Neewer Portable USB 2.0/1.1 Handheld Tape to PC Super USB Cassette-to-MP3 Converter Capture

• Super Tape to PC USB Cassette-to-MP3 Converter Capture
• Rediscover those old songs with USB Cassette Player by turning your tapes into MP3's to use on your computer, iPod or in the car!
• Plug and play USB device, no drivers required
• Recording Format: Wave, MP3
• Power Supply: 2*AA Battery or USB-powered operation

This is a neat little cassette capture unit that is easy to use. I loaded the software that came with it but had trouble learning to use it. I decided to try the player with my laptop's Sound Recorder program and it works great.

I plugged the unit into my laptop with the USB cable included, loaded the cassette tape I wanted to convert, and clicked on Sound Recorder in Accessories. I then clicked on Start Recording (I had my Altec speakers plugged into the capture unit so I could hear when the tape ended). When the recording was finished, I clicked on Stop Recording, and the window to save the recorded file automatically appeared. I went to Music, typed in a title for the recording, and saved the file. I then went to iTunes, clicked on Add File, and my music files automatically appeared. I then clicked on the title of my new recording. iTunes converted the file to an AAC file. When the entire set of tapes had been copied, I set up a new playlist, added all the relevant files, and synced it to my iPod Touch. It all went quickly (except for the time it takes to record) and it worked like a charm.

Even though I had trouble with the software (my fault, not theirs), I am giving the unit five stars because it easily did all that I expected. The tapes I converted are very old (some created more than 30 years ago) recordings of family gatherings, conversations, and music (we have a bunch of musicians in our family), and they turned out clear and clean. I understand that audio book and music cassettes can also be converted and I might try that on some of my old homemade music tapes. For now, I am so happy to get my family memories on my PC, iTunes and on my iPod.

The unit itself is attractive, compact, as durable as one would expect for a small unit, and easy to use. Everything is included (ear buds, USB cable, software CD and the unit itself) and it's all nicely priced at around $19 plus shipping. I might spend some time learning to use the software that came with the unit, but the Sound Recorder program works just as well and as long as the tapes come out clear, I might not bother. In short, I am very pleased with the little capture unit and consider it an excellent purchase.

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The usb connector was very finicky. I could usually get it to work by letting the usb hang in just the right position, but any small touch to the device would cause it to fail. Tried multiple usb cables, it was the actual USB connector that was at fault.

Also, recordings had a significant hum that I know was the cause of the device. With the recording software, I could remove most of the hum, but it added an extra 5 minute step after the recording to do this.

I do not recommend this product. You'd be better off just getting a regular tape player and use line-in to your computer... that's basically all you're doing with this anyway... the USB connection on this device basically just adds another sound card to your system with line in "built in".

BTW, the software that shipped with the product is freeware called Audacity. I recommend getting the latest version online for your recordings. Regardless of whether you buy this device or use the "line-in" method I mentioned above, Audacity seemed like pretty good software to do it with.

I returned it.

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Great tool for people who still own cassette tapes. I used it to convert some of the old tapes that I found which teach things, now I can listen to them in the car on my mp3. works great.

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I recently ran across a forgotten box of about 50 old audio cassette tapes containing vintage radio shows, but since I went (in my infinite wisdom) completely 'digital' years ago, I now had no way to play them (Insert D'oh! here). How nice it would be to be able to transfer all my old audio cassettes of mine to MP3, eh? Luckily, I found this 'USB Cassette Capture' device (Model #TT-CM001). For about $20 you can't go wrong. At first glance it's about the size of the old Sony 'Walkman' (yep, I'm that old). It came with an installation disk that contains an instruction manual (PDF), and an older version of the free 'Audacity' recording software. I recommend going online and downloading the newest version of Audacity (still free), it's 'Plug-Ins' (just for fun), and the 'LAME MP3 Encoder' (even though it has a silly name, it's very important, you will need it!). Installing them is the same as following the instructions on the installation CD (that PDF I mentioned) included with the 'USB Cassette Capture' device (Model #TT-CM001). If this seems too difficult, get one of your computer 'savy' brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren to do this for you. I have Windows 7 and it works great. The 'Audacity' recording software is backwards compatible to Windows XP, and other variations of it include a MAC version too. Now as for the other reviewers who complained about the sound being slow, garbled, etc., it's not the device (at least in my case), but it may be the condition of the cassette tape. So why not 'Fast Forward' and 'Rewind' the cassette tape a few times to loosen it up, especially if it's been sitting in a box for a few years like mine were. I hope this review was helpful.

It took a little trial and error to get up and running, but is well worth it. Good item for the price. Very happy with it overall.