Summary
The new software allows you to select which internet radio shows to record through a built-in program guide, keeps track of when they "air" and records the shows on your hard drive. Replay Radio and Magix Webradio Recorder are two examples of the software.
Original source:
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/Sep/1187942.htm
Details
A few new software packages that record Internet radio make that possible.
They all aim to be "TiVo for radio," but the comparison is not quite deserved -- none of them is as easy to use as a TiVo.
But if you're a radio fan, or getting bored of the same old songs on your iPod, Radiotime ($39.99 for one year), Magix Webradio Recorder ($29.99), or Replay Radio ($49.99) are worth a shot, particularly Replay Radio.
Radiotime does sell an optional receiver for over-the-air radio for an extra $20, but the main use of all three programs we tested is to record streaming Internet radio.
For this, you don't need extra hardware.
The gist of the programs is this: you select which shows to record through a built-in program guide.
You really need a broadband connection for this to work -- it would be a hassle to make sure a dial-up connection is established every time you want to record something, and in any case, dial-up connections aren't fast enough.
It has an extensive program guide, which it claims has 25,000 shows.
Like the TiVo, but unlike the other radio recorders, it allows the user to schedule recordings from another computer.
Radiotime recorded domestic shows fine for me but trying to record a BBC historical show yielded a broadcast of some mysterious British sport, probably cricket.
Radiotime's interface is also the most confusing of the three.
It has a 2,000-channel program guide but the selection is haphazard, with a large proportion of foreign stations, a symptom of the software's German origin.
_ Replay Radio is the winner in this test, mainly by virtue of its simple interface.
It's also the only
program that helps you find the addresses, or URLs, for audio feeds you want.
About the author: Mike Adams is a consumer health advocate and award-winning journalist with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, and he is well known as the creator of popular downloadable preparedness programs on financial collapse, emergency food storage, wilderness survival and home defense skills. Adams is an independent journalist with strong ethics who does not get paid to write articles about any product or company. In 2010, Adams launched TV.NaturalNews.com, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He also founded an environmentally-friendly online retailer called BetterLifeGoods.com that uses retail profits to help support consumer advocacy programs. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams volunteers his time to serve as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and martial arts training. Known on the 'net as 'the Health Ranger,' Adams shares his ethics, mission statements and personal health statistics at www.HealthRanger.org
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Sunday, October 16, 2005
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