Converting Line In on Laptop to Record External Audio

Audacity 3 Help Forum Windows
1

My gut tells me this isn’t going to work, but here goes.

I have a Panasonic HD TV with no RCA A/V outputs. There’s a digital input/output, but I’m not using it.

I have a Windows 8 Lenovo Y40 Laptop with Realtek Soundcard, capable of recording.

I have Audacity.

I need to be able to record television audio into my Laptop.

I have connected the RCA cables with 3.5 mini-jack to the xfinity cable box, which does have the output. When I plug the mini-jack into a portable speaker I am getting audio. But when I plug the mini-jack into my “Line In”, Audacity will not pickup the audio.

I believe I have done what is necessary to convert the Line in to receive audio, but that may be the problem. If that’s not the problem, then I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

Something tells me I’ll need to buy a cable for the digital audio output as well as a converter to create analog audio, and then feed that through the line in.

Any help would be great.

Just want to record Television into my Laptop for editing sound clips.

2

Moderator: duplicate topics merged

I have audacity.

My computer is a Lenovo Y40. There’s an internal speaker, but I’d like to use the Line In for the audio source. I know it operates as a microphone for a headset, so the recording capability is present.

I’m having a real problem getting this setup. The audio source is the TV.

3

Have a look at this tutorial from the Audacity Manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/tutorial_copying_tapes_lps_or_minidiscs_to_cd.html

WC

4

Please see my reply in you second post on the same subject.

Please don’t double post - it only annoys the forum elves :wink:

5

Did you read the Lenovo manual about how to make the audio port an input? Bi-directional audio ports are rarely proper stereo line-ins. Such an input is usually just a mic port for amplifying computer microphones. So don’t be surprised if you record mono and/or distorted audio even after choosing the correct recording source in Audacity’s Device Toolbar.

If you get mono or distorted audio you will need to buy a USB audio interface such as those on Missing features - Audacity Support to connect the TV into, then connect the interface to the USB port of the computer.

Gale

6

Right… The Internet tells me your Lenovo has an “Audio Combo Jack (headphone and mic)”. Like most laptops, there is no line input.

You can make a low-quality mono recording with a line-level signal into the mic input, but you need a special 4-conductor [u]TRRS adapter[/u] to get a connection to the mic input. (A regular 3-contact TRS headphone plug will work if want to plug-in headphones or speakers.)