Capturing audio with a laptop

[dkelly701]

It would be much easier to get my laptop to my stereo to capture my albums instead of my desktop. My problem is my laptop does not have a stereo input, only a mic input. I have a Hauppange WinTV-PVR-USB2 and the software that came with it. I also have Audacity. Can I hook my stereo up to my WinTV using RCA cable and capture the audio somehow with the above setup?

[Soopafresh]

http://www3.shopping.com/xPO-Griffin_Griffin_Technology_6ft_Rca_Dual_Male_To_1_8in_Ste...able~CLT-HSNLF

That should work, or similar. I'm sure Radio Shack has the same thing. The only unknown is how "hot" your mic input is. If it is too sensitive and recordings end up overloading, you'll need an "Attenuating Patch Cable", also available from Radio Shack for around $6

[edDV]

Analog audio sections on laptops can be poor. Better to use USB2 digital devices or PC cards..

If the Win TV doesn't work, these will.

Ediirol UA-1D USB Digital Audio Capture ~$90
http://www.edirol.com/products/info/archive/ua1d.html

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS Notebook ~$129
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1684442,00.asp

[dkelly701]

I just happen to have a similar adaptor but did not use it because my mic input is mono and I want to capture in stereo. I hope to capture with the hardware that I already have. I will investigate further on using the WinTV device.

Thanks.