Using Audio Recording to Convert DRM Protected WMA Files to MP3 - An example
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One example of a freely available streaming audio recording application is the Audio Recorder from http://www.audio-tool.net. This straightforward, simple-to-use recorder can take just about any audio stream and write it to disk as an MP3 (or WAV) file on the fly, making it ideal for the conversion of DRM-protected WMA files.
In order to capture the recording you need to set up Audio Recorder to intercept the digital audio stream output by Media Player. To do this you need to know where Media Player is sending the stream. In Media Player version 10, you can discover this through the Devices tab of the Options menu, where a list is displayed of all the relevant devices on your system. (Other versions may vary slightly but the information will be essentially the same.)
In this case we’re interested in what Media Player calls "Speakers" – in other words, devices used for actually listening to music. Double clicking the speakers icon reveals a further dialog in which you can see what sound device Media Player is using – in this case the Realtek AC97 Audio card.
Now you need to tell Audio Recorder to use the same recording device by selecting it on the application’s front panel. Just below this is the slightly strangely named Recording Mixer setting. In order to record an audio stream in real time you need to select Stereo Mix in the Recording Mixer combo box. If you don’t have that precise option on your system, choose the closest thing to it – it might be called something like Wave, or What You Hear.
This completes the basic setup; converting your file is now just a matter of clicking the Record button in Audio Recorder and then playing the file in Media Player. However, it’s quite likely that if you go ahead and start recording at this point, you’ll end up with a terrible result. This is because the real time recording process is affected by both the playback and recording volume levels. Unless these are correctly adjusted, it’s all too easy to obtain a recording that’s far too loud, with severe digital clipping and distortion.
Next: Level Adjustment >>
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