sound ugly because of unforgiving digital distortion.

Step Three
Start your WAV editor. If the program has preferences, set them to 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo. Press Record in the WAV editor, and press Play on the MiniDisc player. When the song is over, press Stop in the WAV editor, and then Save. It might seem faster to record many songs in a row and edit them later, but we don't recommend this method. The more data you record, the more your computer is taxed. Trying to record too much at once can cause your computer to crash, and you'll have to start the recording process again.

Step Four
Use the WAV editor to trim any silence or unwanted noise from the beginning and end of the WAV files, if necessary.

Step Five
Use your MP3 encoder to convert the WAV file to MP3 format. When choosing a bit rate for your MP3s, keep in mind that 128 kbps is a good balance between file size and sound quality. At that bit rate, an MP3 file averages about 1MB per minute, so make sure you have enough disk space. Once you have the MP3 file encoded, listen to it to make sure it sounds good. When you're satisfied, feel free to delete the huge WAV file.

 
Next Steps
  • If you've decided that your current sound card doesn't cut the mustard, consider an upgrade. Check out our product review pages for the best values.
  • With all the cool things you can do with your MiniDisc player/recorder, it's easy to become a fanatic. Find the latest developments in MiniDisc products and technology.