recording radio off the internet

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Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
A friend of mine needs to record a radio programme off the internet, and I remembered someone recommending a freely downloadable program to do this, a couple of months ago?... Someone's told her about Freecorder, which might work fine for her, but this was another one, and it was also an audio editing program. Anyone know what I'm talking about and have a link? I downloaded it to my laptop, but that's at home, so I can't look it up...
 

NickM

Veteran
I use Total Recorder. I have found it perfectly satisfactory, but it costs about 9 quid.
 
OP
OP
Arch

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
BJB said:
Why not put the microphone from a tape recorder next to the speaker and record it that way? ;)

That would assume she has a taperecorder and a microphone.. I do have a tape recorder, but no mike...
 

NickM

Veteran
Crackle said:
Will it record the BBC and can you schedule it to do so?
Well, it says "It also has a built-in scheduler that allows for the scheduling of automated recordings". But I record Radio 4 programmes via Listen Again, so I don't use the timer. If I'm recording Radio 3 for keeps, I use the digital out from a DAB tuner straight into Cool Edit* in order to maximise the bit rate.


*now called Adobe Audition, and rather expensive - but for about £23 Goldwave can do many of the things it does, including timed recording
 

GaryA

Subversive Sage
Location
High Shields
So how does internet radio compare in quality to Analogue FM or DAB?
Even my 20-years-of-motorcycling ears can detect a huge drop in quality with DAB ;)
Oh and what about radio through the freeview box via the hi-fi speakers?...it def sounds better than DAB...whats the difference in bit-rate?
 
NickM said:
Well, it says "It also has a built-in scheduler that allows for the scheduling of automated recordings". But I record Radio 4 programmes via Listen Again, so I don't use the timer. If I'm recording Radio 3 for keeps, I use the digital out from a DAB tuner straight into Cool Edit in order to maximise the bit rate.

Ah Right! I didn't know you could record via listen again. I've got Cool Edit, used to use it to record and rip vinyls, good programme, so good Adobe bought it out.

Edit: Didn't see your edit then
 
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Arch

Arch

Married to Night Train
Location
Salford, UK
NickM said:
The resulting quality would be dire (which may not be important if it is a speech-only programme).

It is, but from Radio Orkney, so sometimes you need to listen carefully to get through the accent.

No one remember that free download then?
 

NickM

Veteran
Crackle said:
Ah Right! I didn't know you could record via listen again.
Well, you can if you've got Total Recorder - Cool Edit won't record streamed audio. The main function of Total Recorder is to grab the streaming signal from your computer's sound card.

Crackle said:
I've got Cool Edit, used to use it to record and rip vinyls, good programme, so good Adobe bought it out.
Yes, it's really excellent - particularly the filters and vinyl restoration tools, once you've got to grips with using them, and the multitrack studio...
 

rob_mcp

New Member
But that was how we had to do it - radio, microphone, mono cassette recorder, and it was so anoying when the dj talked over the record - even for a 12 year old
 

NickM

Veteran
Gary Askwith said:
So how does internet radio compare in quality to Analogue FM or DAB?
Even my 20-years-of-motorcycling ears can detect a huge drop in quality with DAB ;)
Oh and what about radio through the freeview box via the hi-fi speakers?...it def sounds better than DAB...whats the difference in bit-rate?
It all depends on the bit rate. I agree that most DAB sound is not up to good FM quality, but Radio 3 at 192kbps I find perfectly acceptable, and better than FM in some ways, given that I seem to be in a poor location for FM reception.

Listen Again bit rate varies considerably, but according to Total Recorder the best it's likely to be is ~85kbps - OK for speech, but not good enough for music.

Two years ago the BBC's Jenny Abramski (spawn of Satan) decided that 160kbps was good enough for live Proms broadcasts on R3 - it wasn't, and despite adopting the usual BBC management attitude of "We know better than the mere listeners" on the Feedback programme, she eventually had to back down.

The most annoying thing about the whole episode was that they nicked the crucial 32kbps off R3 in order to use it for a looped trailer on R5 Extra :ohmy:

I believe that you can get 256kbps or even more for R3 via Freeview, but I don't have a TV licence.
 
NickM said:
Well, you can if you've got Total Recorder - Cool Edit won't record streamed audio. The main function of Total Recorder is to grab the streaming signal from your computer's sound card.

Oh I see: I misunderstood you. No that makes sense then. I was looking for such a program a while ago so that I could record and put it on my MP3 for car journeys - I don't remember seeing a free one, though a few offered free, limited, trials. Might get Total Recorder then and give it a whirl.

I stopped ripping my vinyls in the end, apart from one's I couldn't get on CD as it was such a time consuming process. OK for odd tracks and albums but not worth it for albums I could readily get on CD 2nd hand off e-bay.
 

NickM

Veteran
Crackle said:
...I stopped ripping my vinyls in the end, apart from one's I couldn't get on CD as it was such a time consuming process. OK for odd tracks and albums but not worth it for albums I could readily get on CD 2nd hand off e-bay.
I agree; but for some really precious things that hadn't ever been issued on CD I was willing to spend hours de-clicking, filtering, patching with bits from a second copy...

The record companies have an irritating habit of issuing the CD version a week after my masterpiece of remastering is complete!
 
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