Recording sound input+output, (e.g. for recording of telephone calls) Options

[chrizoo]

Hi. Do you know a (Windows) program which can record sound input and output (i.e. mic-in and headphones jack) simultaneously (for e.g. a voice recording of a telephone call) ? Thank you.

[saratoga]

Hi. Do you know a (Windows) program which can record sound input and output (i.e. mic-in and headphones jack) simultaneously (for e.g. a voice recording of a telephone call) ? Thank you.

Unless you have multiple sound cards, you probably only physically have a single stereo A/D converter. If your sources are mono, you should be able to get a cable that will split the line in jack into two mono lines which you can use to record two mono sources.

[chrizoo]

I don't mind if I lose stereo and can only record in mono.
But sorry, I don't follow ... I guess this is splitter you mean:
So I should put this into the mic-in jack ?
But where do I go from there ?
thanks.

This post has been edited by chrizoo: Jun 22 2012, 00:42

[saratoga]

Split the line in into a left and a right channel. Then plug one device into left, and the other into right. Then record normally.

[chrizoo]

Then plug one device into left, and the other into right.

What "other device" ? I have just one device - the mic. I can plug the splitter into the mic-in jack and the mic into one of the two jacks of the splitter. But how do I record the sound output (e.g. incoming VOIP call) ? Don't tell me to feed the headphones jack right back into the remaining jack of the splitter ... that would create a feedback loop or at least an echo, won't it ?

[saratoga]

What "other device" ? I have just one device - the mic. I can plug the splitter into the mic-in jack and the mic into one of the two jacks of the splitter. But how do I record the sound output (e.g. incoming VOIP call) ? Don't tell me to feed the headphones jack right back into the remaining jack of the splitter ... that would create a feedback loop or at least an echo, won't it ?

Those instructions were for the telephone you mentioned above. If instead of a telephone, you actually want to record VOIP then you could probably make them work, but specialized software would work better. I don't think I can help you with that.

[slks]

Windows and every audio recording app I've used is only designed to work with 1 input at a time.... I don't think there's any way to do it without some very specialized software that may or may not exist.

What would be easier, if you have some equipment (such as a tape recorder) that can accept 2 simultaneous inputs, is to have a splitter on the end of the mic cable so that 1 split goes to your PC and the other to your recorder. And also have a splitter on the PC's output so that 1 end goes to your headphones (or speakers) and the other to the recorder.

I'm realizing now that you could also probably use a SECOND PC as a stand-in for a "tape recorder" in this setup - although you'd then need another splitter to grab your mic-out and PC-out into 1 stereo line-in.

But then you may need to somehow boost the mic to line-level if they're going through the same input jack ... hmmm....

[Brand]

I was sure the OP was asking for recording a cellphone..

Anyway, if it's for a VOIP call, try with any audio editor, like Wavosaur for example. If you have a Realtek soundcard, first go to Windows' Sound settings -> Recording devices and enable Stereo Mix.
Then run two Wavosaur instances from two locations (just copy it, it's a portable program).

In the first instance, select the Stereo Mix input to record what you hear (the other person).
In the second instance, select the microphone input to record yourself separately. You can later combine the two recordings if you want.

There might be some more elegant "all in one" solutions out there, but generally audio editors only allow one input device..

This post has been edited by Brand: Jun 22 2012, 10:21