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WM Recorder 9.0 User Guide

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Basic Topics

Overview
Requirements
About Recording Windows Media Streams
First Time Setup
Browse Mode vs. URL Mode
How to Record Using Your Browser
How to Change the Folder for Recorded Files
How to Record Using a Known URL
Playing Recordings

Advanced Topics

Recording Other Streaming Media Types (MP3, mpeg, avi)
Playing Saved URLs
Recording a Playlist
Settings Reference
Recording Multiple Streams at the Same Time
Stream Info
Splitting and Merging Files
Fixing Connection Problems
Making a Recorded File Seekable
File Sizes

Overview

WM Recorder is a revolutionary new way to record Windows Media™ video and audio streams. You can save your recordings as files on your PC, or transfer them to a portable device like a Pocket PC for playback later. Best of all, WM Recorder is extremely easy to use!

Here are some of the benefits:

  • Records both video and audio.
  • Browse Mode makes it easy to record.
  • URL Mode lets you manually enter a specific URL, and record it at the highest quality, even on slow connections.
  • Includes advanced features like file reprocessing and automatic connection speed detection.
  • Multiple streams can be recorded at once.

Important: WM Recorder is intended for use as a personal archiving tool only. Please respect the rights of the copyright holders of any material you record.


Requirements

WM Recorder requires Windows Media Player 6.4 (NetShow) and/or Windows Media Player 7 or higher.

Supported Windows versions are 98, ME, XP, and 2000. Internet Explorer is the preferred browser but other browsers can also be utilized provided they have the Windows Media Player plugin.


About Recording Windows Media Streams

WM Recorder works by watching internet activity relating to Window Media Player, and assembling the streamed data as an ASF file, which can then be played using Windows Media Player on your PC or many portable devices. Other non-asf media files as MP3, MPEG, AVI or WAV can also be recorded.

WM Recorder can record almost any Windows Media Stream. WM Recorder can NOT record:

  • Content protected by Digital Rights Management (DRM).
  • Real Player streams.

Currently, WM Recorder cannot convert to other file formats besides ASF, although this may be added to future releases. There are some publicly available programs which will make MP3 files or other formats from recorded ASF data.

First Time Setup

When you install WM Recorder the first time, some settings in Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer are changed automatically. These are temporary changes, and only take effect when WM Recorder is running.

In addition, you will be asked if your PC is a network proxy for other PCs. Choose this option if this is the case so that your network operation is not disrupted.

Browse Mode vs. URL Mode

WM Recorder operates in two modes: Browse Mode and URL Mode.

Browse Mode is the default, and is automatically in effect when you start WM Recorder. Recording is done simply by browsing to the media clip you want to record, and clicking the Record button.

URL Mode allows you to enter a URL into WM Recorder to start a recording. This allows you to make multiple recordings at the same time, or to record at the highest quality on a slow connection.

Note: You can make URL Mode the default by opening Settings, and checking URL Mode only.

How to Record Using Your Browser

Recording in Browse Mode is the easiest way to make a recording. Here's how to do it:

  1. Open WM Recorder.
  2. Click the Record button. (Be sure to do this BEFORE you start playing a clip to record!)
  3. Using your browser, play the Windows Media video or audio you want to record.
  4. Return to WM Recorder and click Stop when the clip has finished playing. This will end the recording.

The clip will be saved in your folder for Windows Media files. (Click Settings, Recordings Folder to see where this folder is located.) The file will be named automatically.

You can record multiple clips in a row without clicking Stop. WM Recorder will save them in different files. Existing files will not be overwritten. If the title can be found the file is saved with the name of the clip. Otherwise the name "New[x]" will be used where x is the next number available.


How to Change the Folder for Recorded Files

By default, recorded files are saved in the same folder where the WM Recorder program resides. You can change this folder as follows:

  1. Click Settings, Recordings Folder. The set recordings Folder dialog appears:



  2. Navigate to the folder wher eyou want your recordings saved.
  3. Click OK.

How to Record Using a Known URL

If you know the full URL of the media you want to record, you can record it in two ways: using Windows Media Player and Browse Mode, or using URL Mode.

To determine the URL of an audio or video stream, you can use three different techniques:

  • While an audio or video stream is playing, you can right click on the Windows Media Player window, then click Properties, Show and copy the Location and File. The URL is the Location and File combined together together with a forward slash between them.
  • If you're clicking a link from your browser, right click the link, and select Copy Shortcut. You can then paste the link into WM Recorder (see below).
  • Or, open WM Recorder, and click Settings, and click Save all visited URLs. This option saves a history of all Windows Media streams that pass through to Window Media Player while you are browsing. You can view, play or record these URLs from WM Recorder by clicking the URL's button.

Once you know the URL of your video or audio stream, you can record as follows:

To record using Windows Media Player:

  1. Open WM Recorder, and click Record.
  2. Open Windows Media Player, and select File, Open URL.
  3. Enter the address of the file you want to record.
  4. When the file has finished playing, click Stop in WM Recorder.

This is the preferred way of recording from a specified URL. In this way you can record entire playlists or continuous streams that contain multiple clips. Each segment will be saved as a separate file.


Here' another way to record using Windows Media Player:

  1. With WM Recorder in Browse Mode click Record .
  2. Open Windows Media Player, and select File, Open URL.
  3. Enter the address of the file you want to record.
  4. Click OK.
  5. When the file has finished playing, click Stop in WM Recorder.


To record using URL Mode in WM Recorder:

  1. Open WM Recorder, and click URL Mode. The URL button is highlighted , and the URL window appears underneath the main window:



  2. Enter the address of the media to record in the URL text entry field.
  3. Click Record.

The file is downloaded and recorded automatically. You can click Stop to end recording prematurely if necessary.

To return to Browse Mode, click the URL button again.

To Preview Recordings while in URL Mode:

While recording in URL Mode, you can watch or listen to what you are recording by clicking the Preview button. The Preview dialog appears like this:

You can preview what is being recorded and saved to file (the original stream - unseekable), or the seekable stream up to the current recording time, or a percentage of it.


Playing Recordings

Once you've made a recording, you can play it within WM Recorder as follows:

  1. Click Play. The Select File dialog appears:



  2. Select the file to play, then click Open.
  3. The chosen file plays inside Windows Media Player.

Finding Recordings: If you've just recorded something, and can't find it, you can reorder the list of files by date. Click the View Menu icon , then click Details. From here, click Modified twice to reorder all saved files by date. The most recently saved file will appear at the top of the list.

Renaming Files: You can rename a file in the above dialog by right clicking it, and choosing Rename.


Advanced Topics

The rest of this User Guide deals with more advanced recording topics. You will be able to record successfully without reading this section. However, you can learn some helpful techniques and more in-depth information about WM Recorder if you continue reading.


Recording Other Streaming Media Types (MP3, mpeg, avi)

Some ASF files and all other non-asf media files (MP3, mpeg, avi, wav, etc) can only be recorded when WMR and the browser are used together. This feature can be made available by selecting Enable Internet Explorer in the Settings. In this way you can record any type of media supported by Windows Media Player.

Note that if you use another player for MP3 or mpeg files you need to change this player to Windows Media Player. This can be done as follows:

  1. Open Windows Media Player, and select Tools, Options, File Types.
  2. Select the file type you want to record.

In order to capture all Windows Media files in real time while browsing the Net you should have this feature enabled. Many of the media files available through the browser are cached by Window Media Player and they can no longer be recorded. If this happens you can record delete your Temporary Internet Files and try again, or record these files using the saved URL in URL Mode.


Playing Saved URLs

While browsing the internet with WM Recorder active, all visited Windows Media Player URL's are saved in the file urls.asx located in WM Recorder program folder. When you double click on this file in File Explorer, all listed URL's will be played in sequence by Windows Media Player. WM Recorder does not need to be active to play the saved URLs.

Hint: Turn on recording in Browse Mode before playing these, and you'll be able to have an unattended recording session of every media clip you've looked at, even if you've just viewed a piece of each.

Recording a Playlist

Using WM Recorder, you can record an entire playlist at once. Here's how to do it:

  1. Expand the WM Recorder UI to display the File and URL entry fields. Note that this is NOT URL Mode.
  2. Enter the URL of the playlist into the URL field.
  3. Click the Options button.
  4. Select Record URL with WMP.

Each video or audio segment will play in Windows Media Player, and WM Recorder will record them, saving individual files for each clip.


Settings Reference

This section describes what the various program settings do. To open the Settings dialog, click Settings. The Settings dialog appears as follows:


Media Player Setup

Clicking this option opens the Media Player Setup dialog:

This option reconfigures Windows Media Player for recording. You may need this option if you're manually installing WM Recorder, or if you install an updated version of WM Recorder.

If your PC connects to the internet via a proxy server, you'll need to configure a proxy on the next screen:

If you don't use a proxy (which is usually the case), click Next. To specify a proxy, click Proxy Setup. The Proxy Setup screen appears:

Enter the IP Address and HTTP Port of your proxy, then click OK.

 

Change Media Player

Choosing this option opens the Change Media Player dialog:

This option lets you choose the Windows Media Player to use when recording. Normally, Media Player should be selected.

In Windows 98 and higher versions there are two Media Player programs both called Windows Media Player. Windows Registry designates them as MediaPlayer and NetShow. MediaPlayer (WMPLAYER.EXE) provides media stream playing and a multitude of other media functions (CD, MP3, visualizations, playlists, etc). The NetShow (MPLAYER2.EXE) is utilized for playing stream files only.

Either one of the Players can be utilized to playback the recorded ASF files. However, there are some differences:

You cannot record TCP (mms) files using the NetShow in Browse Mode. NetShow does not support TCP proxy connections. You can record TCP files either in URL Mode or using Windows Media Player 7- Open URL in Browse Mode.

Some versions of MediaPlayer do not playback ASF continuous stream file (Web TV or Radio). NetShow does.

 

Connection Speed

Choosing this option opens the Connection Speed dialog:

When a connection speed is specified, WM Recorder selects the bit rate closest to the specified speed. When Auto is selected, WM Recorder selects the highest bit rate posted by the media. On high speed connections (Cable, DSL) the connection speed should always be set to Auto.

Specifying your connection speed is particularly important when recording in URL Mode for low speed (Dial-Up) connections. Say for example that your connection speed is 56 K and you're downloading a video clip that has two bit rates (speeds) listed in its header (34 Kbps and 227 Kbps). If you specified your connection speed at 56 K than the 34 K version of the video will be downloaded. This version will have a lower video and audio quality than the 227 K version but it downloads faster. If you select 300 K for your connection speed the better quality 227 K version will be downloaded but at a much lower rate. So, on low speed connections you may have to compromise between quality and speed.

Note that multiple bit rates are not always available on the same stream. If your connection speed is lower than the stream bit rate you should probably search for another URL where a lower speed version of the stream is available.

One cool feature of WM Recorder is its ability to record high quality media on slow connections. High quality video and audio media normally require high speed connections (Cable, DSL). You can download high speed media even if you have a slow connection (Dial-Up) by setting the connection speed to "Auto". However, you should expect much higher download time.

Recordings Folder

Choosing this option lets you select the location where your recorded files are placed.

Just navigate to the folder where you want files to be saved, and click OK.


Disk Space

Choosing this option shows you how much free disk space you have available to store recordings.

 

Save Visited URLs

Check this option if you want WM Recorder to keep a history of all URLs that Windows Media Player has played while browsing the Net with WM Recorder in Browse Mode. This is handy for recording using URL Mode. You can view the history by clicking URL Mode, Options, then choosing URLs from the menu.


URL Mode Only

Check this option if you want WM Recorder to operate only in URL Mode. This allows you to record from multiple sites at once.


Enable Internet Explorer

WM Recorder 9.0 and later can capture Windows Media Stream requests that initiate from Internet Explorer. When this is set up, WM Recorder directs all browser requests through the WM Recorder proxy server. In some rare cases, this may have side effects. You can uncheck this option if you don't want to trap streaming requests from within Internet Explorer.

Seekable

Checking this option makes all of your recordings seekable. This means that you can move the slider bar in Windows Media Player to instantly go to a particular part of the recording during playback. Streams that you record aren't normally seekable.

Compress Time

If this option is set, any gaps in recording due to buffering pauses are eliminated. The recording will play back without any visible pauses.

Maximum Disk Space Used Per Session

This sets the maximum amount of space to use for recordings. The default is 1 Gb.

Recording Multiple Streams at the Same Time

WM Recorder's unique network based architecture allows you to record multiple audio and video streams simultaneously. To do this, you will need to run multiple instances of WM Recorder in URL Mode. (See How to Record Using a Known URL.)

Here's how to record two streams simultaneously:

  1. Open WM Recorder, and click URL Mode.
  2. Enter the URL of the first stream to record.
  3. Open another copy of WM Recorder. This second copy automatically starts in URL Mode.
  4. Enter the URL of the second stream.

You can repeat this process with any number of streams to record several at once.

Stream Info

In URL Mode, you can learn about the quality and bit rate of a stream. Here's how:

  1. Click URL Mode.
  2. Click Options.
  3. Click Stream Info. The Stream Info dialog appears:


Splitting and Merging Files

WM Recorder can split a recording into two files, or merge two files into one.

To split a recording into two files:

  1. Open WM Recorder, and click Settings. The Settings Dialog appears:


  2. Click Split (under File Processing). A file selection dialog appears:


  3. Choose the file to split, and click Open. The Split file dialog appears:


  4. Choose the start and end time for where to split the file, and click OK.

To merge two files into one:

  1. Open WM Recorder, and click Settings. The Settings Dialog appears.
  2. Click Merge (under File Processing).
  3. Choose the first file, and click Open.
  4. Choose the second file, and click Open.
  5. A file with the extension .mrg.asf will be created.

Note: You can merge files regardless the actual time they were recorded. The merging files need to be compatible with each other meaning they all need to belong to the same original file.


Fixing Connection Problems

On poor connections Windows Media Player may experience the following behavior:

1. The connection speed is lower than the bit rate (bit rate / speed) of the clip. In this case Windows Media layer can either switch to a lower bit rate (if the clip properties allows it) or freezes the image and plays only sound. When switching to a lower bit rate the picture and / or sound are lower quality. In both situations the Player will display the message "Buffering...".

2. Packets of data are lost. In this case Windows Media Player may either freeze both the picture and sound or show no picture at all. The time display however keeps moving forward.

When recording in URL Mode these problems may be fixed. WM Recorder does not switch to a lower bit rate so even though the received data rate may be lower the picture and sound will be OK when the file is played back. To compensate for lost packets, WM Recorder implements a time compressing feature which eliminates the gaps. However, the lost information is not recovered.

You can also use the Reprocess option (under Settings) to fix some problems. A file with the extension .rep.asf will be created.

If a connection is dropped, you can use the Resume Recording function in Settings to restart recording from where you left off. This only works in URL Mode. Note: Only seekable streams can be resumed. Continuous (live) streams cannot be resumed.

Making a Recorded File Seekable

Sometimes the recorded files don't have a seek bar so you cannot Fast Forward or Rewind. This is usually the case for live streams (Internet TV). If you select the Seekable option (in Settings) before recording, the file will always be saved seekable. Otherwise, you can use the Reprocess function (under Settings) to reprocess the file with the Seekable option enabled. A file with the extension .sek.asf will be created when you reprocess.


File Sizes

Windows Media stream format can save you considerable disk space when compared to other media file formats. Here are some numbers:

300 Kbps recording (Cable / DSL)

Music Video ( 44 KHz stereo sound) - 2.5 MB / minute
Movies ( 32 KHz stereo sound) - 1.5 MB / minute
Music Audio ( 44 KHz stereo ) - 0.3 MB / minute

56 Kbps recording (Modem)

Music Video, Movies, Music Audio - 0.05 to 0.15 MB / minute

 

 

 

 

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All recording products we sell are not intended for use in circumventing copy protection mechanisms or for making illegal copies of copyrighted content. Please respect the rights of the content owners when recording.