How to Convert Audio Cassette Tapes into Digital Media Files

Many people have stacks of audio cassette tapes that hardly, if ever, get played anymore. The sound of poor quality hisses and muffled playback of cassette tapes has given way to crystal clear digital sound reproduction on devices such as compact discs and digital music media. Even though technology has given us many new tools for enjoying our music, many of us have one or two favorite songs which we can't find on any newer media, only cassette tapes. This is especially true in Country Music and vintage pop music from the 1920's 1930's, and 1940's. You can easily turn the songs on your favorite old cassette tapes into music files which are fully compatible with modern digital music technology. Don't worry about the copyright warnings against cassette duplication. As long as you are using these files for your own personal enjoyment and not for profit, you are still within your legal rights.

To convert the songs from your favorite old cassette tapes into digital media you need a personal computer, a cassette player or stereo with RCA-connector input jacks, an audio cable to connect from the RCA jacks to the Line In slot on your computer's sound card, and an audio conversion program such as Windows Media Player, Nero, or Roxio.

Once you have made all the physical connections between your audio equipment and your computer, open the audio conversion program in your computer. Depending on which audio program you use, look for an option to capture audio from an external source.