Am I recording digital or analogue Solved thanks
Hello
If I use Audacity to record bbc radio3 the only input that will work is the idt audio, the laptops sound card. Are the recordings of the digital stream to the sound card or
the analogue output from the sound card.
The recordings can be exported as flac files and sound quite good but I dont want to waste the laptop reconverting the audio output from the sound card to digital
Im on xp.
Thanks
thyristor44.
Hello
If I use Audacity to record bbc radio3 the only input that will work is the idt audio, the laptops sound card. Are the recordings of the digital stream to the sound card or
the analogue output from the sound card.
The recordings can be exported as flac files and sound quite good but I dont want to waste the laptop reconverting the audio output from the sound card to digital
Im on xp.
Thanks
thyristor44.
Last edited:
My best guess is that it would be a digital stream. I see no reason any card manufacturer would ever link a DAC to an ADC. It makes no sense from a circuit level: extra loading, extra noise, extra circuitry. I'm almost certain that this stream you record is a driver-level loopback, as in it never even leaves software before it's recorded.
I thought it did take the analogue feed... despite all that you say making perfect and logical sense... I really thought it interfaced to the sound card output.
Why not ask here,
Audacity Forum • View forum - Windows
Why not ask here,
Audacity Forum • View forum - Windows
I'm not sure what the setup is. Is this internet radio, being received and recorded on the same pc? If so, wouldn't this require a "stream saver" software? Does Audacity include that function? If not, I'd say definitely recorded from analog.
If you're just wondering whether it goes through yet another A-D conversion getting to Audacity, I'm with barefootwhistler. It seems unlikely, though I doubt "wasting the laptop" should be a big concern in any case.
If you're just wondering whether it goes through yet another A-D conversion getting to Audacity, I'm with barefootwhistler. It seems unlikely, though I doubt "wasting the laptop" should be a big concern in any case.
The dac has no role at all except sending audio to amplifier. It is external and no loopback.
Never heard of stream savers, got any examples, preferably freeware.
What do you mean wasting the laptop.
Well, it has been more than a few years since I had any involvement with them. I just now entered "audio stream grabber" into a search engine... got several freeware results. "Streaming audio recorder" is probably a more proper name.
Just a phrase I picked up from your post #1.
I frequently record from BBC radio 3 to listen to a program I do not have time to listen to when it is broadcast.
When I record the digital stream, the recording sounds identical to the original. Any conversion gives a deterioration of the sound. With a decent set of headphones or ear buds, you should be able to tell.
If your change in the audio volume gives not change in the recorded volume, you can be quite certain you are recording a digital stream.
The live broadcast is sent at 320 kps. Programs from listen again are sent at 128 kps, which is much inferior, and I can hear the difference clearly. Fine for talk radio, but not for music.
If you cannot hear the difference between the original HD sound, and your recording, you can be certain you are recording the digital stream.
I use Ubuntu linux, and the recordings from radio 3 seem to be bit perfect.
When I record the digital stream, the recording sounds identical to the original. Any conversion gives a deterioration of the sound. With a decent set of headphones or ear buds, you should be able to tell.
If your change in the audio volume gives not change in the recorded volume, you can be quite certain you are recording a digital stream.
The live broadcast is sent at 320 kps. Programs from listen again are sent at 128 kps, which is much inferior, and I can hear the difference clearly. Fine for talk radio, but not for music.
If you cannot hear the difference between the original HD sound, and your recording, you can be certain you are recording the digital stream.
I use Ubuntu linux, and the recordings from radio 3 seem to be bit perfect.
Thats very interesting Cornelis Spronk
Two questions, what program do you use to play R3 and what program to record.
I dont have ubuntu but do have puppy linux so may be able to use them.
Yes thats not realy what I meant. I dont want the laptop converting digital to analogue at all as I have better dacs than the laptop
Thanks for the help mates I now have it working with vlc media player.
Streamed R3 is almost identical to R3 on fm analogue radio tuner. I will stick with
vlc as I know it.
If I use (bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/r3_aaclca.pls) in vlc it works and I can record for
later listening.
Thanks
thyristor44
Streamed R3 is almost identical to R3 on fm analogue radio tuner. I will stick with
vlc as I know it.
If I use (bbc.co.uk/radio/listen/live/r3_aaclca.pls) in vlc it works and I can record for
later listening.
Thanks
thyristor44
BBC Radio 3 is available at 320 bit rate MP3, also referred to as HD sound, through a program called the BBC iPlayer.
I have used two very simple and basic recording programs.
One is called Sound Recorder. It is a simple program that does nothing more than record the digital stream. You can record in MP3 format, and I think is simply takes the stream from the iPlayer. You can also record to a flac file. Either works really well. Sound Recorder does not recognize my USB HifiMedDIY dac, and I get error, so I have to remove it and record through the default motherboard, Realtek.
A newer program is called Audio Recorder. Also very basic. With this one, I can listen in with the USB dac. With this setup, I can choose to pick up the stream before and after the digital volume control. I prefer to pick up the stream before the volume control. I think the choice is labelled as "Monitor"
Playing the files from either recorder programs back with bit perfect Deadbeef, I cannot detect any differences. Sound is identical to the original material from the iPlayer.
Unfortunately, I can only get the HD sound in the UK. It is assumed that UK citizens pay their license fee. When I travel outside of the UK, I can only get lower MP3 bit rates. I wish there was a way to pay for the service to get the HD sound when in North America or Portugal.
I have not experimented much with VLC for Ubuntu. I vaguely remember trying it, and the results were not as good.
Incidently, when using the computer for doing other things, clicks and other noises come into my headphones. These noises do not occur in the recorded music files. This leads me to believe that the recordings do not come from the analog stream.
I have used two very simple and basic recording programs.
One is called Sound Recorder. It is a simple program that does nothing more than record the digital stream. You can record in MP3 format, and I think is simply takes the stream from the iPlayer. You can also record to a flac file. Either works really well. Sound Recorder does not recognize my USB HifiMedDIY dac, and I get error, so I have to remove it and record through the default motherboard, Realtek.
A newer program is called Audio Recorder. Also very basic. With this one, I can listen in with the USB dac. With this setup, I can choose to pick up the stream before and after the digital volume control. I prefer to pick up the stream before the volume control. I think the choice is labelled as "Monitor"
Playing the files from either recorder programs back with bit perfect Deadbeef, I cannot detect any differences. Sound is identical to the original material from the iPlayer.
Unfortunately, I can only get the HD sound in the UK. It is assumed that UK citizens pay their license fee. When I travel outside of the UK, I can only get lower MP3 bit rates. I wish there was a way to pay for the service to get the HD sound when in North America or Portugal.
I have not experimented much with VLC for Ubuntu. I vaguely remember trying it, and the results were not as good.
Incidently, when using the computer for doing other things, clicks and other noises come into my headphones. These noises do not occur in the recorded music files. This leads me to believe that the recordings do not come from the analog stream.
The analog out of the DAC is only connected to the physical output jack, regardless of soundcard. Even very expensive pro cards cannot route the analog output or analog input directly, only the digital streams from and to the converters.
All available monitoring options are only on digital streams so yes, you are recording digital stream directly.
All available monitoring options are only on digital streams so yes, you are recording digital stream directly.
Actually, most Intel HDA codecs offer multiple (often exhaustive) options for analog mixing. Take a look at block diagram (page 12) of e.g. ALC888 http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/datasheets/ALC888_1-0.pdf
The widgets are controllable in linux by e.g. hda-analyzer HDA Analyzer - AlsaProject . For details see Help To Debug Intel HDA - AlsaProject. Perhaps similar tools exist for windows, not my area of focus.
Modern IntelHDA codecs are very complicated devices packed with surprising features.
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