Overview
Adding a New Show to Record
Editing a Scheduled Show
Deleting a Scheduled Show
Viewing Recorded Shows
Playing Recorded Shows
Recording a Listed Show Immediately
Stopping or Monitoring an Active Recording
Tuning to a Show Immediately
Troubleshooting using the Record Log
Making WM VCR Start when your PC boots
Keeping your PC Clock Accurate

Overview

WM VCR adds scheduled recording capabilities to WM Recorder and RM Recorder, turning your PC into a virtual VCR for streaming Web broadcasts. It's easy to use, and incredibly powerful.

WM VCR works by opening WM Recorder or RM Recorder at a time you specify, and instructing it to start recording. The show you're recording doesn't need to be visible or audible on your PC. Not only does recording happen quietly and transparently, but you can record multiple broadcasts simultaneously!

WM VCR is really simple to use -- here's how the main screen appears:

WM VCR is designed to sit quietly in your system tray when minimized. You can restore it by clicking the icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen.

Adding a New Show to Record

WM VCR comes with a preset list of radio stations, TV stations and shows, and you can add your own as well.

Here's how to add a show from the preset list:

1. Open WM VCR.
2. Click Add Show. The Add Show dialog appears:
   
   
   
   
3. Click Radio Shows, Radio Stations or TV Stations. This inserts the name of the station or show, and the URL for the broadcast feed. If you choose a Radio Show, the proper time (adjusted for your time zone) and schedule are set as well. Here's how the Radio Shows dialog appears:
   
   
   
   Note: Use the Find feature to locate a show by entering a part of the name of a show. In the example above, we typed in "web talk", and clicked Find, to locate "Web Talk Guys Radio Show".
   
   
4. Adjust the Start At and End At options to determine when your recording occurs.
5. Select the date or days to record this show by choosing one of Record Once, Repeating or Don't Record.
6. Click OK to finish. The show you selected appears in the list of shows.

If your show or station is not listed under Pick a Show or Pick a Station, you can to enter it manually as follows:

1. Enter the Name of the show. (The MP3 file that WM VCR creates will use this name. For example, the recorded file for Car Talk on July 1 will be "Car Talk Jul 1.wma".)
2. Enter the URL of the broadcast feed. Make sure that the show starts playing immediately if you enter this URL into your browser.
3. Enter the Start and End time of the show. Make sure to use your current time zone.
4. If the show is a one-time event, click Record Once and pick the date. Otherwise, click Repeating, and choose the days on which you'd like to record the show.
5. Click OK when you're finished.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to test each show before recording. Some stations ask for some information the first time you record.

Editing a Scheduled Show

You can change your shows easily. Here's how:

1. Click on the show to change.
2. Click Edit Show. The Edit Show dialog appears:
   
   
   
   
3. Make your modifications to the Name, URL, or schedule options.
4. Click OK.

You can also double click on a show to open the Edit Show dialog from the main screen.

Deleting a Scheduled Show

To delete a show:

1. Click on the show to delete.
2. Click Delete Show.
3. Click OK when asked to confirm.

The show is removed from the schedule. The recordings for that show still remain on your PC.

Viewing Recorded Shows

You can easily see all the recordings for a particular show, and play them, burn them to a CD, or delete them.

1. Click on a show to select it.
2. Click View Recordings. The View Recordings dialog appears:
   
   
   
   

Click on a show, then choose one of these options:

• To play the show, click Play.
• To delete a recording, click Delete.

When you're finished, click Done.

Hint: To view every recorded show, click View Recordings from the main screen without selecting a show, or click the View ALL button in the View Recordings dialog.

Playing Recorded Shows

Use the View Recordings button to play your recorded shows on your PC. (See Viewing Recorded Shows.)

1. Click on a show to select it.
2. Click View Recordings. The View Recordings dialog appears.
3. Select a show, and click Play.

Deleting Recordings

Use the View Recordings button to delete recorded shows from your PC. (See Viewing Recorded Shows.)

1. Click on a show to select it.
2. Click View Recordings. The View Recordings dialog appears.
3. Select a show, and click Delete.

Recording a Listed Show Immediately

Sometimes you may just want to record a show that appears in your schedule manually.

Here's how to start recording a scheduled show immediately:

1. Click the show to record.
2. Click Record Now. The Record Now dialog appears:
   
   
   
   
3. Enter the name of the show. Note that the following characters are NOT allowed in the name of a show:
   
   : / \ ? * "
   
4. Enter how long you want to record.
5. Click OK to begin recording.

Stopping or Monitoring an Active Recording

Since WM VCR opens a new WM Recorder window for each recording, you can monitor how recording progress is going, or stop a recording early by locating the proper WM Recorder window.

To get details on an active recording:

1. Click the show being recorded.
2. Click Record Now.
3. The active WM Recorder for that recording appears.

You can also click the Stop button in WM Recorder to terminate a recording early.

Tuning to a Show Immediately

Sometimes you may just want to watch or listen to a preset show or station without recording. To do this:

1. Click the show to watch or listen to.
2. Click Play Station.
   

Troubleshooting using the Record Log

If you have trouble recording, the View Record Log button will show you all of the activity of WM Recorder. This may help in diagnosing some errors.

Making WM VCR Start when your PC boots

If you have regular recordings, you'll want to make WM VCR activate automatically every time you turn on your PC. This way, you won't have to remember to start WM VCR for your recordings to occur.

To make WM VCR start automatically, simply check Start WM VCR when Windows starts on WM VCR's main screen.

Keeping Your PC Clock Accurate

You can configure your Windows 2000 or XP system clock to synchronize with a government NIST time server, thereby ensuring your shows always record on time. Click here to read the NIST document.