Ok…so I think I have an answer to my recording question, but I need a volunteer to try it out. Unfortunately, this isn’t a solution for everyone since it revolves around the program Camtasia which goes for $299. (There is a free 14-day trial, however.) But it’s E-Z. Here are the steps for those of you who might have the software or something comparable.
1. I started Skype and called the test number just so I could get some voice data coming into my computer, and I used Camtasia Recorder to capture both video and audio.
2. I brought the .avi file into Camtasia Producer and used the “Save Audio As” function to strip out the audio track as a .wav file.
3. I brought the .wav into Audacity and from there exported it as an MP3 file.
That’s it. Now, if you wouldn’t mind me testing this with real voices, Skype me at willrich45. And if that works, then maybe we can try to set up a quick edblogger conference Skype around, say, 1 pm EST. Let me know if you’re interested and maybe we can have some pre-holiday podcasting fun.
Hey Will, I think I might have a better solution for you. With a little bit of messing about with the audio settings on Windows and the program audacity, you can record skype calls for free. I’ve got the details on my blog at http://stigmergicweb.org/index.php/archives/2004/12/22/recording-skype-for-podcasting-a-possible-solution and you can download audacity (free software) at http://audacity.sourceforge.net
If you want to give it a try, let me know – my skype handle is omegageek. Good luck!
Unbound Spiral also has instructions at http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/001056.html
Happy New Year, Will.
Unbound Spiral also has instructions at http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/001056.html
Happy New Year, Will.
For Windows boxes, Microsoft has a very very well kept secret in their Windows Media Encoder program which is available for free at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx
This program can do full screen recording and many other things… Great for demos and training.
Once you have installed it look back at this site for additional info on the various codecs. There is also a help document that gets installed along with the program – go to the encoder listing in the start menu and find the info file listed along with the program.
It takes a while to learn this – it sure would be nice to have better docs and more publicity since this is an awesome tool for schools.