Anybody an audio expert here?

 

I bought a new Dell Inspiron 1505E laptop 2 months ago and I love it. The only problem I am having is trying to capture mp3s using Roxio Easy Media Creator 8. On my old computer I had a pretty standard Creative Labs Sound Card with 4 slots to either plug in speakers or a microphone and could capture the mp3s no problem. You could basically press record on the program and it would make mp3s out of what you heard from your speakers, whether it be streaming audio or whatever.

 

I'm guessing I can't capture the audio using Roxio on my laptop because there is not a sound card?

 

Ive only really seen one laptop soundcard that plugs into the PC card slot, but according to reviews on Dell's websites, it won't fit the type of card slot I have. Would any USB soundcards allow me to have the sources I need to capture the audio?

 

Any help or advice?

The laptop would have a built-in soundcard, otherwise you will have no sound.

 

It might be a case of playing with the settings to get the results your after.

it has an output jack for headphone and an input jack for a microphone, but it doesnt have that "Line In" jack i guess. i was hoping the microphone would be that, but it apparently isnt.

heres a better explanation....

 

i need some kind of sound card that the Roxio will recognize the mutltiple different sources. on a friend's computer that does exactly what i want, the Roxio recognzies about 7 different possible recording sources. line in, microphone, wave audio, cd audio, etc. all from the soundblaster soundcard. the computer does what i need in terms of basically making an mp3 out of what i hear from the speakers when i set it to the wave audio.

 

on my laptop, the soundcard that comes up is SimgaTelAudio. and the only two options for sources it gives are line in and microphone. i somehow need that wave audio option to come up on my laptop. but any soundcard i find, is PCI slot only. there is one PC Card slot soundcard, but according to customer reviews from dell.com, it wont even fit in my model laptop.

 

BLAAAAAAAAAAH i hate this. anyone have any more advice?

I've had to use many of my friends computers in the past and in my experience - on some basic soundcards - you can select "wave recording" by:

 

1. Opening up the Windows "Volume Crontrol"
   
2. Going to options (tick Advanced Controls if you can)
   
3. Also on the options menu - click 'Properties'
   
4. Select the correct soundcard in the drop-down menu there (if not already)
   
5. Changing the controls from 'Playback' to 'Recording'
   
6. Put a tick next to all the control types in the box below
   
7. Then click ok

You should now be able to see a volume control where you can put a tick next to the desired recording device.....AND in many cases you can select "Wave" or "Wave Out" or anything similar.

 

Then you might be able to use any recording software program and get a input level into it.

 

This may not help you but it's worth a shot.

Unfortunately it didnt work. I selected the only sound card there, the SigmaTelAudio thing. And the only options I had to check or uncheck were the Line In and Microphone.

 

So it appears I do need a soundcard for this. But what kind can I possibly use for a laptop?

Creative make a USB external soundcard for things like this - Audigy NX

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Creative-Audigy-2-NX-USB-External-Soundcard_W0QQitemZ250104506794QQihZ015QQcategoryZ75518QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Personally I`d get one off ebay they look to be selling for between 52 and 70 quid , but if you look around , they`ll probably be discounted somewhere off the shelf .

 

This one is "Buy it Now" for £50 in total incl p&p

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Creative-Labs-Audigy-2-NX-External-Sound-System_W0QQitemZ190101476362QQihZ009QQcategoryZ75518QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Creative are terrible though - quality wise - and they don't care if your products break because they just ignore you.

 

My advice is to get a similar alternative.

hmmm.

 

im in the states so i cant go for that ebay auction, but i will be trying a USB soundcard, hoping to get what i need.

 

thanks for the info.

Soundcards are like anything else , depending on your personal experiences , that can flavour your opinion on everything they make - Ive had 4 Creative soundcards and they`ve all behaved perfectly - they are not an audiophiles choice , they are made to be "jack of all trades" soundcards , with a cheaper pricepoint (uk anyway) . Sorry didnt realise you werent UK based , the only other thing that is made are USB Line Inputs , all I know is that they exist , no idea if they are comparably cheaper or anything else .

Have you tried Audacity?

I found something that worked!. A USB Soundblaster External sound card. I had seen it online but only finally found it in a Circuit City near me. So it was a nice find, and as I hoped, I hooked it up, installed the drivers, and Roxio was able to capture mp3s from what was coming out of my speakers.

 

Thanks for the advice guys and/or gals.