How can I transfer music from a camcorder to a PC?

[Jeff321]

I have a camcorder and I was wondering if there would be some way to get sound off of that onto my computer through my sound card. I don't want to have to buy a new sound card. Is there some way of doing this?

I was hoping I could get some kind of cable where one end would hook up to the headphone or output jack on the camcorder and the other end would go in the microphone or input jack on my sound card. The miscellaneous cables I have lying around don't fit in both ends.

Would a cable even do the trick, or do I need a new sound card? (I really don't want to have to buy one.) Any help with this would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[BerksWebGuy]

Well...what kinda plugs do you have from your camcorder (RCA, etc)??

[(jj)]

1. Does your camcorder have an audio output that will play the sound as you preview the tape?

If so, then you can most likely find a cable with the correct plugs at Radio Shack. If the camcorder is stereo then you would need a cable with stereo plugs on both ends, one end to fit the jack on the camcorder and the other for your Line In jack of your sound card. If the camcorder only has a mono output, then you would need a cable with a mono plug to fit the camcorder and a stereo plug to fit your Line In jack of the sound card.

The plug to fit your sound card is called a stereo mini-plug or 1/8 inch stereo plug. The camcorder, I have no idea, because there are many different versions.

If your camcorder does not have an audio output that works while playing a tape, then about the only choices you'd have would be to get either a TV card for your computer so you could run the camcorder or vcr through your system. Or get one of the video capture units that fit onto your parallel port to capture the video/audio off the tape.



Just my "For What It's Worth"

[Jeff321]

BerksWebGuy: I really have no clue what kind of plugs they are... I don't know much about this stuff at all ;)

(jj): Yes, on my camcorder there is a screen and speakers which will play back the video/sound, if that's what you mean. How can I find out if the plug is stereo or mono? It is a newer camcorder, so I could probably assume it's stereo. Thanks for your help. I'll probably go to Radio Shack and look for a cable with those stereo mini-plugs. The jack on my sound card and one of them on the camcorder look like they're the same size.

[BerksWebGuy]

You're looking for plugs that look like headphone plugs in both the camcorder and sound card (which most have).

If you got that...then you may be in pretty good shape...as long as you have some kinda program to record sound.

Good Luck :cool:

[Jeff321]

Alright, thanks :)

I should be able to find a cable like that at Radio Shack, as long as I can find Radio Shack--I haven't been there in ages :p

As for the program, would Windows Sound Recorder work? ;)

The software part shouldn't be a problem, I'll probably use SuperSonic (http://www.gosupersonic.com/). I should be able to record & save as MP3s in that without any problem.

Thanks for your help guys.

[davros]

Anything that looks like a headphone jack is probably speaker level output.. If that's your only option so be it..

But the best solution is if you cam corder has RCA Output Jacks.. Or Line-Out jacks..

They are 2 Round Plugs with a hole in the middle usually colored red/white if mono black. (Dont use Yellow or Green.. That's video!)

If you use speaker output into your sound card, your recording will sound like poop.. And will probably require some padding/editing. If you are not too mafilure with recording sound you may want the easy way out.. If you're not too concerned about quality.. Do whatya gotta do..

Radio shack has a connector that will work fine for both..

[Jeff321]

Update: I got a cable with the stereo mini-plugs at both ends and it works fine for me :) Thanks for your help everyone.