I'm looking for a freeware (or real cheap shareware) virtual version of the digital recorder (an Olympus WS-210S) I have plugged into the phone on my desk.
I use this digital recorder to record telephone interviews. When I'm done the interview, I transfer the digital recording to my Mac. So I'm thinking: Why do I need the extra step? Why not just record straight to the Mac?
It's easy enough to do this with the right software. Now, I've got Audacity loaded up on my machine and it's fabulous for a lot of audio jobs but it's too much software for the simple job of recording a telphone call that can last 5 to 20 minutes.
And more importantly, when I'm talking to someone I like to note “timecode” so I can quickly come back and identify key clips. I do this on my Olympus. When someone sends something quotable, I note the 'runtime' code on the Olympus recorder so that I can quickly come back to it or, if I'm e-mailing the digital file to a colleague, I can tell them that so-and-so said something about such-and-such a subject at a particular time in the interview. You can note the time in Audacity but you have to be in a micro-close up view of the track you're recording and, well, let's just say it's kind of clunky to figure out and takes too long to set up.
The other beef with Audacity is that records in its own very bulky “.aup” format which means once you're done you've got go through the extra step of exporting as .wav or .mp3 files if you want to ship them around the office, archive them, or publish them on the Web.
I've been through Audio HiJack Pro, RecordPad (which was close to perfect in terms of the feature set but at US$40 is way too pricey), RecOSX and some others but they're not much of an improvement over Audacity's price or feature set.
So here's what I'm looking for in this little package:
- Records “line-in” audio on Mac Intel machines
- Has a “timer” while recording
- Records in some compressed format (.mp3 preferably but .wav or .ogg)
- Is free
Alternately – maybe you know of a plug-in for Audacity that puts a little timer window up front and centre while you're recording.
I might be missing something but wouldn't Garage Band do the job?
Garage Band's got the same issues as Audacity: You've got “create a new project”; then export; and figure out time-code is clunky. And, unlike Audacity, GarageBand can take a long time to load (long being something like 15 seconds or great). I'm looking for a quick, snappy app that does one tiny task well.
David:
I am not sure what you are trying to do, but it sounds like an iTalk might do the trick. It's an accessory for your iPod that allows you to record like a dictaphone. You can then transfer the recording onto your computer using iTunes. It's not free but its pretty cheap if you already own an iPod.
d
Would this be helpful?
http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/
I'm a total techno-klutz (that's why I'm on a Mac!) but my resident helper downloaded WireTap Pro for me because I wanted to record from radio/TV (audio) onto my computer.
If memory serves, it was initially freeware, and I then bought the application at a very reasonable price – but I don't remember for how much.
Good luck.
I've had bar tabs that were $40 dollars.
Given that you've probably spent a few hours already looking at various options, you've probably already wasted more that $40 of your time.
If it's something you're going to be using daily/weekly for a decent period of time just shell out the cash and be done with it.
What about SkypeCap? http://www.skypecap.com/Downloads