ripping vinyl and cassettes for iPod

OK, geeks of SportsJournalists.com -- what is the best program to use to rip music off of my dusty old cassettes and vinyl so I can put it on my iPod? And can I connect my old turntable and cassette deck directly with some sort of cable connection, or do I need some sort of converter? Thanks for any help.

 

If your computer has A/V inputs then you can use those to connect your older equipment and run the audio into your computer. But there are a few turntables now that can connect to your computer via USB, like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Ion-iTTUSB-Turntable-USB-Record/dp/B000BUEMOO/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=audio-video&qid=1196741821&sr=1-1

I think they sell one like this at Best Buy too. I'm not sure about software to use if you're just connecting through analog A/V cables. But I'm pretty sure this turntable comes with software for you to use with it.

 

I have a program called uTorrent that helps me access old songs.

 

I imagine this would work... hook the older equipment into the back of your computer and then use a program called Total Recorder to record the stuff as it plays through your computer.

 

Thanks, everybody!

 

Yeah Future Shop and Best Buy sells it. Also I believe the Source sells it.

 

If you already have a turntable, you can record them directly to your PC with a program called RecordPad. After the songs are on your computer, they can be loaded on Ipod with Itunes. All you need is a microphone for your mic input port. You can get them at Radio Shack and I've bought them at Big Lots also.

 

Didn't realize it was sold in retail stores. I've always just bought the basic version direct from the company's website:
http://www.totalrecorder.com/