> From: "wbutleruk" <>
> Subject: Portadisk to pc
>
> Sorry to do the pathetic newbe bit, but! How do I download all my
> nice birdsong on to my pc?
> I plug my Portadisk in to the usb port on my Win 98se Pc, but it
> recognises it as a Audio device with no obvious means of transfering
> files. I was expecting it to recognise it as an external drive.
>
> I know the question has been asked before, but could someone point me
> in the right direction?
Your PC is being exactly right. If you have computer speakers you will
find by setting your sound settings to use the Portadisc as the sound
source it will play through the speakers. Which is a hint. The Portadisc
is a stand alone audio recorder, not some computer accessory.
Most folks think of the USB specification as being for sort of fast
transfer of computer data files and such like. Your mounting a drive
idea. But it contains a section for transfer of streaming audio in
realtime. That's what a Portadisc does, it streams digital audio through
it's USB port (or it's optical or coax ports, or for that matter it's
analog line out). The digital audio is realtime, just like playing the
recording. So the process is no different than if you were transferring
from a cassette recorder, except it's kept digital. And you have random
access to the disk tracks on the Portadisc.
What this means is you have to have software that records that stream.
And saves it as a computer data file. Since you will also need to do
some editing of the sound, and will almost certainly get into filtering
and processing the sound, you need a sound editor. Recording is one of
the minor functions of sound editors.
I use macs, but note that PC folks mostly use CoolEdit, or it's current
name since Adobe bought it of Audition.
Note if you set up your system so you can listen to the recording as you
record it in you can audition it and be ready to edit when it get's in.
Many people waste this time, I use it as a necessary part of my editing
process. A time to study what actually got on the recording and think
about it. It can be the first time I've listened to it all the way through.
Walt
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