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Description:

The sound recorder can directly record music being played by the FM synthesis or Wave table portion of the sound card. Each feature (digitized sound playback or recording) the midi (FM synthesis or wave table playback) and the CD-Audio use separate portions of the sound card. All of the sound types can be played simultaneously (play an audio CD, play a .MID midi file, and play .WAV digitized audio at the same time.)

First, configure the appropriate devices in the sound mixer: double click on the speaker icon on the taskbar, (if missing, go to the control panel / multimedia / (audio tab) and add a check-mark to "Show volume control on the taskbar") this should bring up the Volume Control box, with options for "Volume Control", "Wave Balance", "Midi Balance", CD-Audio", "Line In", "Microphone" and "PC Speaker" (If some are missing, look under OPTIONS / Properties and the "Show the following controls..."

The top of the Options box should have the "Mixer Device:" box to select your sound card mixer, a radio button selection to switch between Playback, Recording, and Other, and the Volume Control Selection list.

Add a check mark to all devices, just in case more than one is active. Change the "Adjust volume for:" selection to Recording, and click OK.

Double click on the speaker icon again to bring up the Volume Control panel (You will need to change selections and make adjustments to both the recording controls (to record to a .WAV file), and to the Volume Control (to adjust the playback level of the midi, or CD-Audio, and to TURN OFF / DISABLE unused sound input sources to minimize background noise.

Start the Media Player and the Sound Recorder accessories. (This is usually found under: Start button / Programs / Accessories / Multimedia)

To record a wave table music selection to a .WAV file:

1. On Media Player, use the "File / Open" menu choice to load the .MID file you want to record. Under the "Device / Properties" menu choice, make sure the device selected is your desired wave table device, or the Music synthesizer choice. If you are not sure which one, start the playback with one choice, stop playback, and change the device selection and repeat.
   
2. Note the duration of the MIDI file in minutes:seconds, or view file properties from Windows Explorer to get the midi file content detail. Your .WAV file must be at least this long before starting.
   
3. The Sound recorder may be limited to recording a maximum of 60 seconds or less. To increase the time, create a "silence" file as long as needed by doing the following:
   
   • Use "Mute All" on the volume control.
   • Start recording, and let the record reach its maximum length.
   • Select Edit, Copy from the Recorder menu.
   • Select Edit, Paste Insert to add to the total length of the sound file. Repeat until the file is the desired length, then use Save As to create a "silence template" file. You can then load and reuse this file each time you want to record a new sound track. Remember to use SAVE AS when saving the actual recording.
4. On the Recording Control window: Remove any check-marks from the "Select" boxes on all devices except "MIDI."
5. Reset the Media Player to the beginning of the file.
   

Verify the Sound Recorder "File / Properties" are set to the format you want to record at. (Sample rate, stereo / mono) If using a "silence" file, you may need to change the settings and create / save in the different formats first. Click OK when done.

Click on the red "record button" then immediately click on the Media Player "Play" button (right-triangle) 8. Click "stop" on the Sound recorder at the conclusion of the playback. If using a "silence" file, use "Edit / Delete After Current Position" to remove the excess silence time. Use Save As to save your new music file.

To record a CD-Audio music selection to a .WAV file:

On volume control, mute all except the "CD-Audio" and "Mute All" selections.
On Recording Control, remove all selections except "CD-Audio."
Repeat the process as described for recording midi files. You can use either Media Player or CD-Player to select and control the Audio CD playback feature.

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Disclaimer: This information is being provided to you as a service from the Technical Support Department of WinBook Computers. It is intended to assist you in the resolution of your technical problems or questions. If you feel uncomfortable implementing any of the information or suggestions contained herein then you should e-mail the WinBook Technical Support Department. WinBook will not be held responsible for any loss of information, data or programming as a result of the use of this TechNote.