# Cassette to CD transfer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 25, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684 "2008-12-25T23:12:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/1 "2008-12-25T23:12:50Z")
I have a bunch (about 25) of books on cassette that I’d like to transfer to CD to play in my car. I don’t have a CD burner on my iMac. Is there an inexpensive device able to do this? I’m not picky about high quality sound, since it’s not music. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2008, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/2 "2008-12-25T23:30:26Z")
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**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/3 "2008-12-26T00:42:30Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I have a bunch (about 25) of books on cassette that I’d like to transfer to CD to play in my car. I don’t have a CD burner on my iMac. Is there an inexpensive device able to do this? I’m not picky about high quality sound, since it’s not music. > Peace, > mangeorge Are you SURE you don’t have a CD burner? The last iMac to ship without the ability to burn CDs was in the G3 era - nearly 10 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/4 "2008-12-26T00:55:37Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Are you SURE you don’t have a CD burner? The last iMac to ship without the ability to burn CDs was in the G3 era - nearly 10 years ago. Well, if I open iDVD, a window pops up and says, paraphrasing, “your mac does have a super drive. While you can work with iDVD, you won’t be able to burn a DVD.” I am not a computer genius, by a long shot. My iMac is a G5. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/5 "2008-12-26T01:00:19Z")
Since you live in Berkeley, you may also contact the Media Studies department or the School of Journalism. They may have a student willing to do it for a few dollars. The process itself isn’t that hard. It’s just a matter of feeding the audio from the tape into a computer or a CD recording device, which is what the device that Icerigger linked to does. If you do it through a computer, you can clean up the audio to get rid of the hiss. (I don’t know about you, but cassette hiss drives me nuts.) If you can’t find anyone locally to do it, I’ll be happy to do it for you. I’ve got access to the right equipment. IM me and we’ll talk specifics. Robin ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/6 "2008-12-26T01:01:25Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Well, if I open iDVD, a window pops up and says, paraphrasing, “your mac does have a super drive. While you can work with iDVD, you won’t be able to burn a DVD.” I am not a computer genius, by a long shot. > My iMac is a G5. Then you should be able to burn a CD. DVD requires a different kind of burner; you can generally burn CDs with a DVD burner, but the converse isn’t always true. Robin ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/7 "2008-12-26T01:05:05Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Then you should be able to burn a CD. DVD requires a different kind of burner; you can generally burn CDs with a DVD burner, but the converse isn’t always true. > > Robin I shall look into this further. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/8 "2008-12-26T01:18:00Z")
Sorry to have to point out that what the OP proposes is, of course, a violation of copyright. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/9 "2008-12-26T01:19:20Z")
Well I’ll be danged. It seems you guts are right! I gotta go get me some biank CDs. Thanks, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/10 "2008-12-26T01:27:16Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Sorry to have to point out that what the OP proposes is, of course, a violation of copyright. Is it? I think copying is okay if it’s only for my own use. No? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/11 "2008-12-26T01:37:19Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Is it? I think copying is okay if it’s only for my own use. No? I believe the only way to legally be able to copy purchased cassettes to audio CD is to use the blank CDs marketed as “music” CDs. Like blank audiocassettes, the MPAA gets a cut of those, making it kosher. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/12 "2008-12-26T01:41:38Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Is it? I think copying is okay if it’s only for my own use. No? As long as you’re only making one copy for yourself, you appear to be in the clear. The [Audio Home Recording Act](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_Act) expressly permits non-commercial recording for personal use. You’re simply copying recordings you already own into a more portable and convenient media. It’s the same logic that allows you to rip CDs into your home computer and copy them onto an mp3 player. As long as you don’t make a jillion copies and sell them on eBay, there’s nothing that can be done to you. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Agonist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/439d5e/32.png) [@Agonist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agonist)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/13 "2008-12-26T02:37:43Z")
Thank you very much for that link. I have been having this discussion over and over with my mom: she claims, with no cites but many “professional” assurances, that copying CDs even for private home use is unequivocally illegal. I have tried to research it but had come up with nothing definitive until now. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/14 "2008-12-26T03:20:29Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > As long as you don’t make a jillion copies and sell them on eBay, there’s nothing that can be done to you. IIRC, you don’t have to “sell” a copy to be in potential violation of copyright law. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2008, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cassette-to-cd-transfer/478684/15 "2008-12-26T03:51:39Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > IIRC, you don’t have to “sell” a copy to be in potential violation of copyright law. You don’t have to sell them for money, but it’s assumed that one copy is most likely for personal use. > [@From the Wikipedia article](#): > > Private, noncommercial copies by consumers using “digital audio recording devices” are explicitly protected by §1008. The Senate report defines noncommercial as “not for direct or indirect commercial advantage”, offering examples such as making copies for a family member, or copies for use in a car or portable tape player. The relevant citation is from the Senate report on the AHRA. Even though the RIAA is the unholy love child of Satan and L. Ron Hubbard, I can’t see them getting worked up over a single copy you make of tapes you already own so you can play them in your car. If they do, just make a lot of noise and they’ll go away. Robin