| Frequently
Asked Questions about PDMarq Audio Recorder
1)
How to make a recording?
1b)
How to record from different sources, such as streaming Internet
audio, line-in jack, or microphone? Why can't I hear
the recording?
2) How do I schedule a radio recording with
Task Scheduler?
2b)
How do I schedule an Internet radio stream recording with Task
Scheduler?
3) How do I eliminate noise, loud pops and crackles in
the recording?
4) How do I find
an Internet audio stream address in Windows Media player or
RealPlayer or QuickTime?
5)
How to make multiple scheduled recordings from different streams?
6)
How to record two streams simultaneously?
7) How
do I contribute a tip to PDMarq, they were extra helpful with
their email support?
Other questions? Please
email: support@pdmarq.com
1)
How to make a recording?
1) If
you didn't do so already, select a folder to save all your recordings.
Do this by clicking the button as shown below to browse to any
folder. After you select a folder, you don't need to repeat this
step for the next recording. Your settings will always be saved
whenever you make a change.
2) Select
the quality for the recording. If you want the best quality for
recording music, select "CD". It will yield the largest
file of the 3 choices (Telephone, Radio, CD). If you need to create
a small file, then select "Telephone", but remember,
the quality will be low compared to "CD" or "Radio".
You can also select Mono or Stereo depending on what you are recording.
Mono recording will only record one channel instead of both the
left and right channels. Mono recording is useful for recording
AM radio stations.
 .
3) Select
the audio source in the Recording Control. This is the most important
step because if you don't select the correct source, your recording
will be silent.
To access the Recording Control press the Recording Control button (located at
the lower right corner) on the PDMarq Audio Recorder.
When you select
a recording source, and audio is present, the Left/Right volume
level meters should fluctuate on the Audio Recorder.
After pressing
the Recording Control button, the Recording Control should appear...
To
record streaming Internet audio, put a check in the box under
"Stereo Mix". Some computers may say "WAV Out"
or "Mono Mix" or something similar. If you want to
record from the Microphone or Line-In jack, put a check in the
corresponding box.
The
Recording Control is also where you can adjust the audio volume
levels.Static or hiss or other distortion can usually be corrected
by lowering the volume levels in the Recording Control.
After you are done, close Recording Control by clicking the X in the upper
right corner.
NOTE:
Your
Recording Control window may not have all the choices as
seen above. To get all the options displayed as seen above, on
the Recording Control window, go into the Options
menu. Then select Properties.
You should then see the Properties window...
Select the Recording
option button. Then in the white box, proceed to
check off all the recording controls you would like to have
displayed the next time you open the Recording Control window.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other ways to
access the RECORDING CONTROL.
In Windows,
-Press Start button, then click Settings,
-click Control Panel
-open Sounds and Multimedia
-Select the Audio tab
Another
way to access the Recording Control is to right-click the speaker
icon in the system tray as shown here...
Then select Adjust
Audio properties, and then press the Volume
button in the Sound Recording section.
Windows
Vista users: The Recording Control can be accessed
by:
-Opening Control Panel
-In classic view, go to Sound
-Go to the Recording tab.
-Right-click anywhere in the blank white area of the window
to display the Show Disabled Devices menu. Select Show Disabled
Devices:
In the above picture, Stereo Mixer is currently unavailable.
To enable it, right-click on it and choose enable.
4)
Press the Record button to start the recording.. When you are
done recording, press the Stop button.
5)
Your recording will automatically be saved as "PDMarqRecording_<date
and time>.wav". The recording will be saved in the folder
you chose in Step 1. Go into that folder and play the recording
by double-clicking the recording file. It will begin playing
with your default media player. You can also play the last recording
you made by clicking the Play button on the audio recorder.
1b)
How do I record from different sources, such as streaming
Internet audio, or from the Line-in jack, or microphone?
Why can't I hear the recording?
If you can't hear
anything when you playback the audio recording, it's usually
because you didn't select the correct recording source (microphone, line-in,
etc).
To record from different
sources requires you to open the Recording Control and change
the recording source.
To access the Recording Control press the Recording Control button (located at
the lower right corner) on the PDMarq Audio Recorder.
The Recording Control
should appear...
To
record streaming audio, put a check in the box under "Stereo
Mix". Some versions of Windows may not have the same words
as "Stereo Mix". It may state "WAV Out"
or something similar. If you want to record from the Microphone
or Line-In, put a check in the corresponding box.
The
Recording Control is also where you can adjust the audio volume
levels.
After you are done, close Recording Control by clicking the X in the upper
right corner. You should now be able to press the RECORD
button on the PDMarq Audio Recorder to begin recording.
NOTE:
Your
Recording Control window may not have all the choices as
seen above. To get all the options displayed as seen above, on
the Recording Control window, go into the Options
menu. Then select Properties.
You should then see the Properties window...
Select the Recording
option button. Then in the white box, proceed to
check off all the recording controls you would like to have
displayed the next time you open the Recording Control window.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OPTIONAL: Other
ways to access the RECORDING CONTROL.
In Windows,
-Press Start button, then click Settings,
-click Control Panel
-open Sounds and Multimedia
-Select the Audio tab
Another
way to access the Recording Control is to right-click the speaker
icon in the system tray as shown here...
Then select Adjust
Audio properties, and then press the Volume
button in the Sound Recording section.
2) How do I schedule a radio recording (from
an external radio) with Task Scheduler?
1. Tune your radio
to the station you want to record and make sure volume level
is sufficient.
2. Make sure the
audio cable is connected from your radio's headphone jack to
the computer's line-in jack. If you use the microphone jack
instead of line-in jack, the recording may not sound good.
Also refer to FAQ question #1 for help with selecting a
recording source ie. line-in, or microphone, etc. For recording
an external radio, you will need to set the recording source
to "Line-in".
3. On the PDMarq
Audio Recorder...
- Select the Recording Quality you prefer.
- Select Mono or Stereo.
- Enter the number of minutes to record in the box labeled "Recording
Length".
- Press the BROWSE button to select the folder location where you
want your recording to be saved.
4. If you want to
start recording the show immediately, press RECORD,
and DO NOT FOLLOW ANYMORE STEPS. To schedule the recording for
a later time, proceed to Step 5 and Step 6.
5. For scheduled
recordings... Check the box for Start recording
when Audio Recorder opens, then close the Audio Recorder.
6. Open Windows
Task Scheduler by clicking the Windows Scheduled Tasks
button in the Scheduled Recording section or go to the menu
options at the top and click Schedule. Then
click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task
wizard will then take you step-by-step to select the time and
day and frequency you want to start the PDMarq Audio Recorder.
Once the Audio Recorder starts up, it will immediately begin
recording and will stop after the designated amount of time
you entered in the" Number of Minutes to Record" field.
NOTE: If Scheduled
Tasks does not open by following the above directions, you can
access it by clicking START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL,
SCHEDULED TASKS, ADD SCHEDULED TASK.
2b) How do I schedule an Internet
radio stream recording with Task Scheduler?
1. Enter radio stream
address in "Internet Stream Address" box.
2. For recording
an Internet stream, you will need to set the recording source
to "WAV OUT" or "STEREO MIX". Refer to FAQ question
#1b for help with selecting a recording source.
3. On the PDMarq
Audio Recorder...
- Select the Recording Quality you prefer.
- Select Mono or Stereo.
- Enter the number of minutes to record in the box labeled "Number
of Minutes to Record".
- Press the BROWSE button to select the folder location where you
want your recording to be saved.
4. If you want to
start recording the show immediately, press GO to
initiate the radio stream playing, and then
press RECORD button, and DO NOT FOLLOW ANYMORE
STEPS. To schedule the recording for a later time, proceed to
Step 5 and Step 6.
5. For scheduled
recordings: Check the box for Start recording
when Audio Recorder opens and check the box for Start
stream when Audio Recorder opens, then close the Audio
Recorder.
6. Open Windows
Task Scheduler by clicking the button in the Windows
Scheduled Tasks button in the Scheduled Recording section
or go to the menu options at the top and click Schedule.
Then click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled
Task wizard will then take you step-by-step to select the time
and day and frequency you want to start the PDMarq Audio
Recorder. Once the Audio Recorder starts up, it will immediately
begin recording and will stop after the designated amount of
time you entered.
NOTE: If Scheduled
Tasks does not open by following the above directions, you can
access it by clicking START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL,
SCHEDULED TASKS, ADD SCHEDULED TASK.
3) How do I eliminate noise, loud pops and
crackles in the recording?
You may have to adjust the different volume levels of your radio as well
as the volumes of the line-in, or microphone, or Stereo Mix and
WAV volume settings of your sound card to get a perfect recording
that has no hiss or pops or other distortions.
You can change different volume levels by accessing the Recording
Control. (refer to question #1 to find the Recording Cotrol). Because
every sound card is different, you will need to experiment with
what volume levels work best for your particular setup.
4)
How do I find an Internet audio stream address in Windows Media
player or RealPlayer or QuickTime?
The
PDMarq Audio Recorder will automatically launch the default
media player after you enter an Internet stream address and
press "Go". The following list will help you locate
Internet stream addresses for some of the more popular media
players.
Windows
Media Player
File > Properties
Select the File tab. The stream address will be located in the
"Location" section.
RealPlayer
File > Clip Properties > View Clip Info
On the Clip Info tab, the address will appear on the "File
Name" line.
QuickTime
Window > Show Movie Info
Stream address is located on the "Source" line.
5)How
to make multiple scheduled recordings from different streams?
The
software was designed to make multiple recordings of the
same radio station or Internet stream. But there is a way to
make multiple
recordings from different Internet streams. There is also a
way to record
two different streams simultaneously.
Here
how to make multiple recordings from different streams...
1) Make a copy the PDMarq Audio Recorder folder that's located
within the
Program Files folder and rename the copy of the folder to "PDMarq
Audio
Recorder2" (or any name you want).
2)
Within the copied folder that you just made, run the "PDMarq
Audio
Recorder.exe" and set the new Internet address along with
all the other
settings.
3)
Set the Task Scheduler to run the new copy of "PDMarq Audio
Recorder.exe" (the copy that's located in that new folder
"PDMarq Audio
Recorder2".
---------------------------------------------------------------
The
second way to make multiple recordings from different streams....
Basically, you would create a Scheduled Task for the program
"Internet
Explorer", then modify the task to include the specific
Internet radio
stream address.
Here's
how to modify the task, go into your Scheduled Tasks folder,
right-click on the task, and click Properties, then you should
see the
window as shown below. Modify the "Run:" box to include
the radio stream
address. Take note in the examples that there is a space immediately
before
the website address. This is how you can have an unlimited number
of
different Internet streams each with it's own Scheduled Task.
Then you just
need to schedule the Audio Recorder to start recording.
example:
C:\PROGRA~1\INTERN~1\IEXPLORE.EXE http://news.radio.com/
example:
6)
How
to record two streams simultaneously?
-You need an audio player that allows you to move the volume
to the left or right channel. Then a second audio player (playing
a second stream) would need to have the volume set to the opposite
channel as the first player.
-Start
recording as you normally would and both streams will be captured.
-When
you play back the recording, you will have two streams recorded
in
one file. One stream on the right channel, one on the left channel.
You just
need to move the volume balance to the channel that you want
to hear.
7)
How
do I contribute a gratuity to PDMarq?
|
