WM Recorder allows you to record Windows MediaÖ video and audio streams from the Internet and save them to your hard drive or CD. Recording can be done in several ways. In Browse Mode you can record media clips while browsing the Net. The program detects the beginning, the end and names of different media such that multiple clips can be recorded in a row without exiting recording. In URL mode you can download media files from their Internet locations. You can also use Windows Media Player to play and record simultaneously. WM Recorder supports HTTP and TCP Windows Media Player stream protocols.
Version 7.0 is the release version of WM Recorder. It brings up multiple improvements to the previous versions. This includes the user interface as well as recording and processing Windows Media files. In particular the URL recording has undergone major changes even though the main use of the program remains the real time recording (Browse mode).
Unzip WMR70.zip in a directory of choice. Run WMR70.exe.
If you select the Browse Mode, a Setup window will pop-up. Follow the instructions.
If you like to do a manual installation read the paragraph below.
If your computer is a LAN client and you have a proxy server click Setup - > Network Client and enter your proxy IP address and HTTP Port.
Note: WM Recorder will try to find the location of your Windows Media Player and Internet Explorer executable files. These files are usually located in C:\Program Files\Windows Media Player and C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer respectively. If these files cannot be found (which could be the case for computers that don't utilize the English language) a Browse - Search window will pop-up and you should search your computer for the following files:
When operated in Browse Mode WM Recorder creates a local proxy server and re-directs Windows Media Player through it. The proxy connection is enabled when the program starts and disabled when closed. When you first run WM Recorder the existing Windows Media settings are saved in a file called OldReg.txt located in WMR directory. These settings are restored when you exit the program.
In Browse Mode you can record media clips while browsing the Net. The files recorded from the Internet have the extension .WMR. Windows Media Player cannot play back these files.
WMR files are converted to ASF when you double click on them, drag them into WM Recorder window or open using WM Recorder - PLAY window. The ASF files are compatible with Windows Media Player and WM Recorder does not need to be utilized. Once converted to ASF you can either delete the WMR file which is no longer necessary or enable the Delete Original File option in the Setup menu.
While playing or recording a clip from the Internet in Browse Mode you can save its address (URL) by enabling Save all URL's option.
The recorded Windows Media Files are saved as .WMR files rather than being converted to ASF while the recording process goes on. This is done because in many instances the ASF files are larger or much larger in size than the WMR files. The user has the choise of keeping either the smaller WMR file or the larger ASF file.
Note: In the event of a crash you should start and then close WM Recorder to disable the proxy and restore your Windows Media Player normal settings.
In URL Mode WM Recorder connects to a specified location (URL) and downloads the media file. Media Player settings are not changed.
While recording, WM Recorder creates the WMR file. When you play back, the WMR file is converted to ASF.
Recording Media in Browse Mode
Click the RECORD button to enter the RECORD mode.
WM Recorder needs to be in the RECORD mode before the media clip starts.
After you click RECORD, start your browser and go to the site of your preference. WM Recorder will not record until the beginning of a clip is detected so you can keep the RECORD mode active while searching for media clips.
You can record multiple clips in a row without exiting Recording. WM Recorder will save them in different files. Existing files will not be overwritten. If the title can be found the file is saved with the name of the clip. Otherwise the name "New[x]" will be used where x is the next number available.
While browsing or recording, click the Record URL button. The URL window and the last visted URL will be displayed. Click Record URL to record (download) the file.
Recording URL's using Media Player
You can use Windows Media Player to record files from a specified address (URL).
Start WM Recorder in Browse Mode , click RECORD then start Windows Media Player. Click File -> Open URL and enter the address of the file to be recorded.
While WM Recorder is active visited URL's are saved in the file URLS.asx located in WMR70 directory. Start WM Recorder in Browse mode and click RECORD. Then double click on the file URLS.asx. All listed URL's will be played in sequence by Windows Media Player and recorded.
Note: This is the preferred mode for recording from a URL as Windows Media Player performs all necessary operations. The URL Mode (shown below) although faster does not implement all Windows Media Player options.
No setup is necessary in URL Mode other then the Network Client (for LAN connections with a proxy server). WM Recorder will download and save the media file that you specify. The URL (Internet address) of a media file can be found in several ways. You can right click on the Media Player window, then click Properties ->Show and copy the Location and File. URL = Location/File.
Or, in Browse Mode enable Save all URL's option.
Unless the server closes the connection WM Recorder keeps the connection open even if the end of downloaded file has been reached. In this case, the message DOWNLOAD COMPLETED is displayed and you can play the file. Otherwise you need to cliclk Cancel to close the connection and make the recorded file available.
When recording in URL mode click the Preview button to start Windows Media Player. The recording connection and the Player connection are completely independent such that closing one of them will not affect the other. In order to allocate the highest available bandwidth to the Media Player start the player first.
Note: If the server is busy Windows Media Player will not retry the connection and an error message will be displayed. In this case, you should click Preview again.
On poor connections Windows Media Player may experience the following behaviour:
1. The connection speed is lower than the bitrate (bit rate / speed) of the clip. In this case Windows Media Player can either switch to a lower bitrate (if the clip properties allows it) or feezes the image and plays only sound. When switching to a lower bitrate the picture and / or sound are lower quality. In both situations the Player will display the message "Buffering...".
2. Packets of data are lost. In this case Windows Media Player may either freeze both the picture and sound or show no picture at all. The time display however keeps moving forward.
When recording in URL mode these problems may be fixed. WM Recorder does not switch to a lower bitrate so even though the received data rate may be lower the picture and sound will be OK when the file is played back. To compensate for lost packets, WM Recorder implements a time compressing feature which eliminates the gaps. However, the lost information is not recovered.
While browsing the Net with WM Recorder active (Browse mode) visited Windows Media Player URL's are saved in the file urls.asx located in WMR70 directory. When you double click on this file all listed URL's will be played in sequence by Windows Media Player. If you don't need to record WM Recorder does not need to be active.
Sometimes the recorded files don't have a seek bar so you cannot FAST FORWORD or REWIND. This is usually the case for live streams (Internet TV). Set the option Seekable in the Settings to make these files seekable.
This feature allows you to split a recorded file into smaller ones. You need to specify the start and end times of the split. Select Split File option from Settings. You can use this option with ASF files only. A file with the extension .split.asf will be created.
You can use the BROWSE mode to browse the Internet as usual without recording or playing. When a Windows Media stream is detected WM Recorder will display the words "Windows Media".
From Windows Media Player 7 - Media Library - New Playlist create a new playlist. Then, use Windows Explorer to open your WMR File directory. Highlight the ASF files (not WMR) that you want to include in the playlist and drag them into Windows Media Player window.
If you just want to play multiple recorded files in a row open WM Recorder PLAY window, hilight the ASF files, right click on them then click Open to start Windows Media Player.
In Windows 98 and higher versions there are two Media Player programs both called Windows Media Player. Windows Registry designates them as MediaPlayer and NetShow. MediaPlayer (WMPLAYER.EXE) provides media stream playing and a multitude of other media functions (CD, MP3, visualizations, playlists, etc). The NetShow (MPLAYER2.EXE) is utilized for playing stream files only.
Either one of the Players can be utilized to playback the recorded ASF files. However, there are some differences:
You cannot record TCP (mms) files using the NetShow in Browse Mode. NetShow does not support TCP proxy connections. You can record TCP files either in URL mode or using Windows Media Player 7- Open URL in Browse Mode.
Some versions of MediaPlayer do not playback ASF continuous stream file (Web TV or Radio). NetShow does.
Windows Media Player 9.0 can download streams at a higher rate than the speed (bitrate) of the stream (buffers the extra-data in the local computer). Currently only a few Web sites have implemented this feature. If you have a high speed Internet connection you may be able to record clips faster than they actualy play (up to 10 times on Cable connection).
All recorded files (WMR) are saved in the folder that you specify or in C:\MRecord if no other folder is selected. C:\MRecord is the default WMR File directory created when you first run the program.
You can use Windows Explorer or WM Recorder PLAY window to delete or rename files.
This option brings up the Setup dialog. If your normal Windows Media Player settings have changed delete the file OldReg42.txt from WMR directory and run Setup again to memorize your new settings.
You can use this option to change media players. NetShow is Windows Media Player 6.4 (mplayer2.exe), Media Player is Windows Media Player 7 or higher (wmplayer.exe). See Which Media Player to use .
This option allows you to automatically start recording from a URL at a specified time. The recorded files are named "Time New[x"]. Existing files are not overwritten.
Sometimes, the data stream may have a lot of empty gaps (due lost data packets on poor connection). In this case no sound or image is available. These gaps can last for seconds or even minutes. You can eliminate empty gaps by enabling the Compress time option.
Specifying your connection speed is particularly important when recording in URL mode for low speed (Dial-Up) connections. Say for example that your connection speed is 56 K and you're downloading a video clip that has two bitrates (speeds) listed in its header (34 Kbps and 227 Kbps). If you specified your connection speed at 56 K than the 34 K version of the video will be downloaded. This version will have a lower video and audio quality than the 227 K version but it downloads faster. If you select 300 K for your connection speed the better quality 227 K version will be downloaded but at a much lower rate. So, on low speed connections you may have to compromise between quality and speed.
When a connection speed is specified WM Recorder selects the bitrate closest to the specified speed. In Auto mode, WM Recorder selects the highest bitrate posted by the media. On high speed connections (Cable, DSL) the connection speed should always be set to Auto.
Note that multiple bitrates are not always available on the same stream. If your connection speed is lower than the stream bitrate you should probably search for another URL where a lower speed version of the stream is available.
High quality video and audio media require high speed connections (Cable, DSL). You can download high speed media (300 Kbps) even if you have a slow connection (Dial-Up) by setting the connection speed to "Auto". However, you should expect a download time 5 to 6 times higher.
Use this option to disable either HTTP or TCP protocol. This may be useful on client LAN connections for which the TCP protocol is not available. Windows Media Player will not waist time searching for a TCP connection.
To setup WM Recorder for network connections (LAN with a proxy server), click Setup -> Network Client and enter the IP address and HTTP port of your proxy.
If you connect to the Internet through a proxy you may not be able to record all TCP files. This is a limitation of Windows Media Player (NetShow) prior to WMP 9.0.
Run Windows Media Player and click Tools-> Options-> Network.
Check HTTP and TCP boxes. Uncheck Multicast and UDP.
Under Protocol, highlight HTTP and then click Configure. Check the box Use the following proxy server and enter the word localhost for address and 8080 for Port. Click OK to exit.
Under Protocol, highlight MMS and then click Configure. Check the box Use the following proxy server and enter the word localhost for address and 1755 for Port. Click OK to exit.
Windows Media Player (NetShow) requires an additional set of settings similar to the one above which becomes available when you are playing a clip from the Internet. To access this, run the file MPLAYER2.EXE located in Windows Media Player directory then click Options->Advanced->Change.
Check HTTP box. Uncheck Multicast, TCP and UDP.
Check the box Use proxy, click Configure Proxy Settings, enter the word localhost for address and 8080 for Port. Click OK to exit.
