[Studiotalk] Zing

[Mugford, John, DCA]

Christopher:

               Generally, I concur with SMiles’ comments.

               The primary interest in this situation is being able to continue conversion of four-track audio cassettes to digital files at relatively high speed.

               One option (albeit likely temporary and assuming the current setup is still working properly) could be to persuade your IT department that the work station running on XP needn’t be connected to a network and that you will assume responsibility for troubleshooting moving forward. In effect, you would be dedicating a proven tool for a specific purpose. If you have been saving converted files to a network location, a USB connected external hard drive could be used instead.

               A major consideration in this situation is the amount of analog files you intend to convert to digital. If no other high-speed conversion options are available, these conversions would become less justifiable from a time perspective. I recall that a few years ago that National Audio Company of Springfield, MO was offering to perform analog-to-digital conversions at a cost. As this company was primarily responsible for the NLS’s analog-to-digital conversions, it is likely that they still have the capacity to perform such services for other interested concerns and may prove worth contacting.

John Mugford
Regional Librarian
New Mexico Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped

From: studiotalk [mailto:studiotalk-bounces at islemail.org] On Behalf Of Stephen Lewis
Sent: Monday, September 16, 2019 8:18 AM
To: TBBS Recording Studio Info
Subject: [EXT] Re: [Studiotalk] Zing

Hi Christopher.

Greetings from Austin, Texas.

We had to abandon Zing for those exact reasons several years ago.

I don’t know off-hand if anyone has managed to keep that hardware / software combo going past WinXP; I sincerely doubt it.

There are many other options for such digitization. Assuming you do not have the original reel-to-reel masters and only have these cassette sub-masters to work from, you could try finding an old Tascam PortaStudio 424 unit that would allow you to output all 4 sides of a cassette simultaneously, into/through a variety of DAI (Digital Audio Interface) devices, and into a variety of audio software such as Sound Forge etc.

There are a lot of details involved so feel free to contact me off-list if you want to talk more.  😊

- SMiles Lewis
Volunteer Recording Studio<https://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/vrs.html>
Texas State Library & Archives Commission
Talking Book Program
Audio Production Administrator / Studio Director
(512) 463-5546 voicemail
(512) 936-0685 fax
www.TexasTalkingBooks.org<http://www.texastalkingbooks.org/>
www.Tsl.Texas.gov/tbp/<http://www.tsl.texas.gov/tbp/>

From: studiotalk <studiotalk-bounces at islemail.org> On Behalf Of Duran, Christopher at CSL
Sent: Friday, September 13, 2019 1:34 PM
To: TBBS Recording Studio Info <studiotalk at islemail.org>
Subject: [Studiotalk] Zing

Hey all,
Question, Is anyone still using the Telex Zing Versatile Audio Digitizer program to convert cassettes to a digital format with windows 10?
I.T. is  pulling our computer that is running Zing because windows XP is the operating system and not supported anymore.
I’m wondering if I pull the sound card and put it in a newer computer running Windows 10, will Zing still work properly?
And if not, are there any other options (Hardware, Software) that folks are using?

Thanks and have a great weekend!


Christopher Duran
Audio/Visual Assistant
California State Library
(916) 657-3894
Christopher.Duran at library.ca.gov<mailto:Christopher.Duran at library.ca.gov>
[CSL_logo_color]

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