Using a PC to record a radio broadcast

[Anne W]

I really need to purchase a PC some time soon, and I just want to make
sure that with whatever I purchase, I can at least do the following:

(a) Record onto a hard drive, in real time, a lengthy (4 hours or so)
radio broadcast, unattended.

(b) Use appropriate software to play back and edit the recorded radio
broadcast (especially, to extract desired audio segments, and store
them as mp3 files).

-------

QUESTION 1:
For (a) above, is it necessary that I install a radio tuner card in
the PC? If not, what are the alternatives? (Would feeding the output
signal from an external tuner deck into the PC's sound card be a
plausible way of proceeding?)

QUESTION 2:
For (a) above to be performed efficiently, and for the resultant
recording to be of a reasonably high quality, is it necessary that I
install an appropriate capture/compression card in the PC? If not,
what are the alternatives? (Are present day PCs powerful enough to be
able to compress and store on the fly, a continuous and lengthy audio
input signal from the sound card, without any additional hardware/card
needing to be installed, and with the resultant recording being of a
reasonably high quality?)

QUESTION 3:
I'd like to purchase a notebook PC rather than a desktop unit. If (a)
above does require hardware assistance (a PCI card for example), are
there corresponding USB/Firewire alternatives that I could make use
of?

-------

I'd greatly appreciate your help with these questions, as well as any
tips and hardware/software brand/product names you can suggest.

Thank you in advance,
Anne.

P.S.
I'm pretty much a complete novice when it comes to audio/hi-fi
matters. As I'm unfamiliar with the terminology involved, I simply
hope this post of mine makes some sort of sense, and that I can in
turn make sense of your replies!

[ReEfErMaDnEsS]

"Anne W" > wrote in message
om...

> QUESTION 1:
> For (a) above, is it necessary that I install a radio tuner card in
> the PC? If not, what are the alternatives? (Would feeding the output
> signal from an external tuner deck into the PC's sound card be a
> plausible way of proceeding?)

Does the radio broadcast have a web feed? If it does windows can internally
record it to a wav file. Yes, most sound cards have an audio in feature,
using the same afore mentioned windows internal recorder.
>
> QUESTION 2:
> For (a) above to be performed efficiently, and for the resultant
> recording to be of a reasonably high quality, is it necessary that I
> install an appropriate capture/compression card in the PC? If not,
> what are the alternatives? (Are present day PCs powerful enough to be
> able to compress and store on the fly, a continuous and lengthy audio
> input signal from the sound card, without any additional hardware/card
> needing to be installed, and with the resultant recording being of a
> reasonably high quality?)

If you Hard drive is large enough you can simply convert it to mp3 or
another compressed format in minutes after the recording is over, wav files
are large but you should get more than enough hard drive with just about any
purchase not to have to worry about one recording session. There may be
software that records straight into mp3 format (or other compressed formats)
I have never looked into it.
>
> QUESTION 3:
> I'd like to purchase a notebook PC rather than a desktop unit. If (a)
> above does require hardware assistance (a PCI card for example), are
> there corresponding USB/Firewire alternatives that I could make use
> of?
There are several USB sound cards available, some costly, that will allow
you to record input form an external source. You get what you pay for of
course, however, if theradio program is avaialble on the web, chances are it
might just be available for download in acompressed format already, you
shoud look into wether or not they have a web page and streaming services.
>
> I'd greatly appreciate your help with these questions, as well as any
> tips and hardware/software brand/product names you can suggest.
>
If you are inexperienced with PCs I would suggest a Dell or Gateway withthe
extended service plans, they specialize in understanding challenged users
and providing support. Or you could just flirt with the computer geeks at
work/school, for a smile those nerds will do anything!

> Thank you in advance,
> Anne.
>
> P.S.
> I'm pretty much a complete novice when it comes to audio/hi-fi
> matters. As I'm unfamiliar with the terminology involved, I simply
> hope this post of mine makes some sort of sense, and that I can in
> turn make sense of your replies!

[Arny Krueger]

"Anne W" > wrote in message
om
> I really need to purchase a PC some time soon, and I just want to make
> sure that with whatever I purchase, I can at least do the following:

> (a) Record onto a hard drive, in real time, a lengthy (4 hours or so)
> radio broadcast, unattended.

> (b) Use appropriate software to play back and edit the recorded radio
> broadcast (especially, to extract desired audio segments, and store
> them as mp3 files).

> -------

> QUESTION 1:
> For (a) above, is it necessary that I install a radio tuner card in
> the PC? If not, what are the alternatives? (Would feeding the output
> signal from an external tuner deck into the PC's sound card be a
> plausible way of proceeding?)

Yes, feeding the output signal from an external tuner into the PC's sound
card would be a plausible way of proceeding.

> QUESTION 2:

> For (a) above to be performed efficiently, and for the resultant
> recording to be of a reasonably high quality, is it necessary that I
> install an appropriate capture/compression card in the PC?

Depending which sound interface comes installed with the machine, no
additional sound card might be required. For example, some PCs come with
audio interfaces named "Live! 5.1". "Audigy" , "Santa Cruz" or "Realtek
ALC655 codec AC '97 2.3" are commonly available and would be entirely
adequate for your purposes.


> QUESTION 3:
> I'd like to purchase a notebook PC rather than a desktop unit. If (a)
> above does require hardware assistance (a PCI card for example), are
> there corresponding USB/Firewire alternatives that I could make use
> of?

Yes, the SoundBlaster USB MP3+ is an inexpensive external audio interface
with adequate sound quality for your application. It will work with both
laptop and desktop computers. The last person to buy one at my
recommendation reported that her cost was about $40.