Cassette-to-MP3 should not be a problem legally, so long as you do not distribute the files.
Like you, I am about to make the jump to a MP3 player. As you likely know, I am a long-time Apple user, and naturally will go with an iPod. There's three ways of playing an iPod (or other MP3 device) over a car stereo: if your car has a cassette deck, use an adapter ($10-$15, I guess) from the headphone jack that goes into the deck and actually plays through the tape heads. These work very well, and are the cheapest option. Another way (which I will most likely use) is with a device such as the Griffin iTrip, whick plugs into the player then transmits an FM signal to your car radio. These devices have mixed reviews, particularly in areas with a lot of population and radio station density, such as where you are. I have read that Monster makes one that is very good. The last option is to use a line-in if your car stereo has one. Unless you have a plug on the front of your unit, or like rooting around under the dash, this is probably a job for a car-stereo installer. There are also CD players for cars that play CDs of MP3s, which actually read the compressed files.
That covers the auto options. As for tune aquisition, most everything I have is ripped from my CDs. The online stores are supposed to be perfect for a la carte shoppers like yourself, though. I have converted some cassettes, and it is a bit of a job involving recording, editing, and encoding, generally taking about 3x a long as the actual material you want to convert. Sound quality can be iffy, too, depending on the durability of the tape. I did about 6 or 7 cassettes, then said "screw it" and started looking on eBay for CDs. I'd much rather spend $3-$4 on eBay for a CD than go to the hassle of ripping a cassette (or vinyl) to MP3. This kind of audio editing is what I do, and it is a pain in the butt for me... it would be even more frustrating to a noob.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
Like you, I am about to make the jump to a MP3 player. As you likely know, I am a long-time Apple user, and naturally will go with an iPod. There's three ways of playing an iPod (or other MP3 device) over a car stereo: if your car has a cassette deck, use an adapter ($10-$15, I guess) from the headphone jack that goes into the deck and actually plays through the tape heads. These work very well, and are the cheapest option. Another way (which I will most likely use) is with a device such as the Griffin iTrip, whick plugs into the player then transmits an FM signal to your car radio. These devices have mixed reviews, particularly in areas with a lot of population and radio station density, such as where you are. I have read that Monster makes one that is very good. The last option is to use a line-in if your car stereo has one. Unless you have a plug on the front of your unit, or like rooting around under the dash, this is probably a job for a car-stereo installer. There are also CD players for cars that play CDs of MP3s, which actually read the compressed files.
That covers the auto options. As for tune aquisition, most everything I have is ripped from my CDs. The online stores are supposed to be perfect for a la carte shoppers like yourself, though. I have converted some cassettes, and it is a bit of a job involving recording, editing, and encoding, generally taking about 3x a long as the actual material you want to convert. Sound quality can be iffy, too, depending on the durability of the tape. I did about 6 or 7 cassettes, then said "screw it" and started looking on eBay for CDs. I'd much rather spend $3-$4 on eBay for a CD than go to the hassle of ripping a cassette (or vinyl) to MP3. This kind of audio editing is what I do, and it is a pain in the butt for me... it would be even more frustrating to a noob.
Hope this all helps!