Hands on: Tune in to internet radio

Microsoft may have been late to the internet radio party with WMA, but it has managed to drum up a lot of support from commercial stations. One of the reasons for this was that when the WMA codec first appeared it was able to achieve very good results when working at rates of just 64Kbits/sec.

Another format that’s gaining ground at the moment is Ogg Vorbis. It has the benefit of being completely open source. Sometimes Ogg radio streams are known as Icecast streams, because that’s the name of an open-source streaming server often used to build Ogg stations.

However, the Icecast server can also be used to stream audio in the Shoutcast/MP3 format.

Home taping
One of the things people often complain about with internet radio is that there’s no obvious way to record the streams.

It seems odd, as you can record analogue radio to tape, MP3 or Minidisc, and some DAB receivers, such as the Bug Too from Pure Digital, have an onboard Electronic Programming Guide (EPG) and a memory card slot so you can automatically record shows to SD cards.

It’s true that the media players most of us use to listen to internet radio, such as Windows Media Player, iTunes and Winamp, don’t offer any recording features, but there are several tools available on the internet that allow you to save radio shows to your hard drive.

Station Ripper is a good example. Not only does it let you record streams to your drive, but it will even split up the streams into individual songs tagged with artist, song title and album name, if the station transmits this data.

Another option is Screamer Radio. It’s a free application that lets you record Shoutcast and Ogg Vorbis streams direct to disc in their native formats, and it can also be used to re-e ncode WMA and AAC radio streamers into MP3 or Ogg Vorbis format.

The problem with these tools, however, is that they don’t work with Real Audio. If you want to be able to record Real Audio streams, such as those used by the BBC, then you’ll need to use a tool like Total Recorder, Freecorder or AV Recorder.

These programs work by tapping into the audio stream before it reaches your soundcard and then recording the raw data to your hard drive. Total Recorder can be set up to automatically record shows when you’re out. Mac users can use iRecordmusic to do the same job.

Vista copy protection
However, Microsoft has changed the audio subsystem in Windows Vista to make it harder for programs such as Total Recorder and Replay A/V to work their magic. It has taken away the ability to rip the digital audio stream before it reaches your soundcard.

However, depending on your soundcard’s drivers you may be able to work around the problem. To check whether your soundcard has suitable drivers open the Windows Vista Control Panel and then switch to Classic View.

Go to Sound and then select the Recording tab. If something like Stereo Mix, Wave-out Mix, or What U Hear is listed then you’re in the clear and you’ll be able to record radio streams.

If none of these options is listed then there is another option to try. Right-click in a blank area of the Recording tab window and select Show Disabled Devices from the pop-up menu.

If something like Stereo Mix, Wave-out Mix, or What U Hear now appears, right-click on it and select Enable. Once it’s enabled you have to make it the default recording device.

First highlight it and then click the Set Default button or right-click on it and select Set As Default. Just make sure that you select this output as the recording option in the preferences screen of your chosen recording software and you’ll be able to record your favourite shows to disc.