Recording from radio
Thu, Apr 14 2011, 1:40PM
Firstly, apologies if this topic has been discussed before, but I'd welcome advice on how best to make decent recordings of radio transmissions (mainly live concerts and opera). For some years I used a Yamaha HDR 1300 which was 'fed' from the output of a Sky box and which perfectly suited my needs - audio quality, timer recording, editing and burning onto CDs gave me all I wanted.
Unfortunately, the CD reader/burner has given up the ghost, and although the hard disc is still fine, it's almost full, I need the space and have nowhere to transfer the hard-disc's contents.
Over the last few months, I've been using a Pure DAB and recording broadcasts onto the SD card facility, but transferring this onto my laptop, editing (cutting out announcements, intervals etc) and burning onto CD is somewhat laborious and I'm not terrifically confident in the resulting audio quality.
Another route I've recently tried is recording to my Sony Hard Drive/DVD recorder - used for TV recording - and copying to DVD. Again, however, I'm not sure about the quality of the audio output into my Musical Fidelity amp (though I've not done any critical listening tests yet). And, of course, it's not possible to play the discs on my main CD player, a Marantz.
So that long-winded background is what lies behind the following questions:
1) Is there any device out there which can record lengthy radio broadcasts at high quality in a similar way to the Yamaha?
2) If not, what's the best way of achieving this so that they can be transferred to CD?
Very grateful for any advice anyone may have.
JKH
Mon, Apr 25 2011, 10:10AM
#2
RE: Recording from radio
I use BBC iPlayer (at 320 kbps if it's available) and Total Recorder at http://www.totalrecorder.com to capture the output to hard disk. It allows you to schedule recording or use a timer. Then any decent editor (I use Wave Repair but that's a bit ancient these days - most CD burners like Nero come with a suitable editor) to get rid of announcements etc. before burning the CD. As my audio kit's bust at the moment (see my other post) I can't comment about quality, though.
Wed, Jun 22 2011, 2:04AM
#3
RE: Recording from radio
I get very good results recording from the line output of my Magnum Dynalab tuner directly to a 24 bit sound card on my PC. Yes it takes a little effort to edit the files but the quality of my public radio station is spectacular and well worth it. I edit with share ware Rip Edit Burn. With a 64 bit version of Windows 7 and a quad processor I can manage large files, 90 minutes in length.
Wed, Jul 6 2011, 5:08PM
#4
RE: Recording from radio
When I`m not in, I will pre-set and record my radio programmes onto my Sky box and then onto DVD via my DVD Recorder/Player for later listening. This I must add I do with very little in the way of editing. I prefer to isten to the programme as it comes across. I also have a DVD player connected to my Hi-Fi amplifier so as to play these recordings. When finished, and unless I want to keep it, I erase the contents of the DVD. The only problem I have is one of volume. For some unknown reason I find that when listening to BBC Radio 3 programmes the volume level is much lower than that of Classic FM. I have adjusted the sound on the TV settings but the music always seems as if the performers are in the next room, whereas Classic FM is comfortable to listen to, with the sound volume much clearer. The BBC have told me that this should not be the case. I wished I could solve the problem.
Sun, Jul 10 2011, 12:54PM
#5
RE: Recording from radio
I use a similar DVD/HDD recorder to yours - a Panasonic in my case, and output the audio, using a long optical cable, to a dedicated DAC which inputs to the amplifier. The cheapest decent one would be a Cambridge DACmagic I suppose, or an amplifier with a built-in DAC. As the radio recording on these machines is so simple and effective it seems a shame to use a different route.
Of course many radio broadcasts (esp Radio 3) are now available as podcasts for months after the initial broadcast.
Mon, Oct 10 2011, 8:28PM
#6
RE: Recording from radio
A very belated thank you to everyone who kindly replied. In fact, my current 'solution' is a combination of almost everything suggested, in that I eventually acquired a nearly new Yamaha recorder, have been recording broadcasts on my Sony PVR, and downloaded Total Recorder and the Radio Downloader programmes!
All bases are therefore covered, but having tried all the above combinations, the simplest route is in fact to use the Radio Downloader programme which is an extremely impressive programme indeed. I have downloaded all sorts of material, including plays, documentaries etc, and quite a few concerts.
The only difficulty with the latter is that, in contrast to the live HD transmissions at 320kb, the iPlayer uses a much lower 192kb bit-rate where the reduction in quality becomes quite noticeable on performances featuring larger forces - opera in particular.
Does anyone know if there are any plans for the BBC to up the bit-rate on the iPlayer to match that of the live HD transmissions?
JKH
Instead of recording I download the programme using Radio Downloader. It allows you to download radio programmes made available via the BBC iPlayer. The bitrate of the download depends on the target bitrate you set. I set mine at 320 kbps then it will fetch the stream closest to the target bitrate. The URL is:
http://www.nerdoftheherd.com/tools/radiodld/