A cassette tape player with Dolby NR in a Windows 10 PC 

Windows backwards compatibility is really quite impressive at times.

'If you're here you've probably already seen LGR's video....' Get out of my head!

I just realized these videos about cassette decks has nothing to do with the hardware, but are simply a vehicle to showcase the most rare, eclectic tapes I have ever heard, and it’s fantastic!

Can't wait for the Windows 10 8-track player.

I was the engineer who repaired this product. It's a new feeling to see it after so much time has passed.

The mechanism is made by Tanashin, judging by that part number. Its model appears to be TN-717. The higher w&f when playing in reverse is likely due to extra load on the motor. it doesn't seem to be a particularly high-torque motor. Either that or the drive belt(s) may be loose.

While I've already seen LGR's and RMC's videos on these, I always enjoy your videos, as you go into the more technical aspects of it and how to get the best out of it.

Noise Reduction was an incredible technology. Just as crucial as auto-stop when rewinding or fast-forwarding between tracks.

I’m actually a very frequent user of the PlusDeck 2c, and I had no awareness of the DDi Codec software, with my biggest frustration often not being able to enjoy my Dolby B tapes to their full potential. You’re a lifesaver.

I finally got DDi Codec installed and I'm having a total blast with it. it's awesome! I've been looking for a software version of Dolby NR for quite sometime to decode cassette rips that I've had for a long time, works great! I especially like the azimuth correction feature being the decks that I ripped them from were not always spot on. Highly recommended! Thanks VWestlife😀

THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!! The sound quality rocks, incredible for such a device!

It is a pretty cool device. I didn't even know a cassette player made for a computer drive bay even existed until I saw this video. It looks like a convoluted process getting it to work though provided you have a desktop with an extra drive bay to begin with. I have a lot of old cassettes with recordings of some music that I've created on them from the late 90's-early 2000's that I want to digitize and preserve. I might just try to hunt down a good reliable regular cassette player with a line output. That can be a challenge today because today's cassette decks are not built with as good quality of components as the vintage ones and the vintage cassette decks are so old that they could have mechanical issues with them such as the motor or belts, let alone a good tech who is still available these days to fix them or even be able to find parts for them. The last thing I want is a unreliable cassette player eating up my priceless tapes containing my irreplaceable recordings.

This device would be very nice to have inside my PC, so I wouldn't have to use my main double deck to copy tapes to digital for my friends (BUT they give me the tapes for my collection as "payment", and I am happy with it). Awesome video as always, very well explained and catching my attention to every single second of it ♥

This video shows at 5:49 and 10:49 a good example of "skeuomorph design" for the GUI of DDi Codec software, this kind of design was very popular in the 90's and 2000's (winamp, and most of audio/video player), the render of vu-meters made by DDi Codec software is really good. Flat design has now became dominant for GUI since the 2010's (windows 8, android, smartphones), it's very rare now to see skeuomorph design. At 22:12 another example of skeuomorph design.

Fun Fact: With the newest Optiplex machines, you can still buy them with a built-in/on-board serial port as an optional extra.

DDI Codec also offers VST Plugin, which can be used in any DAW, it's contains only compander without other stuff, but that is enought when digitize some stuff, to had more comfort inside DAW

AM Stereo! My first job in radio was at an AM station in the 90s and we received an NAB AM Stereo demo tape and I listened to it over and over again because the production quality was the best I had ever heard (I was a massive radio nerd). I wish I had kept it or could find it online. It started off with a few seconds of War of the Worlds broadcast and then there was a big sweeper sound to the really clean sound of new AM stereo technology. Anyway, I went searching for more information on AM stereo and found your video of the Harris AM stereo demo record you made 12 years ago. I believe the tape I had was when NAB was announcing that C-QUAM was going to be the standard for AM Stereo.

The test tapes' content is pure fun. And being from Greece, I had to tell you that the Odysseus parody made me laugh a lot. This is a very nice video and plenty of knowledge is shared. Thank you!

Nice to see that you were finally able to put this out on RU-vid

The meeting of modern and vintage technologies can be so satisfying. If I could tell my younger self of all the cool stuff VWestlife discovers he would be very excited.

I really want one now. Echoing what others have said, I’m amazed the software and remote control abilities work under Windows 10. If only my desktop had an open 5.25” bay available… my card reader may have to find somewhere else to call home!

man, this is awesome! i found that program (software decoder) like a week ago and now you made a review on it! p.s. is there any alternatives for that test tapes? they are pretty expensive =(

It seems there's a good quality mecanism inside that unit, which means the company that made it intended it as a useable product and not as a novelty. Nice.

Have never seen this very handy little device before, didn't know these even existed

That’s why I got back into the cassette thing: the possibilities we get from many different equipment and techniques, alongside the sound which is the most impressive part to me, is really awesome! Even not having a desktop PC and having really good decks with way more features than these in my possession, I want that unit in my collection :D

Yep, saw LGR's video, but yours is more interesting and authentic - I find LGR's presentation of things freakishly weird...

As always, thanks for the video, Kevin.

Very informative video. I have one of these Plusdeck 2C devices that I will be installing into an HP computer. I'll be referencing this video along the way.

Very interesting. The problem is when you want to clean the heads of that cassette tape player you have to disasembly all and open the cover of it.

I'm amazed at how good it sounds.

With that passion to tapes, you make entire new generation of pencil enthusiasts get born soon... 👋

Thank you for all the excellent and arcane info!

I built my first computer in 2014. With how much retro stuff I do. Building 486s and backing up old computers and such I really regret not using a case with 5 and 1/4 inch base

That AM Stereo sounds great! Wish it would have stuck around. I still listen to an AM station that pays 80's music, about 50 miles from me and only 5KW, still love the sound of AM radio.

I still have one of these in my Windows 98 PC. I've been surprised that I've never had to do anything to it other than run a cleaning tape through it a few times. I may have to pick up that software at some point as it looks a lot better than the ancient stuff i use for wow&flutter calibration.

I just watched this on Odysse again this morning for no real reason, and now it's finally on YT. Guess a 3rd time won't hurt.

I don't watch LGR... but I swear this is a re-upload. Did I dream of watching this video before it's release today?

That's a really nice little high quality device and with the software, extremely versatile and capable too!

John Moschitta audiobook tape??? This is AWESOME!!!

This is a great video! I have had one of these for years, but I’m a Mac user , so I have been meaning to put it on eBay. Glad to see there’s ways to still use it!

Best Plusdeck 2c Video Ever

You have a new sub! Very nice video

I have a paranoid fantasy that one day I'll be at an Estate Sale in in New Jersey and we both end up fighting over the same piece of arcane technology. Just say "I'm, VWestlife" and you win.

Took me to 2000 when I would record mp3s I downloaded on Napster to record to my Sony boombox with an auxiliary cable going from soundcard in my pc to the auxiliary line in to my boom box pressing record on my blank cassette inside the tape deck.

That ddi software is a great find! Thanks for sharing!

Pretty impressive product. And since the software that comes with it works perfectly on a modern PC it is just as useful now as it was in the 90's.

I had one of these in a custom made desktop back in the 90s. It was the older record capable version and I recall being totally confused as to where to connect the wires in the back. It worked fine once I finally figured it out.

I knew this will be up your ally when I first saw it on RetroManCave channel. Glad you did a video about it!

good to see it's possible for modern owners when they still have cassets. i don't own cassetes tapes but i know them since i was kid. but i like this sort of content when old equipment such as Displays or drive works with modern devices. i really like that stuff to see possibilities.

Man i have 2 cassette videos going viral on my facebook right now and all it shows is people really really love cassettes out there. specially in other countries like Indonesia.

Your video plays on my Dolby Atmos rear speakers as well. Bonus 👍

Hello, VWest. May I suggest that the Dell's Part Number is on the sticker always in the format like" P/N: 0xxxxx" and x is either a number or a letter. As for this specific model, that should be dell F6VNT or 0F6VNT. Hope this will help: )

I lack a PC with any open 5.25" half high bays. so my cassettes (and O.R.s) will still have to be imported via external tape decks, But I will be getting that software! (both!) I was unaware such marvelous things existed! 👍😊👍Thanks for introducing them!

To get to the "Listen" option you have to use the old control panel in Windows 10 (and 11, for that matter). So much for Windows moving forward...

Nice video! Impressive that Ddi software!

You do have the most relaxing soothing handsome sounding voice. I play your videos when I'm going down for my nap. Sometimes I watch your videos just to hear your voice. ❤🌈

This is the first time I'm hearing of this tape player. My dad would have loved this when he was digitizing all his tapes, but something tells me whatever setup he was using probably got a better sound quality.

I wish I had one of these back in the day.

has really good wow/flutter for what looks like a garden-variety logic-control Tanashin mechanism like what was used in most better car audio decks in the mid and late 90's.

NAK T-100 is an AWESOME piece of software, I use it all the time.

This is wild. Love this review, so comprehensive, and you have the knowledge and experience to really get into the technical detail. The runthrough with those additional software and plugins was really interesting too. That money shot at 12:42 of an Optiplex ejecting a C60 is just the kind of beautiful FrankenPC stuff I love, it really scratches my retro peripheral itch (perhaps I should see a doctor about that). Did you need to do any further isolation or shielding of the analogue audio path inside the machine or was the signal path overall fairly clean?

Wow I had those funky looking cassettes. You just took me back to 1989

I remember when sata drives came with the molex to sata power converters. Now we need the opposite lol

Great video, very enjoyable seeing more of this device in action, and the audio quality using the DDi Codec is amazing. Also may I ask what song you were recording at 5:20? it's very good.

Interesting niche! But, I'll just stick to my dedicated tape deck

Kevin that's a nice tape deck for PC I have one and like it. I prefer your video than Lgr don't know why but I prefer your video

That’s a Dell 0GRY5H adapter, for those who want one. Dell’s part numbers generally are prepended by “DP/N”

love the sound of that Chrysler tape....also, "if you didn't hear.....interest rates went up a little" lmao

Kevin, we have that same Dell PC running windows 7 on our school for some reason oh my😁😂😂

I saw this on ebay a couple years ago. I passed on it. I had a weird feeling it would turn into this kind of viral thing that's impossible to find. Oh well. At least now I'm glad I didn't have to buy one to find out what it's like.

Fascinating and mind blowing...Shame WCTC no longer is in c-quam am stereo

I remember those multi colored memorex tapes. My high school science teacher gave me my first Wes Montgomery album on one of those.

These PlusDeck's seem to be pretty capable and reliable things from what I've seen of them. Good stuff.

Dammit! I wish you had the unit that records! Then you could save files and programs to tape just like the VIC20! :) Fantastic video!

The song at 15:44 on the Chrysler tape is called "Vogue Craze" by Curtis Schwartz. It's from 1991. At first listen, it sounds like a Dub mix of Madonna's "Vogue", but it's a nice House demo song that they used to showcase ISI.

Interested, thanks!👍

This is awesome!

you making my mouth water lol! i do home studio and have lots of stand alone studios recorders, and also two 4 track cassette recorders. .i love what im seeing hear i can old school studio record and master than take to computer with this thank you for video.

That's awesome for Dolby decoding via software, and pretty accurate as well. I wonder if the new version does DBX, Dolby S HXPro ANRES/Super ANRES (JVC) and ADRES (Toshiba) Noise reduction profiles?

Since it just uses serial commands, i wonder if a simple program can be put together with existing libraries to do music search. Have it listen to the audio line for a signal and then issue the stop/play command when it detects silence. Being that this is hooked up to a computer it makes it a computer controlled tape deck and that can open up a lot of options i think. I'd love to find one of these with the record function.

Longtime fan, loved the video and all the things you taught me I didn't know before. I do have a question for you which is probably easily Googled, maybe you even have a video addressing it- but what's so special about Dolby noise reduction? What did Dolby bring to the table that didn't before exist? Is there a competitor standard for noise reduction or is their method the best? Thanks for the constant content and attention to detail!

That is SO cool! Everything was amazing! Only if I still had cassettes to dupe to digital! Damn. I still have a decent old deck that has B, C, And DBX NR. Don't use it much! LOL.

Wait... How did you know I've already seen LGR's video? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!!! Lol 😂🤣

I just got that same Dell PC as a refurb off Newegg, these are still very capable computers.

I wonder if Automated Ripping Machine supports this device

I Used to have one that looked just like this in 2k5, Now my 16 year old daughter has jumped from Vynil to Cassettes; I wish I still had this

Is it supposed to come with that bracket he has at 2:43? Mine didn't come with that or that white cable :( What should I do? What are these parts called? I'm pretty new to all this stuff

interesting aberration for 2022. DDi codec makes it worthwhile.

Amazing

I would have killed as a teen for our computer to have had a tape deck WITH recording function!

I'd love this software

If I had one of these, I would make a new PCB with a female pin header that slots directly into the drive, then breaks out the 9-pin serial header, to connect directly to a spare motherboard header, and a shielded CD Audio cable pin header for the line-out. :-) No slot bracket, no cable mess.

I saw the other videos about this device in my feed but didn't watch them, so this is my first time seeing how it works. Being a little bit into older audio tech (I have a mostly hand-me-down hi-fi setup) and also finding old computer hardware neat, I thought this would be pretty cool. But seeing that it requires you to use external cables to plug into the sound card is honestly disappointing. I have a turntable on my desk plugged into a pre-amp, and then into the line-in of an external USB soundcard. Besides the playback controls from the original software, nothing shown in this video couldn't be done by just plugging my tape deck into my sound card. The novelty of having a tape deck on the front panel of your computer is pretty cool no doubt, but I really wish it just used a normal PCI card or something to connect to the computer

Amazing!

I have one of these, I like it.

"Culture Club: Waking Up with the House on Fire," a worthy follow-up to the perennial favorite "Colour By Numbers." Great album. Saw them on tour when the album was released in '84 at the Hartford Civic Center. We had floor seats, which I had to stand on to see over the crowd. I was disappointed to see Helen Terry was no longer part of the group - man, can she belt out a tune! I still have my Plusdeck 2c. My main gripe was poor audio cable connections, and you're right that the built-in MP3 encoder is garbage. The "Aside Play" and "Bside Play" hover text were minor annoyances. I wanted Music Search functionality too, and thought it was odd that this unit didn't come with that ability since it had been industry standard for home and car audio for a long time.

I love cassette tapes!

This is VERY interesting

I wonder if you could use it to load spectrum zx48 games into emulator via the sound card?

hi sir, i like your video, where did you get the cassette player? I search in my country can't find it