NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, December 2008
Capture Any Streaming Media with Applian
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio & TV Show Host

Iwilsker@apcug.net
(click to email author)

WEBSITES:
http://www.applian.com
http://www.applian.com/products.php
http://applian.com/downloads.php

I am frequently asked by callers to my radio show how they can record my show from the streaming broadcast on KLVI.com. I am also occasionally asked how to capture streaming media from a variety of sources, and how to convert the captured media to other formats for distribution. Now there is a single source solution for capturing any streaming audio or video on the internet, Applian Technologies, a privately held company located in San Anselmo, California. I have seen Applian products demonstrated at the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) events in Las Vegas, but really had never used one of them until recently. Now that I have used Applian products, I am favorably impressed.

I watch videos from a variety of sources, including YouTube, and my personal favorite, Hulu. For those who may not have seen my review of Hulu earlier this year, Hulu (http://www.hulu.com) has thousands of full length TV shows and movies, as well as other features to view. For those who want to capture any video and audio from any online source, play the media, convert the media to other formats, or split large media files into smaller more manageable files Applian offers its premier product, Replay Capture Suite. The Replay Capture Suite, which integrates the full versions of seven of its major products, is a $99 marvel that can do it all when it comes to streaming media capture, file conversion, media playing, and other related functions. Included in this Suite are Applian’s most popular individual titles, consisting of Replay Media Catcher, Replay Video Capture, Replay Converter, Replay Music, Replay A/V, Replay Media Splitter, and Replay Player. Obviously, each of these titles can be purchased separately, but the Suite is the most economical for anyone wanting a combination of titles; if purchased separately, all seven programs would total $220, making the Suite quite a deal.

Replay Media Catcher can download streaming video and audio from almost all websites that offer streaming, including my show on KLVI.com, and my favorite streaming site, Hulu. Naturally, Replay Media Capture also works with YouTube and countless other sources. One very interesting feature that makes this software very easy to use is the simple process of clicking “Start Recording” which not only records the streaming media (both video and audio), but also has an intelligent feature which can automatically figure the name of the song or video being captured, and name the saved file appropriately. With this $39.95 software, downloading MP3 files is extremely easy, especially with the automatic file naming feature.

Replay Video Capture allows the user to capture or create a video directly off of the PC screen. This capture includes any video playing from any website in any protocol, DVDs, webcams, PowerPoint, video calls on Skype or other telecommunications services, video chats, and anything else that can appear on a monitor. Using this software is very easy; simply click on “Get Window” to identify the portion of the screen desired, and then click on “Record”; the software does the rest. Audio can be either captured along with video, or simultaneous narrations can be recorded with a microphone, such as if it is desired to explain a PowerPoint, or anything else that can be displayed on the screen. Files can be saved in the popular MPEG-2 or Window’s Media Format (WMV), which can be played on almost any other computer. For either $39.95 by itself, or as a part of the Suite, this software can be both a lot of fun to play with, as well as be very useful for productive purposes.

We likely have videos or audio files that have been recorded in a variety of formats, and sometimes we may need the capability to convert seamlessly from one format to another; this is where the $29.95 Replay Converter shines among its competitors. Replay Converter converts between all popular audio and video formats, including Windows Media, Real, MPEG-4 Video, Flash Video (SWF and FLV), QuickTime, AVI (DivX and xVid), MP3, OGG, WAV, iPod Video, and PSP Video, all easily and without any prior technical knowledge.

Replay Music is a music recorder that captures songs from digital music subscription services, online radio stations, and other sources, and automatically save the files in MP3 format. The file are automatically tagged with artist, title, album, and genre, and can be burned directly to CD, or copied to an MP3 player or iPod. This software is included in the Suite, or can be purchased a’ la carte for $19.95.

Replay A/V does everything that Replay Music does, but adds support for streaming videos, including the ability to capture streaming videos from multiple streams at the same time. This $49.95 program is also included with the Suite.

Another program included in the Suite or by itself ($29.95) is Replay Media Splitter, which enables the user to easily extract or remove portions of audio and video files. This program supports WMV, ASF, WMA, AVI and MP3 formats directly, while other formats can be converted to one of these formats using Replay Converter.

The final component of the Suite is the $9.95 Replay Player, which allows the user to play recorded radio shows on the computer. Replay Player is activated by a single click from the desktop, and can open, play, pause, increase playback speed, and skip forward or backwards in convenient increments. By skipping over commercials, traffic reports, or other unwanted content, an hour radio show can be heard in a fraction of the original time.

Not included in the Suite, but available for free download from Applian, is a very useful browser toolbar, called Freecorder Toolbar. With this toolbar, the user can record online songs, record the audio portion of videos, capture internet radio, record from a microphone or line-in ports (from external sources like tape or CD), and record any other audio that can play through the PC speakers.

Applian makes some excellent products, and I recommend the Replay Capture Suite. Applian also offers a free trial of all of its products at applian.com/downloads.php, where trial versions can be downloaded. Please consider downloading some of the trial software, and purchase full versions of whatever titles you like, keeping in mind that the Suite may be a better buy than individual titles.

The holidays are fast approaching, and Applian products could be the perfect gift for that someone special, or for yourself. ______________________________________________________________________ PLEASE USE MY NEW EMAIL: iwilsker@sbcglobal.net LISTEN to my "My Computer Show" on NEWS TALK AM560 KLVI NOW STREAMING ON THE NET, MONDAYS, 6-7pm Central Time, KLVI.COM READ my weekly computer and technology column in the EXAMINER http://www.theexaminer.com Click on the "Front Page" image and scroll to my colum

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