Audio from the Internet to Burnable MP3?

November 28, 2008 7:47 AM

Is there any free software to capture audio broadcasts from the internet? I am a novice. I am not sure how to go about it. There are a few sites that will play through real audio but i would like to capture a file in a format such as mp3 to my desktop that I can burn to disc to listen in my car. Sorry for the lack of technical terms. I am new to trying to do this and am not sure where to look or how to do it. I run an IMac with OS 10.5.2...Thanks for your time!
posted by snap_dragon to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)

On Windows I would recomend WinAMP - but on a Mac there may be a Linux/Unix-compatible alternative.

VLC may be able to do this.

Woa - this list looks very helpful.
posted by jkaczor at 7:56 AM on November 28, 2008

i've used audactiy for that. maybe not the most efficient means, but it works! (and it's free).
posted by klanawa at 8:33 AM on November 28, 2008

Running Vista here, and I've used Streamripper (http://streamripper.sourceforge.net/) to download from Shoutcast in the past. Rips multiple streams at once, saves to an mp3 file in a directory of your choosing. From the page, it looks like they have a OSX version (*nix, but should work).

But it looks like jkczor found a good list for you.
posted by Jim T at 9:00 AM on November 28, 2008

I've used a program called Stream Ripper X in the past, which worked will with iTunes, but it looks abandoned now. The Streamripper link above links to a Mac version called X Stream Ripper, which apparently works well with iTunes.
posted by jeffburdges at 9:18 AM on November 28, 2008

i have used audacity for this purpose.
posted by rmd1023 at 9:33 AM on November 28, 2008

WireTap Pro has been a sturdy tool for these purposes. Used to be freeware, now it's shareware for $30.
posted by el_lupino at 9:52 AM on November 28, 2008

Audio Hijack Pro does this as well (pro denotes costing $$$ though)
posted by ijoyner at 11:54 AM on November 28, 2008

I have a mental block when it comes to things like this but for the recording part, Audacity works brilliantly for me (WinXP) - there's a Mac version too.

There are lots of tutorials around - the key for me was downloading the LAME MP3 encoder.
posted by ceri richard at 12:06 PM on November 28, 2008

Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, Audacity cannot record system/program audio under Mac OS X, unlike the Windows version. I think you'll have to go with WireTap Pro. But I'd loved to be proved wrong if there is a free alternative for Mac.
posted by 6550 at 12:55 PM on November 28, 2008

There is a free plugin for Mac OS X called Soundflower (http://www.cycling74.com/products/soundflower) that allows audio from any program to be captured. You can use it with Audacity to capture audio from the internet (you'll have to set your default audio device to Soundflower in System Preferences), then export it to an MP3 file.
posted by fearthehat at 2:28 PM on November 28, 2008

I haven't tried Audacity or Soundflower, but I can vouch that Wiretap is great. $30 is fair. Early versions were free, but unobtainable now unless maybe you can find it on an old MacAddict disc.

I use a freeware program called "MP3 Trimmer" to slice up my recordings.
posted by neuron at 2:35 PM on November 28, 2008

If you're trying to capture streaming audio, I highly recommend Streamripper X, mentioned above by Jim T and jeffburdges. It's pretty full-featured.
posted by lekvar at 11:02 PM on November 28, 2008

Seconding Audio Hijack. The pro version is $32, but it's a very useful utility. It will let you capture any audio on OS X.
posted by paulg at 1:32 PM on November 29, 2008