All Audio Recoder

very good
key review info
application features
  • Real-time encoding with bitrates from 32kbit/sec. up to 320kbit/sec.
  • (7 more, see all...)

With all the technology around us, finding a recording device is extremely easy. You may even have it already and not know about it, as most cell phones now come equipped with sound recorders and can handle the job pretty well. But what about computers? With all the technological infusion injected in them, they should definitely be able to handle such a trivial task like sound recording.

And given the appropriate software and hardware, your computer can turn into a genuine recording tool, able to capture every piece of noise sensible enough to be heard by the microphone or every analog sound card input. The tricky part is to use an audio codec that does not tamper with the sound beyond recognition.

HarddiskOGG is specially designed to capture sound, be it from sound card or computer microphone and reduce distortion level to acceptable values. Sure, it is not professional and you will not get crystal clear files, but it is great if you want to record using computer microphone.

The application is absolutely free of charge and it can save the output result into more than one file type and comes with its codecs, so you need nothing else. The interface is plain and simple and does not beat around the bush with splash-screens, the options are not hidden behind menus and tabs and everything is right out into the open.

In order to start the recording process, all you have to do is to press the "Record" button in the lower left hand corner of application window, but there are some settings to be made till you get there, though. First of all you should define the folder for saving all your recordings (by default the location will be in HarddiskOGG's folder). If you add a number at the end of the file, at next recordings the application will keep the name and increase the number by one, automatically. This way no file will be overwritten and you get to keep them all.

Supported output formats are OGG, MP3, APE and WAV and for all of them save MP3 it provides the appropriate audio codecs (OGG Vorbis, Windows ACM and Monkeys Audio) for making the conversion. In case of MP3 you will have to download lame_enc.dll and place it in its folder.

Each of the codecs can be configured to your liking in order to benefit from the best quality available. Users can set the sample rate or encoding quality for making a good compromise between quality and output file size. Leaving the settings to their defaults will not provide poor quality and actually it is a good way to result pretty good quality without having to deal with lengthy files.

Normalization of the sound is automatic and there are four modes, depending on the device you are recording from. Its purpose is to amplify the input signal to a constant volume. Turning it off will result in recording what it comes from the sound card without making any modification and this option is not really recommended.

But, if you plan on editing the audio file having it in raw form without any sound normalization,it is probably for the best as you are going to play with it and make the desired changes anyway. Recording from microphone, however, requires smart normalization from HarddiskOGG as this mode will slowly raise the amplification if input volume is too low. The same recommendation goes for recording from radio or TV.

Capturing sound from tape requires either static or decrease normalization. With static the amplification will remain the same across all the recording process while with decrease it'll tone down enough as to prevent distortion (keep an eye on the vertical volume bar on the right hand side).

In the lower part of application window you can see the size of the file on disk, the time elapsed since the start of the recording and buffer overflows. Settings window of the software is skimpy with options as it only offers overwrite existing files confirmation option.

Control bar in the lower part provides the means to start recording, pause or stop it. The little scissors are for cutting the current recording into several files. The moment you select it the software will start recording a new file.

HarddiskOGG does a great job, easy and with no complications. Handling it is piece of cake and output results are pretty good. It is not professional software but it is excellent for audio transcription. It can save filter settings and load it each time you need them, audio codecs can be configured for the best results and the conversion is on the fly.

During our testing, we let it convert to OGG for about 20 minutes and the buffer was still empty and no problems were encountered. It even has an option to send the last recording via email, but on Vista this feature did not work at all.

The Good

Extremely easy to handle, HarddiskOGG is a reliable piece of software for recording sound with your computer. The output result is instantly converted to MP3, APE, WAV or OGG, depending on users' preference and each codec can be configured for getting the best audio quality.

The output stream can be played directly from the application and the associated player will pop up right away with the file already loaded.

The Bad

You will not get professional results and, on Vista, accessing the sending of the recordings via email remains without echo.

HarddiskOGG is equipped with only basic functionality, but for simple recording jobs it works just fine.

The Truth

It helps you create good quality recordings of external analog audio sources like line-in or microphone in real time. You can use it to convert vinyl discs to digital sound or record a meeting or a conference although the quality may not be one of the best.

HarddiskOGG is a trouble free nice software that'll do the simple job it has been created for. There are few options but this can only work to user's advantage.

Here are some snapshots of the application in action:

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user interface 4
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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