BOOT CAMP 539 (26/08/08)
Freeware Top Tens part 3, Audio and Multimedia
Audio and multimedia is the
focus of this week’s rummage in the freeware and shareware goodie bag. Unless
you have some very specific needs this is one area of the PC software market
where you really don’t need to spend a penny because the freebie offerings are
so good.
These programs have been
thoroughly tested on XP and Vista PCs; however, as usual you install them at
your own risk. If you have any problems ask the author or check the website not
us, and please don’t forget to pay the licence fee or make a donation if you
find a program useful and continue to use it. It’s the right thing to do and
helps sustain the vibrant and resourceful freeware community.
Audacity, XP & Vista, 2.6Mb
http://tinyurl.com/5cck9x
It’s the audio equivalent of a word
processor. Basically it’s a multi-track recorder that records any sound passing
through your PC. That means you can record from the web, from files, from CDs
and DVDs, external sources, microphones and so on. In other words if you can
hear it on your computer’s speakers, you can record it. Now here’s the good
bit. Audacity lets you edit your recordings. Cut and paste sounds, make them go
backwards, add special effects, surgically remove clicks, split long recordings
into tracks and much much more. There are virtually no limits and when you have
finished you can save the recording in any of the most popular audio formats
for copying to disc, media player or web upload.
Babya iGrab, XP
& Vista, 310k
http://tinyurl.com/6425w9
iPods
are great but they can be infuriating, especially when it comes to moving
tracks from the player to a PC. Babya is the answer; you can a copy single
track or an entire library. There’s no software to install on the computer,
just download the program and copy two small files to your iPod and it
instantly becomes PC friendly. No changes are made to the player so it is
perfectly safe to use.
BBC iPlayer, XP & Vista, 6Mb
http://tinyurl.com/2tz9u6
Unless you have been living
in a cave for the past year you’ll know that the BBC iPlayer lets you download
BBC TV and radio programs from the last 7 days on to your PC, to watch straight
away, or later, on your computer or a TV. As they say, unmissable…
Free
Hi Q Recorder, XP & Vista, 3.14Mb, http://tinyurl.com/5vawa2
This versatile recording utility has hidden talents.
First and foremost it’s simple way to record streamed audio content from
Internet radio stations and podcasts and turn them into MP3 files, It also
records from CDs and DVDs and you can use it to make ring tones and create
podcasts but here’s the twist, you don’t even have to be there because it has a
built-in timer.
Media Monkey, XP & Vista, 6.6Mb
http://tinyurl.com/48ysg
New and improved, Media
Monkey is one of the most sophisticated audio file managers available. It
doesn’t matter how large your collection is, it can handle 50,000 files without
batting an eyelid, and if your library is in a mess it will sort it out. Media
Monkey organises your music according to almost any criteria or genre, create
playlists, sync your sounds to iPods, media players, phones, convert tracks
from one format to another on the fly, normalise volume levels, delete
duplicates and play a huge range of popular and obscure formats.
Media Player
Classic, XP & Vista, 1.6Mb, http://tinyurl.com/5w5ep9
It seems like MPC has been
around forever but don’t let that fool you. This compact media player plays
files that many fancy programs just can’t handle, and if it can’t there’s bound
to be a downloadable codec that will make it compatible. Needless to say it can
also play CDs, DVD, avi, QuickTime, RealPlayer etc. (with suitable codecs), but
it’s the obscure stuff where it excels. If you have an obstinate movie clip,
from a phone or digital camera that won’t play on your PC then let MPC have a
crack at it.
Switch Formats, XP
& Vista, 395kb
http://tinyurl.com/dfwnb
Convert multimedia files from one format to another, if
it’s on the list, Switch can do it: wav
(PCM, ADPCM+, aLaw+, uLaw+, and others), mp2+, mp3, mpga+ (MPEG Audio), au,
aif/aiff, gsm, dct, vox, raw, ogg, flac, amr, wma, wmv, aac, (not aacPlus),
m4a, mid+, act/rcd/rec+ (latest version not supported), rm/ra/ram+, dvf+, msv+
(some versions not supported), dss+ (SP Mode only), sri+, shn+, cda+, mov,
avi+, mpg/mpeg+, m3u+, .pls+, and there’s more, but we’ve run out of space….
WildVoice Studio,
XP & Vista, 24Mb, http://tinyurl.com/5swaxf
Create
your own Podcasts; WildVoice turns your PC into a well-specified recording
studio, just add a microphone. It has everything you need, including mixing
facilities and there’s even a built-in sound effects library
Winamp, XP &
Vista, 8.6Mb
http://tinyurl.com/14ej
One
of the oldest but still one of the best free media players, compatible with
most audio and video file formats and famous for its highly customisable
interface and the thousands of distinctive skins and plugins.
Yamipod, XP &
Vista, 4.5Mb
http://tinyurl.com/bktec
Yet
Another Manager for iPods or Yamipod frees you from the tyranny of iTunes. It
provides full control over your player, what goes in and what comes out, it can
even run directly from your iPod so there’s no need to install any software.
Your iPod it is instantly recognised as soon as you plug it in; you can read,
write, and copy mp3, AAC and id3 files to and from your iPod. It has fully
featured playlists, two restore functions, duplicate track remover, lost file
finder, PC to iPod synchronisation, create and edit notes ratings edit, to name
just a few…
Next Week – Freeware Top Tens part 4
JARGON FILTER
CODEC
Compression/decompression
(or coder - decoder) software utility or add-on used to process digital data
PODCAST
Audio recording (usually
mp3 format) downloadable from websites
SKIN
Add-on to change the
cosmetic appearance of a program
TOP TIP -- BONUS UTILITY
MP3 My MP3, XP & Vista, 5.7Mb
http://tinyurl.com/5om5oa
Here’s another audio recorder, and it will
capture anything you can hear through your PC’s speakers, but this one is quick
and simple to use, and it only does mp3, so there’s no messing around with file
formats.
Don't forget, there's a
full archive of previous Boot Camp Top Tips at www.pctoptips.co.uk
---end---
© R. Maybury 2008, 0608
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