Recording Skype interviews: nice if you have 2 computers

Jonathan Dube of Cyberjournalist.net points to Phil Shapiro's guide to recording Skype interviews. Phil is enthusiastic about Skype's potential as a "Community Media Production Tool."

There's kind of a big problem though: you need two computers to do this. One to make the Skype call and the other to record the interview, routing the audio from one to the other.   Ethan Zuckerman, who has experimented with Skype recording, says this is because Skype seizes all of your computer's sound card when you use it, and recording programs like Audacity do the same thing, so you can't use both simultaneously. This is a huge pain. I don't have 2 computers myself. I suspect most people don't. Kind of puts a damper on Skype's potential to become a grassroots media production tool, if you ask me.

I wish Skype would come up with an app that lets you record your conversations on the same computer. Or alternatively, I hope somebody else comes up with a Skype-like service that makes it possible to record conversations.

Comments

[Lisa Williams]

I'll have to read this, but presumably having 2 computers works because you're using the line out of one computer to the microphone jack of the second computer, and you use the second computer as a big voice recorder.

If this is the way it works, the other recording thing doesn't have to be a computer. It could be any recording device with a microphone jack.

[Francois Schiettecatte]

I did a quick Google search and it came up with a number of solutions, using only one computer, for both Macs (which I use) and Windows (which I don't use.) Of course it would best if Skype would allow that in its application, we can record IM sessions now, so why not audio sessions.

[Frankenstein]

I would imagine that something like Audio Hijack Pro would work on a Mac.

[Kent Bye]

Here's a "Skypecast" solution that uses an iPod:
http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/001056.html

Alternative solutions are offered in the comment section.

I haven't personally tested it, but I thought I'd pass it along.

[Kevin Wen]

You may need a program called "Virtual Audio Cables" to simulate a virtual Soundcard in your PC, more detial at http://www.henshall.com/docs/Skype%20Recording%20WinXp%2012202004.pdf

[Sean Kaye]

I've been doing some podcast recordings with Skype over the last couple months and have found a cheaper way of doing it with one computer, but not as cheap as virtual audio cables.

Basically, I take my line out (headphone jack) plug it into a line in port on a mixing board. I plug my Mic straight into the mixing board in a different line in. This gives me a couple of advantages. First of all I can monitor the two track mix at the board. This leads to the second advantage which is that I can adjust the levels between my voice track and the Skype track.

From the mixing board I have two choices, I can plug the mixing board into the PC via USB and use the USB Codec for recording the mixed version straight to something like Audacity. I've been doing this to date and have been unhappy with the sound quality of the USB Codec recording. What I'm going to do moving forward is record directly from RCA line outs on the mixing board to a line in port on a MiniDisc player. I've tested this a bit and the sound quality is significantly better. It is then easy to move the file from MiniDisc to the PC and do my necessary edits.

Another option I'm considering, but haven't really done alot of work with yet is a adding a second audio card to my laptop. So something like the Creative Audigy NZ via PCMCIA.

My existing setup was pretty inexpensive. The mixing board was about AUS$400 and I got some special adapters and custom cables sent over from the US for AUS$150. If I move to the MiniDisc format I wouldn't wear any extra cost because I already own one, but if you don't you're looking at AUS$400 for a good one.

[PC]

Or you could use HotRecorder, which is precisely the type of app you were looking for: a simple plug in to Skype that allows you to record conversations with no other modifications, extra software, extra PCs, etc. The free version records to a proprietary audio format, the $14.95 version converts to WAV and OGG (which are easily converted to MP3). After trying all these tedious work-arounds, I found this and it works seamlessly.

http://wwww.hotrecorder.com

[Michael]

As PC points out, Hot Recorded is a great utility for this.