The majority of the audio cassette tapes I am trying to process were recorded using the Dolby technology (from the 80s). Is there a plug=in effect to handle this during the tape processing?
I am using Audacity 2-4-2 on a windows 10 computer with the 20h2 update installed.
Any help suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
I got a few hits when I searched for Dolby B software including at least one open source program.
The problem is… It’s non-linear and there’s a threshold where it kicks-in and that’s a level on the analog tape so in order to do it “right” you’d need a Dolby calibration tape. There’s no standard calibration between analog levels and digital levels… A search turned-up “vintage” reel-to-reel calibration tapes but I didn’t see a Cassette. And, I have no idea if any of that software can make use of a calibration tape.
A lot of people used to leave Dolby turned off during playback because they liked the “brighter” sound (treble boost). I didn’t… I used it correctly but it’s not “terrible” without it.
I found it useful to turn Dolby off during playback of some old cassettes, because cassettes will often lose some of their brightness with age.