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Gizmo's Freeware is Recruiting
We are looking for people with skills or interest in the following:
- Mobile Platform Reviews
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- Streaming Media Recorder
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Best Free Streaming Media Recorder
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Introduction
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Sick of just watching streamed videos and audio tracks, and not being able to save them? So are many others, and this demand has given rise to nearly a dozen utilities that will record them to your PC. While it is possible to record streaming media, you need to be very aware that a lot of streamed content is copyrighted and that recording such content may violate the copyright laws of your country. So, in advising you about products that record streaming media I am assuming you only want to record non-copyright material. Right? The bad news is that the best recording utilities in this category are shareware not freeware. That is because the websites of most of the better free programs like StreamBox VCR and GetASFStream have been 'chased off' the web by copyright owners and their lawyers. You can still occasionally locate the aforementioned software on obscure download sites, but none of them are stable enough to warrant listing here. A better option for most users is to use a free web service to record the streaming media, and if that fails, simply record the streaming media while it is playing on your PC. |
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Discussion
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If you just want to do something simple like record a YouTube video, then sites like ZamZar, SplanDoo and YouConvertIt will do the job for you. Just fill in the address of the stream and select the format you want and you are finished. Depending on which site you've chosen, either a download link will be emailed to you or you will be able to download the captured file directly from the site. Unfortunately, this simple approach will not work for many streams. In this situation I suggest you simply play the media stream on your PC and record what is happening on the screen and coming out of your speakers. Sure, there is some loss of quality, but the great advantage of this approach is that it completely bypasses the whole question of DRM protection: if you can play it on your PC then you can record it from your PC. And you can record it in a form that is free of any protection and can therefore, be replayed through any device that supports the appropriate file format.
In comparison, to other streaming media recorders in this category, Krut delivers almost the same good quality as Jing and further shines at recording streams, almost without interruptions, which usually come in the form of short time delays measured in milliseconds.
Recording quality is average and it too has issues with certain video and sound cards, but the good thing about it is that it can save files in both .swf and the more popular .avi format. Also, CamStudio gives you an option of recording outputs with or without an audio stream.
Other interesting features are: image capturing; ability to manually select recording area on your screen; and playing created videos in its own video player. Jing is also the only application which automatically saves your recordings to vendor's servers and creates links for public viewing - which is a splendid feature. Unfortunately, Jing saves videos in .swf format only and the free version records for a maximum of 5 minutes.
It is basically an entire video editing application which, beside recording, can also edit videos in many ways including: applying watermarks; text; and even adjusting video colors. Further advantages of Debut are scheduler, image capturing and saving video in the most popular video formats such as .avi and .mp4.
In fact there are several free and shareware programs designed specifically for this task, but my favorite way of doing this is to use the record option which is available in the Audacity audio editor. By using Audacity, you can not only record streaming audio but edit it as well.
All these solutions bypass the format problems and DRM protection issues. They don't; however, bypass the legal issues. I am not going to preach to you on this matter; instead I trust in your good judgement. |
Of all applications in this category 
Just as you can record streaming videos playing on your PC, you can also record audio streams playing through your PC speakers.|
http://www.zamzar.com/url/ http://splandoo.com/ http://youconvertit.com/OnlineVideo.aspx |
Additional requirements: Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0, online registration
Codecs included
For earlier Windows versions see vendor's homepage
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Editor
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This software category is in need of an editor. If you would like to give something back to the freeware community by taking it over, check out this page for more details. You can then contact us from that page or by clicking here |
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Tags
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| free media recorder, streaming media recorder, record stream media free, best free media recorder, top free media recorder, best free streaming media recorder, top free streaming media recorder. |
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Comments
There are many softwares i would like to recommend as there are only a few softwares which are present here. All the softwares which i am recommeding here are the softwares which are easy to install, compatible ,user friendly and free to download. The list is as follows:
Any video recorder
[Moderator's note: Commercial program names edited out. Undesired program suggestion edited out. Unnecessary comment about the review edited out. Money making suggestion edited out.]
I've been using Free Hi-Q Recorder for some time now. It's very easy to use. Virus Total scores it with a 1/46. I also used Malwarebytes to scan it and it found nothing.
It has a paid version, but I'm happy with the free version. Records any sound that you can hear through your speakers.
It won't auto tag your recordings, but I don't know of any that will except for one that is not free and it has a 3/43 score re Virus Total. Hope this helps.
PS This is an audio only recorder.
For ordinary use, it might be OK, but I should point out that the free version does not record audio at higher bit rates, of CD quality or more, which is a drawback, if one wants to record sound at a higher bitrate, which will ensure a high quality.
Audacity is available for Windows®, Mac®, GNU/Linux® and other operating systems.
Can Streaming Video Recorder record these RTE Videos?...
http://www.radiofones.com/no-save-rte-video-.jpg
from here...
http://www.rte.ie/tv/meaningoflife/player.html
Other than screen capture, is itpossible?
Streaming video - I'm deeply chuffed to report that that free version of VSO Downloader is fully working again. Great news, it's definitely the best at what it does imo.
Streaming audio - While looking for an alternative to (the temporarily non-working) VSO, I came across a rather neat freeware toolbox called "aTube Catcher", and have to say I'm rather impressed. For starters it can record streaming audio on both my W7 x64 Acer and my x86 desktop. Very easy - in the 'audio recorder' tab just tick the 'capture audio from speakers' box, and off you go.
You're stuck with the app's own recorder, you can't re-route it into anything else, and if your rig is under stress at all then you'll end up with a stuttery recording. Also you can't check the result until the recording ends, as it has no direct monitoring. Still, it's not bad at a pinch and so far is the best (only) free solution I've found to this Windows 7 issue. There is one called Jack, which in combination with ASIO4ALL looked quite promising, but I couldn't get it to work for me sadly. I'm not even sure if it would do what I wanted.
There are several good commercial apps that will do this and a whole lot more, and not too pricey, but I'll say no more about that as I'm on a freeware site.
As well as the audio capture, aTube has tools for video and mp3 search/download, video/audio convertors, rippers and burners, a screen recorder that seems to work very well, streaming video capture, and some neat tools dedicated to Youtube. One that I like a lot is a tool to download all the videos from a user's channel. Great stuff for the incurable collector. All in all a pretty impressive collection.
Edit - (@Johnno) I just popped over to NCH to check out SoundTap, but like a lot of NCH's great software it's no longer free.)
A word of caution from Softpedia for aTube Catcher:
Users are advised to pay attention while installing this ad-supported application:
· Offers to change the homepage for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to change the default search engine for web browsers installed in the system
· Offers to download or install software or components (such as browser toolbars) that the program does not require to fully function.
My personal experience: on install, aTube Catcher did not offer to install any additional apps or modify any system settings.
Sorry, but your last sentence is incorrect. Despite having this towards the beginning of their EULA...
"THIS SOFTWARE IS DISTRIBUTED FREE AND CLEAN OF ANY KIND OF HARMFUL/UNWANTED SOFTWARE".
.. a little further on you see this...
The installer may suggest you the installation of the aTube Toolbar branded by Ask and denominated here and after as "the offer". By clicking "Next" you allow to run a software checker that will connect to the internet to verify wether this offer is available for you or not but WITHOUT INSTALLING IT. You shall read each setup page in order to accept or decline the installation of the offer".
...and then this...
"B. OpenCandy End User License Agreement (EULA)" :)
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/controversial-advertising-progra...
The moment you run the installer it connects to the internet and then tries to "communicate" with various Windows component services and every installed program that you have.
Especially with this type of media software, users should assume that everything "free" has some sort of hidden "catch" attached.
Maybe I should have made my last statement somewhat more explicit :)
Well, I installed the app inside Sandboxie. During the process I did not see any messages offering to install additional software or change something in my system settings. Of course it does not imply that aTube Catcher is adware/spyware free. On the contrary, I believe it is not, as some programs install badware without explicit user consent.
You are correct, and illustrate a prime example of why Sandboxie is such a good program. I personally prefer to surf unfettered and use ToolWiz Time Freeze to test out new programs. Even without a sandbox however there could be other reasons why nothing "extra" is offered during the install process including the "offered" programs already being installed, or an automated firewall block for the original connection.
For new readers to this very useful page, Audacity was the bees knees [despite being a long haul to get your head round initially] for Streaming AUDIO, if you run it on XP.
On Win7 it does not, and will not, record streaming audio. I have finally resigned myself to having a seperate PC [my old single core one] which I use purely for Audacity! A complete pain.
I tried them all (again). All of them were useless.
Audio records fine in many cases but no video.
"Jing videos are limited to 5 minutes for instant, focused communication."
So, it not a choose.
Sadly Audacity won't record Streams with Windows 7.
Worked a treat with XP. Spent days faffing with settings, lots of people report this problem.
Any one who has found a reliable solution, love to hear about it!
richjenn13
I've not tried this myself yet. Well, I did as far as the "I still don't see it" step and I don't need it enough right now to chase down old drivers.
Let us know how you get on though.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/39532/how-to-enable-stereo-mix-in-windows...
I'm in the same boat. I looked at the site too before coming here, but my sound card on a brand new computer with an 8 core processor doesn't support Stereo Mix and I don't want to start on old drivers either. Does anyone know of a freeware sound recording app that includes a virtual sound card--other than Freecorder--I would rather pay than jump thru all those hoops mentioned earlier.
BTW, while looking around the wondershare site I found a free Youtube recorder that actually works. I don't know what Youtube has done lately but the two apps that used to work, iWisoft and the Download Helper Firefox extension, don't anymore. I even tried the beta tool included with JetAudio with no luck. Actually, iWisoft works, it downloads the right file size but the length is listed as 0 seconds. Anyway, Wondershare's downloader works if you use the url copy and paste method--the Download button didn't work for me. It also includes native playback, just be sure, when installing, to uncheck the toolbar and some kind of facebook app. It's a bit different in that the option to decline the optional installs don't come til the end of the installation process. I don't know if there is anything dodgy about it, since I just installed it and used it once to retrieve a home video I had uploaded to YouTube. I'll post back if I find anything.
After researching this some more I've found out that we should be looking at a hardware/firmware solution instead of software. If you read the How to Geek instructions linked to above and find yourself at the point where there is no "stereo mix" (or similar wording) option because your Windows 7 sound card does not support it, you can work around it with a couple of cables. Get a 3.5 mm cable--shortest you can find--with male connectors on both ends. Then plug one end into your computer's speaker jack and the other into your computer's line in jack. On my sound card I then had to enable the line in device, but after that was able to use JetAudio's recorder and was actually able to use the Download Helper Firefox extension to download a Youtube vid--your mileage may vary. I haven't tried Audacity yet but it should work as well. This is much better, IMO, than looking for old drivers. You're giving yourself the ability to record off your speakers, which is what the "stereo mix" does when available.
Also, in order to listen to your speakers while recording, you'll need a Speaker and Headphone Splitter--plug it into the computer's speaker jack first, then one side goes to line in, while the other goes to your speakers.
This won't work for you if you're using HDMI to connect to your monitor, because both audio and video is handled through your graphics card (as I understand it), so your sound card is being bypassed. That I have no idea how to fix, but the cables should help if you use DVI and/or VGA connections.
A couple of comments...
First, @ AJNorth; Endless thanks for the link to 'Radio Downloader', absolutely brilliant!
Like you I've looked for ages, for a way to record iPlayer stuff. And only yesterday (after an unsuccessful experiment with 'iPlayer Desktop', hmm) I was pretty much resigned to either doing it the fiddly way (line-out to line-in and recording it in real-time... far from ideal), or using the nightmarish 'Freecorder Toolbar'. But Radio Downloader as you say, works a treat. Great stuff, thank you very much.
I've just tried out TubeMaster (thanks for the suggestion, Bear Bottoms).
But I found that if you close the window you're downloading the vid from, then Tubemaster stops downloading.I really like TubeMaster's MP3/Video search capabilities. It's worth keeping just for those.
I just reinstalled Freecorder from Applian Technologies because the several Gizmo's excellent-sounding programs to capture streaming audio didn't work for me. Several couldn't find a recording device on my Windows Vista laptop or didn't appear to be able to do sound only. I appreciate the effort there, too. Then I went searching and installed a couple likely candidates and they couldn't find the recording device. Several suggested checking/updating device drivers, which I did to no effect.
I tried 'Radio Downloader' but it doesn't seem to record streaming audio. It requires care during installation to avoid undesirable add-ons.
Anyway, I went back to Freecorder despite the fact that you also have to be very careful when installing to not check or accept any of the many undesirable add-ons. I had accidentally deleted it awhile back and a reinstallation of a newer version included some side-effects I presume were due to a failure to watch what was happening during the installation. This time it doesn't seem to have caused the same problems, yet. AND it does do a nice simple job of recording any streaming audio. It does put a tool bar on browsers, but I only allow it on one that I seldom use and the slight reduction of viewing is therefore less of a problem.
This posting is to cast a vote for Freecorder from Applian Technology for recording streaming audio. I've used the earlier version for two years.
I've got tubemaster running, but every time I press save, nothing saves. and when I try to convert, there's always an error, no matter what format I choose. I'm desperate to have this video ready in a few hours, I spent all day yesterday trying to figure it out.
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing this with us sicknero. Useful contribution!
Why is Jing included in this list (except perhaps in a footnote about payware)? Aren't these contradictory claims about Jing: "Unrestricted freeware" <-> "free version records only 5 minutes"?
Jing and the now defunct Jing Pro (a.k.a. paid version) were always limited to five minutes record time. Techsmith is now pushing Snagit as a Jing Pro replacement of sorts although it's been around for a while. Existing Jing Pro licenses were converted to free Jing licenses (arguably, the paid version did not get one significant bennies). Rather than being time-limited, Snagit has a 1GB AVI file size limit.
Monk
Why do I get this when trying to install Jing ?
avast has finished analysis of the program
We did not find enough evidence etc.....
However you should still use extreme caution when accessing it.
Please consult your antivirus help file to understand what a reputation warning means because not all vendors use the same criteria.
Those are all screen capture programs, no? I'm looking for a capture software that records streaming live videos not via PC screen but via URL directly. Is there no such freeware?
I think StreamTransport mentioned in a comment below can do that.
Do you want to download streaming videos, or videos on sites like YouTube, Vimeo?
Anupam, I just checked StreamTransport page. It says:
"Capture URL automatically
The URL of any video clip that is playing will be auto-captured and listed out for your convenience, and you can download it with one click or just ignore it. There is no bother to add URL manually."
Is it similar to Flash Video Downloader from flashvideodownloader.org? If so, it might not meet my demand. I have been using it; surely it can capture vids via URL, but cannot streaming live vids.
Thanks for the info! I will check it.
I'd like to download streaming vids, not already-archived ones. Probably as you know, some of live broadcasters at Usteream, Youtube, Justin and so on do not create archive somehow. Thus I'd like to capture streaming contents in real time.
OK. Well, I have no experience with downloading live videos, so can't help you there. I hope StreamTransport is able to do the job for you.