We try to provide customer support for any item we sell. We don't feel it necessary to include articles on our site for the more common items such as modems and the various kinds of disk drives. Recently, however, we have sold the INport Deluxe from Xitel. This little unit is not what would be considered a common device. With that in mind, we began preparing this support page.
Originally, this was going to be a one page article. Well into the project, it was found to be getting to be a large file. In order to reduce download time and make specific information easier to find, it was decided to break the single page into four parts. With our prolific use of graphics, shorter articles will most definitely download faster. With a section for each program and one for device configuration, it will be quicker and easier to determine whether a specific problem has been addressed in this series. After some reader feedback, two more parts were added to this series, a FAQ and the Printing File Lists article.
See also:
The device itself is uncomplicated, small and shown here next to an optical mouse. Connect one end of the included audio cables with RCA jacks to a "lineout" on your audio/stereo amplifier or if your turntable has a built in pre-amplifier you can connect directly to it. The other end of this cable connects, of course to the RCA jacks on the INport. The other cable included in the package is an USB device cable much like those that are used on printers these days. This cable has a square end and a rectangular end. The squarest end plugs into the INport while the rectangular almost flat end plugs into any available USB port on your computer.
As soon as you have connected the INport to your computer, Windows will begin installing the necessary drivers without user intervention. Driver installation takes place in a matter of moments. In most cases, both Windows XP and Windows Vista recognize the INport without problem. Device attachment is the easy part now you need to adjust some settings in your Windows Control Panel.
The INport Deluxe manual covers the mentioned adjustments adequately for those who are familiar with computers. The technology impaired individual might find some extra help beneficial. Hopefully, observations we made during set up will help reduce any confusion. The manual gives the shorthand path description to the audio properties dialog as "Start > Control Panel > Sounds and Multimedia Properties > Audio Tab". The actual path will depend on your edition of Windows XP, the view you have chosen for the Control Panel and the behavior of the Control Panel selection on your Start Menu. For instance, with XP Home and the Category View of Control Panel the path you would take is "Start > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio Devices > Sound and Audio Devices > Audio Tab". With the Classic View Control Panel, the path loses a step becoming "Start > Control Panel > Sound and Audio Devices > Audio Tab". Whatever path you have to take, you want to end up with a device properties window similar to the one here. Your final destination, the Audio Tab, is indicated by arrow one.
Usually, you won't have to set the playback device, located just below arrow 1. It will be necessary to set the recording device at arrow 2. The INport/USB Audio Device selection will only be listed in the drop down box when your INport is actually plugged into your computer. When finished with this adjustment the combo box should show either "INport" or "USB Audio Device".
Arrow three indicates the check box for "preferred devices only" that was mentioned in the manual. If not checked clicking on this box will place a check mark in it. Clicking the box when already checked will remove the check mark. Remember to click the Apply button after making your changes then the OK button. The changes will take affect without a system restart.
The instructions for configuring the INport on a Vista system are on an separate Addendum sheet. This instruction sheet was added to the package in lieu of reprinting the manual. Take care that it doesn't get accidentally discarded with other packing material. The shorthand path given in the instructions "Start > Control Panel > Hardware and Sound" will get you to this screen except yours won't be as severely cropped as this. Here is where you click "Manage audio devices".
All of those steps when performed properly will bring you to this screen. Click the tab at the top labeled Recording. When you right click "Microphone INport", you will get a context menu. Click the "Disable" item on this menu. This particular item toggles between "disable" and "enable". This new context menu behavior which means that the next time you right click the "Microphone INport" item "enable" will be listed. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to right click an item to determine its status because disabled items will be listed as "Currently unavailable". Items that are enabled are listed as "Working".
The next step is to right click the "Line INport" item located on the same screen. This item needs to be enabled in order for the computer to receive the audio signals from your INport. Right click "Line INport" again. this time click "Set as Default Device" on the context menu. This menu item follows previous Windows versions in that there is a check mark next to the item when it is on/enabled. Also, default devices are indicated on the main screen by a check mark which makes it possible to determine device status without right clicking for the context menu. By the way, disconnecting the INport will automatically reset the default device to your sound card microphone. When ready to use the INport again just reconnect it and it will resume its roll as default device.
Right click "Line INport" once again and select properties on the context menu. When the properties dialog appears make sure that the default format is set to "2 channel, 16-bit, 44100 Hz(CD Quality)". If you intend to only playback on your computer then you can decide on a format based on whether you want the highest quality sound or want to save drive space. Next click the "Enhancements" tab at the top and on the resulting window check the check box labeled "Disable all". The manual's next step is the "Levels" tab and setting the Line slider to maximum. I found that this control gets reset by the recording program when adjusting volume levels for distortion free recording. Remember to click the Apply and OK buttons at the bottom of the screen when you have finished making the necessary changes.
The final step in configuration is done after clicking the "Playback" tab on the screen that you got when clicking "Manage Audio Devices". Here you right click on "Speakers INport" and select disable. I remembered to include the context menu and some labeled arrows in this screen shot. Arrow one indicates the "Playback" tab just mentioned. Arrow two serves double duty by indicating the "Speaker INport" selection that needs to be right clicked and the device status quick inspection info discussed previously. As you can see, the "Speaker INport" has already been disabled. Arrow three points at the default device indicator of the main screen. Arrow four shows the context menu entry enable/disable toggle. Since the "Speaker INport" has already been disabled the menu selection entry shows enable which when clicked changes to disable. Arrow five points out the check marks used to indicate the on status of features available on the context menu. Remember to click the Apply and OK buttons to finish the configuration task.
I suspect that any difficulties that crop up will be with the software included with the INport Deluxe. The CD included with the INport has three programs for you to install for use with the INport. They are LPRecorder, LPRipper, and Wave Corrector De-Click. Those with Windows XP can install all three from this CD. Those who have Windows Vista can install Wave Corrector De-Click from the CD. To get the other two programs you will need to use this link to Xitel's support site to download Vista updates of LPRecorder and LPRipper. Xitel provides these at no charge to customers that have just purchased an INport Deluxe. There are exceptions to this rule, all of which are listed on the Xitel site.
When you are ready to install these programs, keep the CD cover handy. You will need the number on this cover to complete installation. This number works for all three programs so if you hate typing you might want to highlight and copy the number on the first program you install to paste into the appropriate spots on the other two. This is assuming you install all three programs consecutively at one sitting, which is probably the best practice.
The process of transforming an LP Album into digital media requires three steps. You may well have guessed this from the number of programs on the CD. LPRecorder is used to record the album onto your hard drive. Wave Corrector De-Click is then used to remove the pops and clicks common to LP playback from the recording. LPRipper is then used to split the recorded file into individual songs, referred to as tracks by the manual. The manual covers the use of these programs fairly well but people new to the use of computers may need additional help There are minor differences between the Windows Vista and Windows XP versions of these programs. These will be pointed out during the coverage of the individual programs on this site. Although there is an Addendum for Vista it is only a single sheet, which doesn't cover everything.
The manual suggests creating a single directory to use for the outputs of these programs. I've found that it is less confusing if you create a directory for the output of each of the programs. A single directory can get cluttered rather quickly as each step adds more files to the directory. This becomes clearer with program use and hopefully in the individual program coverage of this web site. Here are links to the pages for the individual programs.
Update 11/11/2007 - After transferring several LP's to digital sound tracks, it was found that the confusion of a single output directory is offset by the increased convenience in housekeeping.
Microsoft, Microsoft Office, Windows, Windows XP and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. Other names have been included in the above text that are trademarks of the respective companies.
