How To Put A Sermon On The Internet

From Cassette To mp3

by Mark G. West

Maybe you've always wondered how do I make my recorded sermon an mp3 audio sermon? Can I do it on the cheap (as in free)? If you have the sermon on Audio CD and want to make an mp3, just read this page, but skip step one (so long as you have a CD or DVD player in your computer, there's no need to invest in the external hardware). Step one is for people needed to access an external audio source, such as a cassette, but once you have the audio in the machine you need to have the software and record it; so don't worry about references to external hardware unless you're using external hardware.

This is how I go about the task, so please realize that it's only one solution. The first step in the process is identifying your audio source. I'm assuming you distribute your sermons by good-old cassette tape.

Note: even if you're not using a cassette tape, you can still pick up some pointers on hooking up another audio device to your computer (and how to record it), so read on!

Why Mp3? Isn't That Illegal?

The mp3 format is not illegal; but some people have used that format to distribute copyrighted songs. Some people steal cars, that doesn't mean your car is stolen. Some people pirate software, that doesn't mean it's wrong to download (genuine) freeware. Mp3 allows sound to be compressed and still sound good; a five to seven megabyte mp3 file can sound just as good as a fifty megabyte WAV (uncompressed audio) file. The file size is small to allow it be distributed much easier.

And there are many sites offering free and legal mp3s, from bands who want to get themselves noticed, to churches offering sermons.

Alternatives To Mp3

Another compressed audio format, advocated by Microsoft, is the WMA (Windows Media) format. On Windows there's more accessibility to WMA files, but mp3 can be used by more players on more operating systems. What if your visitors are on a Linux machine?

Real Audio is another popular format, but some people complain the sound quailty is not on par with WMA nor mp3.

Both WMA and Real Audio are good if you want to keep your music protected from copying on to CDs. But are you really concerned about that? Mp3 is more versatile and more sought after by teens looking for free audio. Why not offer them something better than the lastest dance song?

The big advantage of mp3 is accessibility; as I wrote this I did a Google search for mp3 and had more than 17 million hits; Real Audio 13 million; WMA had 2 million with the first result being how to convert WMA to mp3! Windows Media Player (which ships with Windows) can play mp3s (version 7+) if you have an older version, you might need to update. Other alternatives for Windows are Winamp, MusicMatch Jukebox (which offers a free version, but you have to hunt for it), and Quicktime. This is not all of Windows mp3 players; check out NoNags Freeware Listing for some of the free ones. Apple Macintosh® (Mac) users can use Windows Media Player - OS X only, MacAmp, Aqueous, Destiny Media Player, GrayAmp, or even iTunes. Linux users can use x11amp or AlsaPlayer or XMMS or even MPG123.

Hardware And Software You Need

If you are using your computer's internal hardware (CD or DVD player), you don't need hardware, so skip on down to the software section! This is a list for people using an external audio source (such as a cassette recorder, but any external audio source such as a turntable, radio, etc.), but I show pictures in the pages that follow. Hardware you'll need:

Required: computer with a sound card that has "mic in" or "line in" (which you probably have as this is standard on nearly all sound cards, even the bargain ones). Prices vary (if you do not have a computer) from $500 up and most already have sound cards. Sound card prices start at about $20.

Required: cassette recorder. Many models are from $20-30, and it can be any cassette player, from a "jambox" to a home stereo to those institutional cassette players you remember from high school, as long as your cassette player either has an earphone jack or a "line out" plug!

Required: audio cable to connect the cassette recorder to the computer (it is most likely that you'll need a Y Cable (1) 3.5mm Male to (2) RCA Male; see Step One: Hooking up the Hardware). Typically this about a $5 expense.

Optional: audio mixing console and another audio cable. While it can mix audio, I use mine for quality control; I'll explain more on the Step One: Hooking up the Hardware page. Typically, you can pick up a mixer at Radio Shack for about $100 (I've seen a used Realistic Stereo Mixing Console just like mine on ebay for $10!); and the extra cable (like the one above) is another $5. Note: as I write this, Radio shack has these mixers classified under "Public Address" and "PA Systems & Power Horns"; while there are still some references to the 320-1200 models (but no pictures nor prices), the lastest model looks fancier than my old faithful mixer; the new one is an SSM-1750 19" Rack-Mount 4-Channel Stereo Mixer with 6-Band Equalizer; don't let the appearance fool you, the online manual indicates it has the same types of connectors in back.

Assuming you already own a computer and cassette player, you're looking at a $5 (for one cable) to $110 (two cables plus a new mixing board) investment; however if you're not scared of using used equipment, you can find deals online -- and my mixer is more than 10 years old.

Software you'll need (I'm assuming you're using Microsoft® Windows, but the software works on Mac and Linux, too):

Required: an mp3 encoder, the free LAME mp3 encoder (the name is a joke acronym which stands for LAME Ain't an Mp3 Encoder; it's not a statement of quality). The site has links to LAME binaries for Win32 (Microsoft® Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP), Linux & Unix, BeOS, & Amiga (I recommend the stable version and not the beta or alpha versions). Mac users, check out this LAME page or this discussion thread on LAME for OS X.

Required: a sound recorder, Audacity. Audacity is a very good free sound recording software that can do much more than we need it for. Audacity has binaries for Win32 (Microsoft® Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP); Mac OS 9/X; and Linux/Unix.

Remember, you only need to do Steps One and Two once. Step Three is the one you'll keep doing.

These pages are loaded with pictures and screenshots - if you are on a dial-up internet connection, the pictures may take a little while to load.

Step One: Hooking up the Hardware - such as the cassette player.
Step Two: Installing & Configuring the Software
Step Three: Recording the Sermon