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Recording Online Radio

In 2006 my commute got much longer and I decided I wanted to be able to record from online radio sources into my MP3 player and take them on the road. This should let me build up daily content I actually want to listen to instead of being stuck with whatever's on at the time I go to work or leave there.

This page collects my notes while I was searching for the right solution.

My wishes or requirements:

• Record straight to my MP3 player as a drive letter, so I can pull it and go without dragging files around.
• Schedule multiple timers to record different shows at particular times every day. Preferably name the saved files using different show names, maybe save in different folders.
• Split shows into chapters or separate files every X minutes, so I can record a one-hour show and skip boring segments easily.
• Record internally without a loopback cable from the earphone jack to the mic or line-in jack
• Set levels internally/automatically so I don't have to worry about blowing out levels if the volume is too hot
• "Tune" to an audio stream automatically, though in truth I could get most of what I want for my commute straight from KQED.org without changing channels.

A tip from Popular Science in 2006: use www.keepvid.com to save streaming media locally.

Here's what I found from the reviews at radio.about.com:

http://www.mp3-wma-recorder.com

Eval free; $30 to buy. Can schedule recordings. Can split files. etc. High marks from the reviewer.

Total Recorder Professional Edition from High Criteria Products

Low-rent $12, or full version for $35. Lots of features. Auto volume level setting? High marks from reviewer. I looked, and the standard edition seems to have all I need.

Audio Playback Recorder - http://tongsoft.com

Reviewer says this is the only one he's seen with multiple on/off times in the scheduler. Duh! I want lots of on/off times! eval available. Get version 3.4 or newer. $30. This failed me - I used its confusing interface to schedule multiple (short) recording clips - because it has a trial limitation of 60 seconds - and the scheduler didn't work right for some reason.

AudioGrabber

This works for streaming audio, breaks songs at silence, lets you type in the names both retroactively and prospectively... Very good.