Record "what you hear"

[Benway]

It seams in windows 7 I can no longer "record what you hear". I boot over to XP and I have this functionality (SoundBlaster Live!) but not in W7. I've searched through the myriad of dialog boxes and settings that I now have to go through, but find nothing. I hope this isn't more of MS's DRM watchdog approach to assuming everyone is a thief. I'm a musician and this really hampers my working environment.

Anyone run across this and any fixes? Any official word from MS?

-b

 

[jfar]

Hi Benway,have you tried,Start/All Programs/Accessories/Sound Recorder.

 

[happinessiseasy]

I have this same problem. Is there no way to record "What You Hear" or "Master Volume Balance" with another program?

I used to sequence MIDI in Cakewalk, and then start up Adobe Audition, hit record, and then play the MIDI file (thus converting it to a WAV file for manipulation).

Is the only way to do this through SoundRecorder now? If so... ugh.

 

[Benway]

Hi Benway,have you tried,Start/All Programs/Accessories/Sound Recorder.

Yeah, that only records about 60 seconds or so. The functionality that was/is in XP is no longer in Win7. I read in over at Sound Issues
it may be drivers provided by MS, so I'll look into that...

 

[jfar]

Ok,sorry it did not do as you thought it would.

 

[torrentg]

To do what you guys are doing, Sony Sound Forge 9.0e or Cool Edit Pro will work a treat.

Cakewalk should work well too. All depends on your hardware, how you've got it setup and which input you choose to record.

On my downstairs pc with onboard audio (as opposed to my main machine with MOTU Traveler), all I need to do is fire up Sound Forge, play anything I want to record like from a website, and record.

 

[7NaMeK7]

There is also a free program who do it very well, it's Audacity : Audacity: Free Audio Editor and Recorder

 

[happinessiseasy]

To do what you guys are doing, Sony Sound Forge 9.0e or Cool Edit Pro will work a treat.

Cakewalk should work well too. All depends on your hardware, how you've got it setup and which input you choose to record.

On my downstairs pc with onboard audio (as opposed to my main machine with MOTU Traveler), all I need to do is fire up Sound Forge, play anything I want to record like from a website, and record.

The problem is there is no device to record from. Windows has apparently gotten rid of the Master Balance as a recording device. I don't see it as an option, even in the Audio Mixer.

 

[noyb]

I can't get Audacity to record what I'm playing ... internally.

But using this adapter to wire line out > line in > speakers works ...
6-Inch Stereo Y-Adapter, 1/8" Jack to 1/8" Plugs - RadioShack.com

 

[happinessiseasy]

That way you can only record mono, and the quality degrades because you're converting from digital to analog, then back to digital again, and adding any line noise and interference the adapter and cords introduce.

There's no reason we should have to resort to such a workaround.

 

[noyb]

It's in Stereo .. That's a stereo cable.
Even in XP .. with the newer sound chips and drivers .. this wirearound is sometimes the only way to go.
It does look like W7 has removed some more good tools.

 

[happinessiseasy]

It's isn't stereo if your mic input is mono, though.

In XP, there was no issue with sound cards. If the sound card had a Wave Out, XP could use that device to record from as well. I'm pretty sure the sound card doesn't need a separate device on it.

Googling turned up an interesting thing to try, though (I'll have to wait til I get home to try this):

Step 1: Right click on the speaker icon. Now look for the Recording Devices and select it.

Step 2: Now right click and select the option Show Disabled Devices

Step 3: Select the Wave Out Mix device and Enable it. Click on Set as Default Device and open up the Audacity.

So you are done.Now enjoy recording whatever you like.

from Windows 7 Trick: How To Enable Recording in Windows Vista And Windows 7

Could it really be that easy??

 

[noyb]

Use line in .. not mic in.
Showing disabled devices worked in Vista .. But I can't find it in W7 ???
M$ sound mapper is also missing.

There's no reason we should have to resort to such a workaround.

it started in Vista .. looks like it's getting worse in W7

 

[happinessiseasy]

Use line in .. not mic in.

Good point.

Strange, though, that website specifically said Windows 7.. are you running Beta or RC? I'll try my luck when I get home.

 

[noyb]

RC 32 & 64 .. but only playing with 32 so far.

 

[happinessiseasy]

That splitter seems unnecessary.. just a cable from speaker to line in would do. Why are you running line-out INTO the speaker out?

 

[noyb]

Line Out >> Line In .. will work ...
But it helps to also hear what you're working with ... so you know when to Start/Stop recording.

I don't use Speaker Outs .. don't have any - and not needed with my amplified Bose.

 

[butscher]

I used a browser helper object called "Freecorder" to record "what I heard". I am not generally a fan of BHO's but this one has yet to cause problems for me. I used Sonar 8 to "dress up" my captures, but any audio editing software will do, including the freely available "Audacity"

Happy stream capturing

 

[chev65]

It's isn't stereo if your mic input is mono, though.

In XP, there was no issue with sound cards. If the sound card had a Wave Out, XP could use that device to record from as well. I'm pretty sure the sound card doesn't need a separate device on it.

Googling turned up an interesting thing to try, though (I'll have to wait til I get home to try this):


from Windows 7 Trick: How To Enable Recording in Windows Vista And Windows 7

Could it really be that easy??

This is the proper way to get all or your sound devices to show up so you can mix and record from them in Windows 7. Yes it's that easy.

 

[FTBoomer]

I did nothing other than load up Audacity and press record. It's that easy. When finished, hit export to MP3 (or whichever file type you choose). It really is that simple.

*edit: I did have to go into the Options of Audacity and change from Mono to Stereo recording. Also, I did nothing with the Recording options of Win7. Did not change andy of the "What you hear" settings.

Win7 RC1