Video input question

[Doug Kanter]

I have a Sony Vaio laptop, about 4 years old, with no line inputs for audio.
I need to transfer music into this machine from the line outputs of a home
receiver. The laptop has an odd shaped socket near the headphone &
microphone sockets, which I understand is intended for video. It looks sort
of like the sockets that digital cameras have for moving pictures to a
computer. Never having seen the wire that plugs in here, I'm wondering if
it's likely that it would have the same pair of RCA male plugs for audio,
and a third one for video (which I wouldn't use).

Before I start driving all over town looking for the appropriate wire, does
it sound like what I'm imagining is real? Not just the wire, but the ability
to use it as I explained?

 

[bobthegreatest]

Sounds like it may be RCA, if it is yellow/white/red and round it is
indeed, the ones cameras have is usually USB isnt it? The ability to
use it, yes, if it is RCA

 

[BruceM]

Isn't the microphone socket useable for line in?

 

[Doug Kanter]

Yes, but it appears to be mono, not stereo. If I plug into with with a
stereo mini-plug, I only get one channel.

 

[kony]

Yes, but it appears to be mono, not stereo. If I plug into with with a
stereo mini-plug, I only get one channel.

Your laptop documentation should describe the functions of
these sockets. If they are indeed L & R audio input RCA,
yes they would work fine. It seems odd that it would have
such a video input though.

 

[Doug Kanter]

Your laptop documentation should describe the functions of
these sockets. If they are indeed L & R audio input RCA,
yes they would work fine. It seems odd that it would have
such a video input though.

The manual says it's an i.Link connection, and shows a simple connection to
a digital video camera. It gives no indication as to whether the audio
expected from the camera is in mono or stereo. This idea may have to wait
until I rearrange the desk enough to put the desktop machine here.

 

[Quaoar]

The manual says it's an i.Link connection, and shows a simple
connection to a digital video camera. It gives no indication as to
whether the audio expected from the camera is in mono or stereo. This
idea may have to wait until I rearrange the desk enough to put the
desktop machine here.

iLink is unpowered Firewire, IEEE1394. The function would be dictated
by the camera and whatever software/driver is installed to support the
function. It is not a general purpose A/V input. It is a general
interconnect for Firewire devices such as disk drives, etc.

What you might be looking for is a standalone I/O system for audio and
video like Pinnacle sells that can interface with whatever ports your
laptop supports - USB, serial, RCA, etc.

Q

 

[JANA]

You should contact the manufacture for your laptop, or read the instruction
manual that came with it. If it turns out to be a big problem, you can look
in to possibly using an external USB A/V interface. This should also
normally work.

--

JANA
_____


I have a Sony Vaio laptop, about 4 years old, with no line inputs for audio.
I need to transfer music into this machine from the line outputs of a home
receiver. The laptop has an odd shaped socket near the headphone &
microphone sockets, which I understand is intended for video. It looks sort
of like the sockets that digital cameras have for moving pictures to a
computer. Never having seen the wire that plugs in here, I'm wondering if
it's likely that it would have the same pair of RCA male plugs for audio,
and a third one for video (which I wouldn't use).

Before I start driving all over town looking for the appropriate wire, does
it sound like what I'm imagining is real? Not just the wire, but the ability
to use it as I explained?

 

[Grumps]

I have a Sony Vaio laptop, about 4 years old, with no line inputs for
audio. I need to transfer music into this machine from the line
outputs of a home receiver. The laptop has an odd shaped socket near
the headphone & microphone sockets, which I understand is intended
for video. It looks sort of like the sockets that digital cameras
have for moving pictures to a computer. Never having seen the wire
that plugs in here, I'm wondering if it's likely that it would have
the same pair of RCA male plugs for audio, and a third one for video
(which I wouldn't use).

Before I start driving all over town looking for the appropriate
wire, does it sound like what I'm imagining is real? Not just the
wire, but the ability to use it as I explained?

Can you post a link to a picture, otherwise we're just making wild guesses.
You say you can plug in a stereo mini-plug and get mono sound from an
iLink?!

 

[Doug Kanter]

Can you post a link to a picture, otherwise we're just making wild
guesses.
You say you can plug in a stereo mini-plug and get mono sound from an
iLink?!

No. I tried sending very low line level signal into the microphone input
using a stereo mini-plug, and got only one channel of signal, unless the
plug was only partially inserted. This is a sure sign of a mono socket
meeting a stereo plug. And, this is a separate plug from the iLink socket.

My digital camera's on loan today, so no picture. However, if you'd like to
see the appropriate page from the user's manual, go here:

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=PCGFX215

Click on Primary User Manual to open the PDF, and go to page 74. I'd post
the link to the doc, but the Sony site doesn't allow copying link locations.

 

[Doug Kanter]

Someone here suggested that Pinnacle might have such an interface. It's not
listed on their site, so calling them is on my list for today. I'd contact
Sony with further questions, but they have apparently adopted a policy
similar to that which Hewlett Packard used to have: If you need tech info
(other than "how much does the product weigh?") in order to buy one of their
products, you have to pay them.

 

[Paul]

Someone here suggested that Pinnacle might have such an interface. It's not
listed on their site, so calling them is on my list for today. I'd contact
Sony with further questions, but they have apparently adopted a policy
similar to that which Hewlett Packard used to have: If you need tech info
(other than "how much does the product weigh?") in order to buy one of their
products, you have to pay them.

You can get just about any conversion imaginable. You could
get a USB audio adapter, and use that for audio input. There
is even a Firewire audio adapter, if all you had available
was a Firewire port.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006A9M3K/104-7278457-7990316?v=glance&n=172282

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/MobilePreUSB-main.html

http://www.rolandus.com/products/details.asp?CatID=12&SubCatID=51&ProdID=UA-1EX

"Edirol UA-1EX adds ASIO and 24bit/96kHz Audio Support (11/7/2005)

EDIROL Corporation today announced a new version of it's popular
UA-1 series USB Audio Interface. The new UA-1EX replaces the
EDIROL UA-1X and adds support for ASIO drivers and
24 bit / 96 kHz audio.

The UA-1EX continues to feature Core Audio support for Mac OSX
and WDM support for Windows 2000/XP as well as zero-latency
direct monitoring. Inputs include RCA pin, input for plug-in
powered electret condenser type stereo microphones and SP/DIF
optical in. Outputs include RCA pin, 1/8" headphone jack and
SP/DIF optical output.

The UA-1EX is a solution for customers looking for an inexpensive
interface that offers professional driver standards, quality and
simple audio connections. The Suggested Retail Price for the
UA-1EX is $99.00 and will be available in the fourth quarter."

Firewire is a digital interface only. It consist of differential
digital pairs TPA+/TPA- and TPB+/TPB-. The digital signals work at
400Mbit/sec. The pins have nothing to do with baseband video
or with analog audio signals. A four pin Firewire interface
doesn't offer bus power. A six pin Firewire interface offers
bus power, via the added two pins.

Paul

 

[Doug Kanter]

You can get just about any conversion imaginable. You could
get a USB audio adapter, and use that for audio input. There
is even a Firewire audio adapter, if all you had available
was a Firewire port.

The past hour of browsing has revealed that I could spend huge sums of money
on this, and true to form, I probably will.

 

[Grumps]

No. I tried sending very low line level signal into the microphone
input using a stereo mini-plug, and got only one channel of signal,
unless the plug was only partially inserted. This is a sure sign of a
mono socket meeting a stereo plug. And, this is a separate plug from
the iLink socket.

My digital camera's on loan today, so no picture. However, if you'd
like to see the appropriate page from the user's manual, go here:

http://esupport.sony.com/perl/model-documents.pl?mdl=PCGFX215

Click on Primary User Manual to open the PDF, and go to page 74. I'd
post the link to the doc, but the Sony site doesn't allow copying
link locations.

So, if the mic input does not want to support stereo line-level signals,
then you have a couple of choices;
1) Use a USB A/V device.
2) Some camcorders will allow video(+audio) pass-thru. That is, you plug
your audio into the camcorder audio in, then the camcorder connects to your
laptop using IEEE1394 (firewire/iLink).

I'm sure there are other solutions to this too.

 

[Doug Kanter]

So, if the mic input does not want to support stereo line-level signals,
then you have a couple of choices;
1) Use a USB A/V device.
2) Some camcorders will allow video(+audio) pass-thru. That is, you plug
your audio into the camcorder audio in, then the camcorder connects to
your
laptop using IEEE1394 (firewire/iLink).

I'm sure there are other solutions to this too.

Based on some reading I've done today, I think the USB AV interface is
cheaper than a camera.