Unfair use.

July 13, 2005 6:35 AM

How to capture audio from a DVD movie on MacOS Tiger?

I searched and came close, but if the answer to this specific question is here already, I am sorry that I overlooked it:

Does MacOS Tiger deliver the tools necessary to allow me to play a DVD movie that I own and record a few seconds of the audio into MP3 or other type of audio file? If not, how do you recommend I do this?

posted by dontrockwobble to computers & internet (7 answers total)

The most commonly recommended tool for OS X is probably Audio Hijack, but it isn't free. I think it works fine for up to 10 minutes at a time or something along those lines if you don't pay for it, so it'll probably get the job done for you anyway.

It won't record directly to MP3 (you need to get the Pro version for that), but you can convert the file very easily in iTunes (drag it into your iTunes Library, set the filetype for imports to MP3 in the preferences, then select the track and do Advanced > Convert Selection to MP3).
posted by bcwinters at 6:43 AM on July 13, 2005

I am using the free version of Audio Hijack and have had no problem recording 2-4 hours of radio (my father-in-law occasionally does a radio program on a community radio station in Denver).
posted by terrapin at 7:33 AM on July 13, 2005

Another nod for Audio Hijack. What bcwinters doesn't mention is that not only will it record the audio from any application, but it was also not record the audio from all other running apps.

So you can record the audio from your DVD player, and have iTunes playing a song at the same time, but only the DVD audio will save to the .AIFF file.

Super handy. I've used it to record audio from DVDs while doing other things and it's a blessing not to have to worry about system alert sounds or websites with imbedded audio screwing everything up.
posted by Robot Johnny at 7:41 AM on July 13, 2005

I have used WireTap for this exact purpose. Using the free version, I have recorded to AIFF format and then converted it to MP3 using iTunes.
posted by bwilms at 7:42 AM on July 13, 2005

How embarassing. I meant that I use WireTap for what I described above. *blush*

WireTap also has a nice Applescript that comes with it for setting up a timed recording.
posted by terrapin at 7:58 AM on July 13, 2005

VLC may be able to do this. I'm certain mplayer can, but it does require use of the command-line, and isn't for the faint of heart, especially snagging audio only between two points.
posted by odinsdream at 8:00 AM on July 13, 2005

Alternatively, you could use a DVD ripper to do this (such as MacTheRipper or HandBrake) and follow it up with a de-muxer and AC3 decoder. Kind of overkill if you want only a few seconds, but for longer recordings, it's probably going to be the fastest way.
posted by kindall at 8:59 AM on July 13, 2005