Recording from TVs, audio tapes, or videotapes works the same as recording from an album. Why would you want to? Well, perhaps you want an MP3 file of that hot new band playing on The Late Show with David Letterman in the wee hours.

Or maybe you videotaped a Hawaiian luau last summer, complete with firewalkers and mystic drumbeats. (You would be surprised at the sound quality from today's DV camcorders.)

Here's how to copy those sounds to your hard drive (where you can clean them up and convert them to MP3 files):

1. Connect the sound source's output cables to your sound card.

Basically, you connect the Output cables of your sound source to your sound card's 1/8-inch Line In jack. Table 1 shows the required cables.

Remember that everything plugs into the sound card's Line In jack except a microphone. Microphones must plug into the sound card's Mic jack.

2. Adjust your recording level.

Your recording program will have a recording monitor display, which flashes according to the incoming volume levels.

Start playing your album and watch the monitor. If it flashes too close to the right end (or the red), turn down the volume going into the sound card, or use the sound card's mixer program to turn down the incoming sound.

If the level's too high, it will distort; if it's too low, you'll hear background noise. Take your time to find the right level before recording. Be patient.

3. Start the recording software.

Begin recording using Adobe Audition, Roxio Capture, or another recording-and-editing package.

Make sure that you begin recording before your sound begins playing. You can always edit out any unwanted garbage later, but if the ukulele starts playing before you push the recording software's Record button, you'll need to start over.

4. Click the Stop button when you're finished.

Grabbed the sound? Hit the Stop button on the recording software; then stop the sound source. It's now time to clean up the sound..

Just because you can grab a TV performance off the air doesn't mean you own it. The same goes for a band playing at a local street fair. You can keep the soundtrack for your own personal use, but don't give it away or sell it, or you might be violating copyrights.

Table 1: Cables for Connecting a Device to a Sound Card