Getting Music off DVDs

[BeBop]

I'm on the verge of buying a couple of DVDs, since I can't seem to find the music on CD. But (just like I bought CDs before I had a CD player) I don't have a DVD player.

So, my ignorant question: can I get the music off the DVDs and onto an MP3 player?

I know the answer is "yes" and I suspect that the DVD-RM drive on my laptop is the answer. But I haven't ever done anything with a DVD - heck, I haven't watched TV, a video, a VHS, a movie or whatever - since 1978. I'm right out of the Stone Age.

So anyway, I have a DVD-RW drive on my laptop. I can play a CD with it. There are USB ports, but none of the RCA jacks I'm accustomed to in the audio world. Uh, what now? Thanks.

[Dan Gould]

DVD Audio Extractor is a program I found online when I wanted to extract the audio layer from a DVD. There's a full-feature version you can demo for 30 days or something.

http://www.dvdae.com/

[Shawn]

There used to be a freeware app called DVD Decrypter, might still be available from a bit torrent site somewhere. I stopped trying to get audio from DVDs, it's just too cumbersome of a process.

[Brute]

You could always line out in analog from a set top DVD player into a standalone CD burner or digital recorder. I have successfully done this numerous times into one of these sony pcm-d50. They work great for needle drops, too.

Of course I realize not everyone has one of those just lying around.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Brute

[jeffcrom]

You could always line out in analog from a set top DVD player into a standalone CD burner or digital recorder. I have successfully done this numerous times into one of these sony pcm-d50. They work great for needle drops, too.

Of course I realize not everyone has one of those just lying around.

Yes, a component CD burner makes audio life so much easier. I've had one for years, primarily to digitize LPs. At some point I realized that my Philips CD recorder actually sounded much better than my primary CD player, so I ditched the CD player and play CDs on the Philips.

[zootsi]

Is the music you are looking for out on Youtube? If so, you can just record it down to your pc using some freeware like Audacity. Audacity lets you save the recording as MP3. You can then burn it to a cd. Very easy, quick and free. I've gotten lots of hard to find stuff this way.

[Brute]

I just noticed in your original post that you claim to not have a DVD player. You can still record analog audio by lining out of your laptop but you'll most likely need a specific cable to do it, like this one Dual RCA - Mini.

[BeBop]

Thanks for all the thoughts. Sounds like all I need is a DVD Player (I know they're cheap) and a CD burning component (not cheap), from which I'd rip the MP3s and copy them back onto my laptop to load onto my player. I'm starting to think this is a bit more than I'd bargained for. I may just stick with what I can get on CD. (A "wrinkle" to keep in mind: I don't have a home, so no place to keep all this stuff; the laptop and MP3 player are about all I can have/carry.)

zootsi - thanks for the YouTube stuff. I've never used/visited YouTube; no interest in videos, so it's "off my radar".

I just noticed in your original post that you claim to not have a DVD player. You can still record analog audio by lining out of your laptop but you'll most likely need a specific cable to do it, like this one Dual RCA - Mini.

Hey, thanks Brute. This came in when I was writing response a few minutes ago. It looks like a good solution (though, as I think about it, I still would need to edit things into "tracks"...it's all so confusion.) I'd been looking for something like this, but as a USB to RCAs. Hadn't thought about the analog headphone jack.

[Dan Gould]

Thanks for all the thoughts. Sounds like all I need is a DVD Player (I know they're cheap) and a CD burning component (not cheap), from which I'd rip the MP3s and copy them back onto my laptop to load onto my player. I'm starting to think this is a bit more than I'd bargained for. I may just stick with what I can get on CD. (A "wrinkle" to keep in mind: I don't have a home, so no place to keep all this stuff; the laptop and MP3 player are about all I can have/carry.)

zootsi - thanks for the YouTube stuff. I've never used/visited YouTube; no interest in videos, so it's "off my radar".

I just noticed in your original post that you claim to not have a DVD player. You can still record analog audio by lining out of your laptop but you'll most likely need a specific cable to do it, like this one Dual RCA - Mini.

Hey, thanks Brute. This came in when I was writing response a few minutes ago. It looks like a good solution (though, as I think about it, I still would need to edit things into "tracks"...it's all so confusion.) I'd been looking for something like this, but as a USB to RCAs. Hadn't thought about the analog headphone jack.

If the laptop plays DVDs, you can use DVD Audio Extractor to extract the music and an audio editing software like Goldwave to cut it into tracks. There's no need for more equipment to lug around, and you get the music off the DVD into a format you can play.

[Pete C]

The best bet is probably an audio extractor, but you could also use Audacity (freeware) to record the audio in real time to a digital file. You could save the file as a big MP3, but I think it's easier to edit a WAV and cut it into tracks, which you can then save as mp3. You can edit files with Audacity.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Pete C

[BeBop]

If the laptop plays DVDs, you can use DVD Audio Extractor to extract the music and an audio editing software like Goldwave to cut it into tracks. There's no need for more equipment to lug around, and you get the music off the DVD into a format you can play.

Thanks, Dan. You know, I read that up above, and it didn't quite sink in. I'm going to borrow a DVD and make sure my laptop will play it. There's a drive that says DVD, so it seems likely!

[Stonewall15]

I use a program called "Total Recorder" available for cheap on the Internet. It allows you to record anything that plays thru your computer sound card. I play a DVD on my HP PC drive and record perfect sound that can then be burned on a CDR with Windows Media Player. I can also record anything that plays from the internet which is a great feature. The program is simple to use.

[zootsi]

BeBop - If you've never been to Youtube, you will be blown away. There are thousands of obscure jazz & r&b recordings out there. Some have video, most are just recordings. The first time I eve saw a video of T-Bone Walker was on Youtube!

[Pete C]

I use a program called "Total Recorder" available for cheap on the Internet. It allows you to record anything that plays thru your computer sound card. I play a DVD on my HP PC drive and record perfect sound that can then be burned on a CDR with Windows Media Player. I can also record anything that plays from the internet which is a great feature. The program is simple to use.

It's a good program, fairly priced, and I used to use it, but Audacity does pretty much everything it does for free, so I haven't repurchased it when I upgraded my hardware.