How to Record Skype Calls on Computer
September 4th, 2008 | by ka edong |I’m preparing to listen to an open forum with Jack Canfield. It’s called “Ask Jack Canfield” Tele-Class.
I’m going to dial-in using Skype. Because of timezone differences, I’ll be up at 1am to listen. I want to record the call for future listening, while driving for example.
Thus began my search for ways to record a Skype call.
I started with the built-in Sound recorder of Windows XP (Start > Programs > Accessories > Entertainment > Sound Recorder). Limitation: 1 minute recording. Have to click it again and again if I were to record a 1 hour call.
One of my search results was a YouTube video from a … 13 year old kid who calls himself KidGuru (www.adrianstech.com). (How to Record a Skype Call - by Kidguru on YouTube) Although I didn’t find my answer there, it was interesting finding such a young man who knows so much about technology. He is indeed a guru. Very eloquent, highly technical and very intelligent. Spent some time viewing some of his Videos. Galing!
Still through search, I found a good reference through Digital Inspiration. (How to Record Skype Conversations: Tools, Resources, Tips - by Digital Inspiration) . His list of resources is useful. But it’s easy for me to narrow-down to my needs: I’m looking for the FREE solution. The only one I found on Digital Inspiration’s list was PrettyMay
PrettyMay
I went and downloaded PrettyMay. (PrettyMay Call Recorder for Skype) I run the application, it rebooted Skype automatically. It looks rather easy and seamless recording calls on skype through PrettyMay. But I was stuck with “Searching for Skype”. You see, PrettyMay gets access to Skype and that’s how it’s able to record seamlessly with Skype. Unfortunately, I have a corporate version of Skype and some functions are disabled. i won’t be able to use PrettyMay. Sayang, it looks very cool pa naman. And I think it would have removed any ambient noise around my laptop’s mic.
Audacity
Search goes on. And I find it in my laptop afterall! Audacity! I used audacity many months back when i dabbled with some podcasts. I tried recording on a skype call on my laptop using audacity. IT works for me! It’s not crisp and clear. Audacity picks up the crickets chirping outside my window. But hey, the voice is clear. This will do well for me for now.
Resources:
- How to Record Skype Conversations: Tools, Resources, Tips - by Digital Inspiration
- PrettyMay Call Recorder for Skype
- How to Record a Skype Call - by Kidguru on YouTube
- Audacity
ka edong
getting ready to ask jack
3 Responses to “How to Record Skype Calls on Computer”
By esti on Sep 4, 2008 | Reply
you can use audacity to record from the output of skype itself (not using the mic)
what i usually do with audacity when i want to rip music of videos in youtube is to “route” the output of my laptop (whatever plays in my laptop will get recorded) by selecting “Stereo Mix” as recording device instead of mic, and then mute all other sounds but of the browser (i use windows vista in my laptop) and then start recording in audacity then play the video in youtube (i had it loaded fully)
I’m guessing the same concept can be done with skype+audacity (and stereo mix)
The “Stereo Mix” option depends on the sound card that is in the PC/laptop.
hth
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ka edong reply on September 7th, 2008 9:37 pm:
Thanks for the tip, esti!
I’ll try that next time.
[Reply to this comment]
By ka edong on Nov 6, 2008 | Reply
Hi Esti!
I’m on the Nov 5 teleclass. I’ve taken your tip and will be recording using the sound output of my laptop.
Here’s a guide.
Can Audacity record RealAudio or other streaming audio?
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq?s=recording&i=streaming
Just need to make sure that the stereo mix mic is set to zero (mute).
mabuhay!
ka edong
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