HOW-TO record streaming audio on a PC
I thought I'd write up a HOW-TO so you all can record agf's show (or any other PC speaker output, for that matter) since I can't always do it at 2-4 AM here in the eastern US.
This is written for Windows 7. There are many audio chipset and operating system differences out there, so your experiences will certainly vary. I can't possibly address all the configuration permutations here. And, no doubt, there is a better way to do this -- there always is in computer land.
You can't mute the audio on the PC while doing this, so if you don't want to listen live, work on a computer where you can switch off the speaker power, or maybe plug in some headphones to silence the output.
Also, if you use Skype or other multimedia software you might have to reset its audio devices after we've changed things.
First you'll need some software to capture the audio and convert to your favorite format. I will use 'Easy MP3 Sound Recorder' in this tutorial. It's free and can be found here:
Free Easy MP3 Sound Recorder - CNET Download.com
It's very simple and works for me. But not all software works everywhere, so some alternatives include CDex v1.51, Audiograbber, and the Sound Recorder built into Windows.
So, download it and install. It's pretty old software, so if you get a 'divide by zero' error or somesuch the first time you run it in Windows 7, you'll need right-click on the program in the start menu, go to properties and set up XP compatibility mode in Windows 7 as shown in this screen shot:
Now set up the Windows 7 Recording and Playback devices. Right click the little speaker next to the clock and click on Recording devices. If you don't see an output device such as the Stereo Mix/SoundMAX thing I have (names vary by chip maker) right click on a device that does appear, and check the Show Devices options, as below. Right click the output device now that you see it, and make the output device the Default Communication Device.
Right click and select the properties on that device and set the Levels to around 10. Too high and the recording will be distorted.
Now set the output level for the Playback device. Something around 66% should be fine.
Now launch the Sound Recorder program and set it up as shown. The device names up top should match what you saw in the Windows settings you just configured. 96 bps (sic - should read Kbps!) is a good compromise for quality and size of the recording for mp3s.
Now launch your favorite streaming audio web site (
http://3wbc.org.au/) and click on Start Recording. Record 15 seconds or so, pause the web site audio, Stop the recording and play back the file you just recorded to see if it worked. It may take some trial and error with the Recording and Playback levels, or use alternative recording software, to get it right.
When all is good, start up the web site audio and Start Recording again and just let it run indefinitely to capture your target audio, then Stop recording when done.
This will create a large audio file. I use this to crop and split mp3 files as necessary.
Boilsoft Video Splitter
Good luck!
lined up
Its an absolute must for any record collection :rockon:
AKA House :cheer:
