Problems Solved
PROBLEM OF THE FORTNIGHT
Can I copy my MiniDiscs to my PC?
Q For many years I was singing in a duo around the pubs and clubs of Liverpool using backing tracks on Sony MiniDiscs. I’m planning to get on the road again and I’d like to copy all my backing tracks to a laptop. Is there a way to ‘burn’ a MiniDisc to a computer, as one can with a CD?
Kevin Hudson
A Yes, but it can be a faff. First, we should say that during the demise of MiniDisc Sony did make a free tool to convert its ATRAC files to the popular MP3 format. This is still available, at www.snipca.com/39444, but it requires additional components to work – some of which won’t operate well (if at all) with a modern Windows 10 PC.
That brings us to the manual method. Basically, you’ll need to connect your MiniDisc player to your computer by a cable and then use software to capture the audio as it’s played. Depending on your player, you’ll need either a phono-to-3.5mm or 3.5mm-to-3.5mm jack cable – with the 3.5mm end going into the line-in port on your PC’s sound card. On desktop computers, this is usually coloured light blue. Many laptops have a single ‘combo’ port that will act as both audio-out for headphone/speakers or line-in for recording.
To capture the playback you can use Audacity, which is a free download from www.audacityteam.org. Though the program itself looks complicated (and in some respects it is), there’s nothing particularly difficult about using it to achieve what you want.
With your MiniDisc player duly connected, you’ll need to click the red Record button in Audacity shortly before pressing the Play button on your player. Next, you’ll just need to wait for as long as it takes for the MiniDisc to play through. When). Finally, type a name for the recording and click Save.
