VLC Audio Capture

[bowjest]

Hi, everyone,

Can anyone offer advice on how to capture streaming audio with VLC?

Preferably in mp3 format, but ogg would be ok, too.

I've tried just about every configuration option I can find, but although the stream plays (RealAudio), VLC fails to capture it.

BTW - the VLC site says that if VLC can play it, it can capture. It's a shame it doesn't go on to say how (well, other than via come pretty hair-raising command line stuff that I really don't think applies to what I'm trying to get).

Thanks in advance,

Bowjest

[icemanjc]

Although this is a not a free alternative. You can try Audio Hijack which will capture anything that you can hear.

[bowjest]

Hi, Icemanjc,

Thanks. I've got Audio Hijack (free version), but only want to capture a couple of radio plays that are 90 minutes long, so VLC, if it will actually work, would be the ideal solution.

[midijeep]

Save a stream with VLC

VLC can save the stream to the disk. In order to do this, use the Stream Output of VLC : you can do it via the graphical interface, or you can add to the command line the following argument:
--sout file/muxer:stream.xyz

where:
muxer is one of the formats supported by VLC's stream output, i.e. :
ogg for OGG format,
ps MPEG2-PS format,
ts for MPEG2-PS format.
and stream.xyz is the name of the file you want to save the stream to, with the right extension.
Receive a stream with a set-top-box

Some set-top-boxes with Ethernet cards can receive MPEG2-TS streams over UDP and support multicast.
Set-top-boxes known to work with VLC are :
Pace set top boxes. (Pace Micro DSL 4000)
Aminocom set top boxes. (all the models with mpeg2)
tuxia / gct-allwell (mpeg4 and mpeg2) sigma designs8174 chipset
i3micro mood200 (mpeg4 and mpeg2 in transport streams)

[bowjest]

Hi, Midijeep,

I should have been clearer: saving the stream output to disk is exactly what I'm trying to do, but this fails.

Here is what I do:

1. Load the .ram file I have downloaded and start playing the program - I'm not using a set top box or trying to capture video, just a run-of-the-mill BBC online radio play
2. Save the program as a playlist (.m3u file)
3. Open the Streaming Wizard and select to use the stream that I have loaded (the .m3u file)
4. In the next window, under Audio, I select Transcode Audio mp3 and leave the Bitrate at the default 192
5. Choose container in next window as raw and finish - if I choose any other container format nothing writes to it.

This starts playing the data into the .raw file that is created, but when I then re-name this to .mp3 to open and edit in Audacity, it just sounds like a tape played in fast forward.

Can someone please let me know where I've gone wrong with the above?