Archiving DATs to computer or server HD


I have a large collection of music "favorites" on DAT. I would like to archive this music on to a computer or music server. As far as computer is concerned, no one seems to know what I need to buy and how to proceed. I know that I will need some downloaded music player ( Audacity ) and some kind of interface -- but what ? I am willing to buy a new computer for this purpose. For music server, everything that I see that has digital inputs ( RCA or Toslink ) costs over $5000. I've seen ads for the Cocktail Audio X40 that would seem to fit-the-bill, but that company has no "track record" and I can find no reviews. Need advice ---- JTV
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Any software program will allow you to add track flags.....cost 75 bucks. You don't have to stand over any machine and press a button in real time. Tasman and Fostex make new handheld devices that have digital ins for in and around 200 new.

It seems the same question gets asked and answered over and over again. If someone's ego is fragile and can't withstand a statement like it is as easy as sharpening a pencil.......my apologies.....but really it is that easy.
Usb is for transferring the file after it has been written from your digital recording device to your computer. .spdif is for sending the digital signal to your recording device from your dat machine in real time.
Maybe it is as easy as sharpening a pencil to you but not to someone who has never done it. Why not just be polite. Is that too much to ask? And, by the way, when was the last time someone asked about recording from a DAT? I really do not think it has been asked over and over again. That 32K sample rate can be a problem for many recorders. Maybe it is not as easy as sharpening a pencil.

Vinyl Studio is $29 and looks up albums from online databases and splits the tracks. Many of the inexpensive audio editors do not do that. It is best for vinyl but works for other formats. No need to spend $75. Losts of programs do manual tagging, but few do the database lookups to get tags and timing to split the tracks.

Do the handheld devices you reference automatically split tracks automatically when the tape is being recorded? My guess is no. Hence, you need a way to split the tracks or you need to do it manually as the tape is being played. I know people who prefer to split them as they are recorded and some who split them after the fact. I was just pointing that out.

By Tasman I presume you mean Tascam. Since you know about those models, why not simply give the model numbers. It really is not that easy for someone to dig through those details when they are not familiar with this type of product. Honestly, there are not that many portables that have digital inputs.

Lets leave this discussion at that.

If you can provide model numbers, I think that would be helpful for the OP.
Raymond - The Tascam US-1800 does not have a disk. It takes the real time S/PDIF signal and passes it through the USB to the PC in real time. You then capture that real time signal with software on the PC. It appears as a recording device within Windows or on a MAC. I have not used it, but that is what the manual claims - page 23 has a block diagram of the unit. I once looked at for digitizing vinyl before I went with the Korg MR-2000.

And, a correction. I do not know if the Tascam US-1800 accepts 32K samples. I was thinking of the Edirol UA-5 which does support 32K. Unfortunately, that is no longer available. I am not sure if Roland has replaced that capability or not.
The sampling rate of the digital output of my DAT deck is 44K or 48K depending on the source that I was recording. Thanks Dtc for your insistence on civility. But, I have thick skin and it doesn't bother me. For me, interpreting a Treadmill Stress Test is as easy as sharpening a pencil -- probably not for Raymonda.