Howto record a meeting on a Mac?

February 19, 2009 7:16 AM

This evening, I'll be sitting around a conference table with my PhD committee, getting feedback on some of my writing. What's the best way to record the session on my Macbook?

For hardware, I'll have my Macbook and newest generation iPod Nano. I will be doing most of my notetaking in pencil on the hard-copy draft of my paper. What I want is a non-obtrusive (my committee members are all old-school literature faculty and I don't want to distract them or me with tech) way to record the meeting so I can listen again later and get any of the stuff I miss the first time through.

I'm looking to see whether I need some hardware (a mic? Is the internal mic on a Macbook good enough, even when it is facing me and not them? What about the built-in mics on new iPod headphones?) or some software.

I've got a few programs that do recording already: Microsoft Word, Journler, VoodooPad, OmniOutliner, and probably others. I'd be willing to pony up for another program if it was worthwhile for this situation.

Of course, I'll want to play it back and listen to it later. If there's a better solution than just iTunes, I'd like to learn that, too. I don't need a whole transcription, but, I dunno: would transcription software be useful?

posted by terceiro to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

Are you trying to be sly by letting them not know you are recording?
posted by bigmusic at 7:24 AM on February 19, 2009

The internal mic on the macbook is surprisingly good, but it is reasonably directional. Best case would be to get a more omnidirectional mic (something like the Blue Snowball would work really well), but if it's this evening you might not want to spend today looking for one. :-)

For audio recording, I really like just using the open source program Audacity. Does great recording, allows you to easily edit. Obviously, the mac comes with Garageband, which will do very good audio recording as well. I would use an audio program though, and not something like Word...you never know what you might want to do with the audio, and the programs you listed aren't likely to give you any real export options.
posted by griffey at 7:28 AM on February 19, 2009

Response by poster: bigmusic: No, not sly. I'll make it clear I'm recording, but I'd rather not have to do more than click once and then forget about it. If it involves lots of cables and maintenance, or if it draws attention to itself, then it is distracting from the purpose of the meeting. Non-obtrusive does not need to be invisible or covert.
posted by terceiro at 7:51 AM on February 19, 2009

I've used the "Notes" format in Word for Mac (what I assume you're referring to) to record lectures. It works ok in a large lecture hall (with the mic facing me, not the lecturer) so I imagine it'd be fine in a smaller room.

The only caveat is that you'd have to keep the laptop open, and if you're taking hard-copy notes, it might be more helpful to find an iPod solution.
posted by charmcityblues at 8:03 AM on February 19, 2009

You would be well-served by a desktop USB condenser mic. In searching for one you could buy local, I found a cool website called thefindlocal.com. I saw that you were in Ohio, so I did a search in Cleveland for "microphone usb condenser." Here 'tis. Change the location for where you are, and maybe there's something in your neighborhood.
posted by nosila at 8:11 AM on February 19, 2009

Note that the mic on the iPhone headset doesn't work with the Mac (actually it might work with the new unibody macbook(pros) but not 100% sure there).
posted by schwa at 8:14 AM on February 19, 2009

Oh and the best app to do recording IMHO is http://tapedeckapp.com/ - but I'm biased - I'm friends with the author. It is a great little app that is simple and just works and allows you to catalog your recordings well.
posted by schwa at 8:15 AM on February 19, 2009

Check with your school's A/V department; they may have some tools you can borrow for the session.
posted by philosophygeek at 8:51 AM on February 19, 2009

Best answer: As long as you're considering spending real money on a mic and/or more recording software for your Mac, you may want to comparison-shop against purpose-built digital recorders as well (I'd recommend the Olympus DS line based on my experience, but you'll be okay with anything that has a USB port for later transfer to your computer). These are a lot less obtrusive than a laptop and mic when sitting on a meeting table; they sometimes record better/cleaner sound because they're designed to screen out room noise, A/C hum, etc.; and just taking out the gadget, hitting the "record" button, and laying it on the table is a pretty unambiguous way of announcing that you're recording, without making a big deal or wasting conversation time on it.
posted by RogerB at 10:33 AM on February 19, 2009

Do your committee members know you plan to record them? Springing the idea on them at the meeting may be perceived as adversarial, especially to old-school types that are wary of tech.
posted by plastic_animals at 11:37 AM on February 19, 2009