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extracting audio from radio
#17331 09/06/11 08:17 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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OS 10.5.8

I have access to a radio station that allows playback to previous recordings.
I have found one that has a section in it that I would like to isolate and get it on my HD. I've never had occasion to do this before and I don't know how to do it.
Any ideas?

jaybass


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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17332 09/06/11 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: jaybass
OS 10.5.8

I have access to a radio station that allows playback to previous recordings.
I have found one that has a section in it that I would like to isolate and get it on my HD. I've never had occasion to do this before and I don't know how to do it.
Any ideas?

jaybass

What, precisely, does "isolate and get it on my HD" mean...something more than merely create a link?

Can you post a link so we can take a look?


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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17333 09/06/11 09:18 PM
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I'm not quite sure I understand what the deal is with that radio station, or what you want to do with a particular track or stream, so let me respond with a couple of questions.
1. Do you want to save or record an audio stream on the internet with your Mac? (iPhone/iPad/iPod require a different approach.)
2. Do you want to edit a saved audio stream/track?

If 1, you could use an audio recording utility like Audio Hijack Pro or WireTap Studio*.
If 2, you'd need an audio editor like Amadeus Pro, TwistedWave or Audacity (freeware).

There are various alternatives in both categories, but I'm limiting myself here to utilities I use(d).

*) Wiretap Pro has some editing functions that may be sufficient for your needs under item 2.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
artie505 #17334 09/06/11 09:25 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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When I say isolate, I mean to copy only a particular section between the beginning and the end. This the radio station in question:
http://zoomerradio.ca/a-little-breath-of...april-3rd-2011/
There are several episodes with different dates and it wouldn't help you if you knew which one. I would want to copy that section to a CD. The section pertains to narratives of selected Scottish history.
Question: Is there a way?
jaybass



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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17335 09/06/11 09:43 PM
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Yes I do want save it to my mac and yes I do want to edit the audio track.
I do have Audacity but I'm not very familiar with it. I believe Audacity has tutorials if I recall. I guess I'll have check it out.
The only experience I've had with extracting audio was with a DVD which didn't need any editing. Some kind person from this forum told how to to it using MTR.
Thanks for your input.
jaybass


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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17336 09/07/11 12:18 AM
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If you can download the show(s), you don't need a separate recording utility. Downloading seems to be possible with Zoomer Radio, despite the comment I saw somewhere there that the show is only available as a stream.

Using Safari, I started the flash track of the show immediately below Denis Snowdon's picture. If you then open Safari's Activity window (Window menu), you'll find there* a rather large mp3 file (about 90-100MB for an hour's show), easily the largest file in the page's listing of component files. To download that mp3, Option-double-click that line. Once downloaded you'd need an editor (like Audacity) to trim away those parts of an individual show you don't want.

*) When you do this you may want to limit the number of tabs open in Safari; that makes finding your Zoomer Radio page listing a bit easier.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17338 09/07/11 01:08 PM
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Thank you sire,
Your info will enable me to get what I want. These particular recordings are very rare and despite hours of searching, I've been unable find a source.
I'm taking a screen shot of your details.
Thanks again.
jaybass.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17363 09/09/11 10:10 PM
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Further to my last response, I have already downloaded (11) episodes of that radio show although they are each (2) hrs long. Just a few more to go.
Thanks again.
jaybass


OS 13.6.4 iMac (Retina 5K, 27", 2017, 3.4 GHz Intel Core i5, 24 GB RAM, 2400 MHz DDR4. SuperDuper. 1 TB Lacie HD
Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17364 09/09/11 11:06 PM
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You're welcome. Enjoy!


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17413 09/14/11 06:37 PM
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To expand on my needs, After considerable effort, I have used audacity to edit my recordings okay.

I inadvertently saved one of them as a aup file which toast will not accept.

Rather than edit that recording again, is it possible to convert it to a wav file?

jaybass


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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17414 09/14/11 07:15 PM
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Yes. Try opening that .aup file in Audacity and select 'Export...' (As WAV) from the File menu. If needed, use iTunes (Import) to convert the .wav file to MP3 or AAC etc.

PS, .aup (AUdacity Project) files are NOT sound files. Your audio data (with edits) is stored elsewhere, unless you inadvertently deleted it. Once you're done with an Audacity project, export it as a sound file for storage; .aup files are not intended for archival purposes.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17415 09/14/11 08:51 PM
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alternaut,

Thanks for the reply. I'll do just that.

jaybass


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17539 09/22/11 07:29 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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alternaut,
I found easier to edit the audio file again. I converted the WAVs to MP3s.
However, I cannot play them on my NAD player. I converted them to various codecs, but they just a little over the the 700 mb limit. My options are:
aac, aiff, aif, amr, au, flac, gsm, m3u, mp3, m4a, mov, mpc, ogg, pls, raw, rss, vox, wav, wpl.

Is there any one of this codecs that will compress enough to burn in toast?

jaybass








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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17541 09/22/11 08:05 PM
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Just a guess, but can't you make your MP3s a slightly lower Kbps, i.e. compress them a bit more?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: extracting audio from radio
artie505 #17547 09/22/11 10:04 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
... can't you make your MP3s a slightly lower Kbps, i.e. compress them a bit more?

My thought exactly. Of course, we don't know if the NAD player in question can handle MP3 discs (both CD and DVD). If so, MP3 DVDs instead of CDs might work too. But for spoken word a lower bit rate may be just the ticket.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17548 09/22/11 10:14 PM
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jaybass Offline OP
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I never thought of that. I have all my MP3s at 192. I'll try 128.

I'm away on a short vacation tonight...I'll let you know later and thanks to both of you.

jaybass


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Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17550 09/22/11 10:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: jaybass
I never thought of that. I have all my MP3s at 192. I'll try 128.

I'm away on a short vacation tonight...I'll let you know later and thanks to both of you.

jaybass

128 should "work a treat."

Enjoy! smile

Edit: As well as the 128Kbps setting, I see a 160Kbps setting in iTunes; it, too, should work for you.

Last edited by artie505; 09/22/11 10:50 PM.

The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17552 09/23/11 01:06 AM
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If it's only spoken word 64 (and even 32) Kpbs will work. Anything more is splurging... smirk


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Re: extracting audio from radio
alternaut #17553 09/23/11 05:16 AM
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Originally Posted By: alternaut
If it's only spoken word 64 (and even 32) Kpbs will work. Anything more is splurging... smirk

I don't plan to experiment, but, although I'm certain that you're generally correct, I'll guess that there are exceptions that result from various aspects of a file's content.

Here are a couple of examples of bit-rate comparison:

1. I imported a song from a friend's Texas swing CD as 128 and 192Kbps MP3s and in Apple Lossless format, and neither he, his wife, nor I, all people with "ears," could differentiate between the three.

2. My 320Kbps MP3 Beethoven piano and cello sonatas (d/l'ed from Deutsche Grammophon) have been reviewed as being of "CD quality," although his string quartet CDs that I imported in Apple Lossless format came through in the 500-600Kbps MP3 range, and an opera CD came through as a 716Kbps MP3.

I wonder whether there are any "hard" stats on what the "optimal" bit rate for a given type of iTunes import may be? (Personally, I fall back on my 500Gb HD and import all my music in Apple Lossless format.)

And, more specifically, I wonder how much music people whose entire music libraries comprise iTunes Store 128Kbps MP3s have never heard?


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17557 09/23/11 04:52 PM
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You're going to get a very wide variety of opinions as to what's the "optimal" bitrate for encoding audio, but it does make a difference. How much of a difference depends on the ear doing the listening, the device you're playing back on, and the music itself.

Mostly digital instrumental (electric guitar/synth) can be encoded very low with very little noticeable impact. I'm not audiophile but I can almost always notice the mp3 distortion on 128. 192 is often but not always noticeable. 256 or higher I can't usually tell the difference. iTunes iirc offers up to 320 so I leave it there since 320 doesn't make too much larger of a file than 256 does.

Also a warning - if you take a track that's already encoded, and "transcode" it to a different bitrate, say 512 down to 192, the quality will be LESS than 192 due to the multiple compression/decompression steps. Try to start with the source material if you can, to encode down.

And what is not obvious to all, transcoding UP from say, 128 to 320, does not improve quality, it actually lowers it. All you get is a bigger, worse sounding song file. Never transcode up for any reason.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
Virtual1 #17561 09/23/11 08:55 PM
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Originally Posted By: Virtual1
You're going to get a very wide variety of opinions as to what's the "optimal" bitrate for encoding audio, but it does make a difference. How much of a difference depends on the ear doing the listening, the device you're playing back on, and the music itself.

I fully agree with that. In this particular case, however, file size appears to be an issue. If the file(s) are to be accessed from disc, and DVD isn't an option (hence my question about the NAD player) there seems to be enough reason to cut the bit rate of some or all of the recordings to make them fit.

But this may not be necessary after all. It turns out that the bit rate of the ZoomerRadio files is 128kpbs, so after the editing in Audacity the files were converted/transcoded to a higher bit rate if they now are at 192kpbs. This probably happened because of jaybass' iTunes import settings. If correct, changing those to 128kpbs for this project, and re-importing the files again should do the trick. Doing it this way rather than working with the up-converted material also avoids some of the quality issues you mention.

My comment about voice bit rates was based on the (erroneous) assumption that the material was mostly spoken word. Had that been the case it would probably not be necessary to go down as far as I suggested, because the files involved may fit on a single CD with just a moderate reduction. I only mentioned it as a possibility, which, if the material is of acceptable quality at this rate, may come in handy when space is at premium.


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Re: extracting audio from radio
Virtual1 #17565 09/24/11 08:25 AM
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> I'm not audiophile but I can almost always notice the mp3 distortion on 128.

In the early iPod days, "The Jobs" was quoted as having said (more or less) that the first thing people do when they move into a new home is set up their stereos, but the first thing they'll do in the new age is hook up their iPods.

I remember cringing at the thought of all the people who would get in line behind him and spend the rest of their lives listening to 128Kbps music, never knowing what they were missing.

> Also a warning - if you take a track that's already encoded, and "transcode" it to a different bitrate, say 512 down to 192, the quality will be LESS than 192 due to the multiple compression/decompression steps. Try to start with the source material if you can, to encode down.

> And what is not obvious to all, transcoding UP from say, 128 to 320, does not improve quality, it actually lowers it. All you get is a bigger, worse sounding song file. Never transcode up for any reason.

I had a difficult time wrapping my mind around those concepts when I began recording streaming music (The developers of software such as AudioHijack Pro need to make a point of them.), but I think I finally understood them and wound up importing 128Kbps streams in Apple Lossless format which, I think, gives me the best music I can get under the circumstances and in the least space.


The new Great Equalizer is the SEND button.

In Memory of Harv: Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities. ~Voltaire
Re: extracting audio from radio
jaybass #17912 10/05/11 01:05 PM
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Originally Posted By: jaybass
I never thought of that. I have all my MP3s at 192. I'll try 128.

I'm away on a short vacation tonight...I'll let you know later and thanks to both of you.

jaybass


I did lower the bitrate to 64 and it made very little difference to the file size.
I opened up toast again and looked at the formats on the left side. And there was the obvious solution, click MP3 and the file size became 114mb. The sound is very good too. I have my CD at last. Thanks again.
jaybass


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