Date   : Fri, 26 Mar 1999 14:39:59 +0000
From   : Chris Richardson <chris@...>
Subject: BBC tape to MP3 and back to Beeb

Hi everyone

I have been experimenting around with BBC tapes.

This morning I have played several BBC tapes into my PC (by connecting
the tape recorder to the line in) and recorded them as .wav files. I
have then turned them into MP3s and then played them back into my BBC by
connecting the BBC tape lead to the headphone socket of the PC speakers.
I reckon it will also be possible to connect the BBC to the headphone
socket of the CD ROM drive, so therefore, it should be possible to store
loads of BBC tapes on CD. I suppose you could also theoretically make
music CDs with these tracks so that you could use an ordinary music CD
player to hold BBC programs.

I have also directly connected my BBC to the PC soundcard in the same
way and saved files directly to the PC, loading them back again into the
BBC, cutting out the need for a tape player!

What next? Any ideas anyone? I would be interested to see if enabling
the tape filing system in a BBC emulator would produce anything
interesting.

Here is exactly what I did:
Set Audiotools to record in MONO. ( I have a registered copy of this, I
find very useful for recording all sorts.)
Set a file name for Audiotools to record to in .wav format
Record the .wav file by pressing play on the tape and 'Record' in
Audiotools.
Convert the .wav file to mp3. 64K mono is the minimum.
Play the mp3 (or .wav file)
When the BBC misses a block, rewind tape does work if you rewind the
media player a little. You will have to adjust the sound solume and tone
occasionally.

Chris
-- 
Chris Richardson 8-Bit Software
The BBC and Master Computer Public Domain Library
http://www.karoo.net/8bs
mailto:chris@...