Archiving DATs to computer or server HD

Buy a used m audio micro tracker......100 bucks. Then transfer to your hard drive. If you don't get what I've posted above......which is as simple as can be.....then leave it to someone else.

This is as about a difficult as sharpening a pencil.

What's with the insults? The OP clearly is not experienced in this area and is asking for help. When he does not know what he is looking for, just throwing out a bunch of manufactures names is not very useful. The Micro Track suggestion is a good one.

The Micro Track is a hand held device that has a digital input and then writes a digital file on a SD card. It is a good option, but not available new as far as I can tell. It is available used on ebay and Amazon. Most of the small handhelds do not have a digital input.

Their are also usb options like the Tascam US-1800 which has a S/PDIF input and outputs to a PC via usb. If you have long play 32KHz files the Tascam will handle them, I believe. Not sure if the Micro Track does or not.

If you have a PC with a S/PDIF input, you might be able to use that directly, as long as the digital input is visible to programs like Audacity or Vinyl Studio.

The usb or S/PDIF option is probably quicker as long as it works correctly. They usually do, but there can be timing issues when recording. The SD card option is relatively straightforward, although you have to manually transfer the card to your PC.

Whichever way you go you end end up with either a large wav or flac file or with indivual tracks. But to get record individual tracks you have to stand by the equipment and indicate when a new track begins, which is kind of a pain. I would suggest recording the whole thing and then use Vinyl Studio to pull them apart into separate tracks and to name the tracks.

Forget the insults and keep asking any questions you have.

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.