Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with tapes

Ccaasseetteess

god particle — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:05:31 -0800

Where are the best places to buy tape cassettes in Philadelphia? I know there are a few record stores in Philly, but do these places (or any others) sell tape cassettes? I just recently got a tape player and I'm having a lot of fun with it, but want to find more cheap/obscure/fun tapes to listen to.

Digitizing DV8 tapes

snarfois — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:33:41 -0800

I have a friend who wants to know how to download AV from 8 yr old DV8 tapes to computer via equally ancient Panasonic digicam before their memories turn to dust... Any ideas?

Old tapes worth keeping.

typewriter — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 08:19:18 -0800

How should I store these 20-year old cassette tapes with historic value? At some point, I plan to transfer the information on the tapes to a digital format and googling tells me it won't be insanely difficult. I've also read this question/answer but I think I am not comfortable sending out the tapes due to some sensitive content. In the meantime, I want to keep the tapes in the best condition possible so that when I have the time/resources to do the transfer they will be in good shape. The microphone used seems to be quite high-quality, as there is a lot of audio detail that obviously I would like to preserve. In a standard home environment, what is the best storage solution for these tapes?

Mark CF...again, shoo

divabat — Tue, 01 May 2007 17:27:46 -0800

Where can I get recordings and soundtracks of the Australian version of Swap Shop? My boyfriend is a big fan of the 90s Australian children's TV show Swap Shop. He's been after the soundtrack in particular, but none of us have managed to track it down.

I've checked eBay and all they have is the book, no recordings. I've emailed ABC but haven't received a reply (should I call them?), and their ABC Shops don't carry them. I've scoured the ABC website too with no luck. Google gets me nothing much; we did find a tracklisting, but nowhere to buy the CD.

I'm really hoping to get the soundtrack or at least the recordings as a surprise for my boyfriend. Where can I find them? Where else can I look?

audiocassette tapes in NYC?

ethel — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 20:39:39 -0800

hi folks! i might be out of luck here, but do any of you NYC-based mefites know of a record/CD shop that sells used audio cassette tapes? I'm starting doing some work at a place where there's just a cassette player (and it is some pretty boring work, very music-necessary environment), and I'd like to see if I can get my hands on some tapes.. and my favorite record stores (Kim's, Other Music) don't carry them. thanks for any leads!

Recovering a damaged DV tape

GuyZero — Tue, 04 Jul 2006 08:45:57 -0800

Is there any way to recover a damaged DV tape? So my camcorder ate another tape yesterday. (Canon ZR25... I forget the exact model now). It wouldn't bother me much, except it only eats important tapes: previously, the birth of my daughter, now my sister's wedding vows. Not the beginning of the wedding, mind you, just the vows. Anyway, I should save up for a new camera, but: can I recover the damaged footage? It comes though all blocky, but is obvious still partially there. I find it hard to believe that it's not possible to recover a better quality signal from the tape - it is digital and all. Does a dedicated DV deck read bad/damaged tapes any better than a camera?

learn paint oils good!

philscience — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 20:59:03 -0800

How do I learn to paint with oils? I really admire and am inspired by the "painterly" style of oil painting. Can anyone recommend a good book (or other resource) that covers the techniques of oil painting? Or would it be more instructive to enroll in a class at the local community college or whatever?

(see: ashleywoodartist.com, somepaintings.net/Alex.html as the kind of painting style I'd be aiming for).

How do I get a digital recording to sound like the original?

scazza — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 08:11:01 -0800

How do I get a digital recording to sound like the original? I am converting cassette tapes of my voice lessons to mp3 for storage and use. This means a recording of spoken word, piano, and opera singing. Because the tapes are instructional, I am listening for nuance, it is important that they are as close to identical to the original as possible.

On my first try I recorded with Audio Recorder and edited on Audacity. That turned out impossibly quiet and crappy. I recently tried recording directly into Audacity and that resulted in a totally flat sound quality. I am not an audiophile in the least, and even I can see that the digital file lacks any resonance at all. Since there is such an obvious difference to such an amateur, I assume there is something wrong in my methods.

What could I be neglecting to adjust in my equipment? What is causing the sound difference?
Is this just what the difference between film and digital? Even if I recorded directly to mp3 wouldn't I get the same result?
I am poor so I couldn't really pay someone to convert it for me; do people do that?
What are my options for getting digital files that are identical to the original tape recordings?

Please don't tell me I am condemned to accumulate drawers full of tapes for the rest of my life. Please help!

converting VHS tapes to DVD using combo units?

flyby22 — Tue, 07 Jun 2005 10:27:37 -0800

I am thinking converting bunch of VHS tapes recorded in LP format to DVDs. These are 6 hr tapes I think. I was looking at the option of those combo units that come with the DVD recorder and VCR units. I was wondering if somebody can tell me how do these units deal with 6+ hr long video tapes ? do they automatically break the content up into separate DVDs or can they compress the content enough to fit into one DVD ? thanks

Help me convert my old tapes and records into mp3 format

Lockeownzj00 — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 17:04:06 -0800

We were rearranging the shelves in my house today, and we found a bunch of old tapes from my
Dad's friends from when he lived in Spain (he was born there, as was I). His friends mixed
a bunch of bands together to make this very cool-sounding tape, and the thought struck me: Why not
rip this? (edit: also found bunch of old tapes my brother made of a punk radio station. woot!)

Of course, I lack the knowledge required.

So my question essentially is: what sort of process, programs, and materials is one required to
go through to convert these tapes to mp3? Would the machine I'd have to buy also double as a
tape-pl-ayer itself? What about records? I've been wanting a record player for a while, and I've
been wanting to rip some records as well. Are there record-rippers which double as players? Are
there record/tape player/rippers all combined into one machine? How complicated is this process?
How expensive does it have to be? I don't want to end up with really badly ripped files, but I
don't want studio equipment, either. Basically, what do I have to go through to get good
sounding, 192-320 kbps mp3s from my tapes and records that I could then distribute via
BitTorrent? Thanks.

Cassette Tapes

gnomeloaf — Sun, 06 Feb 2005 09:42:01 -0800

I'm looking for a music store that has a reasonable selection of cassettes of current release LPs. [+] My husband has a cassette deck in his car, a huge cassette collection, and no interest in CDs or MP3s. While he tends to rely on what he's already amassed for music, there are a handful of newish albums he'd like to get a hold of in his preferred medium. Locally (predictably) he's had no luck.

Metal is the genre of choice, but please feel free to share any resource.

What do I do with my unwanted cassette tapes?

emptybowl — Tue, 10 Aug 2004 06:01:00 -0800

What do I do with my old cassette tapes? [MI] I'm getting ready to move, and went through my old cassette tapes to weed out all of the ones that I already have on CD or on my MP3 player. So, now I have a big box of cassettes that I don't need anymore, but that represent a large chunk of my teenage years. There's some store- bought albums, but most of them are *ahem* "backups" of albums. It just feels wrong to throw them all in a dumpster or something, given all the time and care I put into them. It would be nice to give them to someone, so that they can enjoy them as much as I did, but it's an antiquated technology with outdated music on it. (I checked with my brother, and he was uninterested, but he's a weirdo that doesn't listen to any music.) Anyone have any ideas of what I could do with 200 or so cassette tapes? Hell, anyone here want them?

Name These Tunes!

quibx — Thu, 15 Jul 2004 04:35:36 -0800

Can you name these tunes?
1. This one sounds like movie music, but I haven't been able to track it down.

2. I think this is the bonus track on Spell's "Mississippi" album. Can anyone verify?

3. This was recorded off a college radio station in Lowell MA in the early 90s. It's a mix of a song, and a woman speaking about pleasuring herself (the "I am satisfied" parts..... Can anyone find the source of either?
4. And another one from the same mix tape...

VHS -> DVD

jdroth — Fri, 06 Feb 2004 11:29:23 -0800

I have some old video tapes that I'd love to convert to digital video, storing the data on DVDs and/or my g5. Is there a good way to do this? Is it possible to transfer commercial video tapes in addition to personal tapes? I'm a video novice, but catch on quickly.