phone to mp3

June 21, 2006 3:24 AM

How can I turn a conference call into an MP3?

This thread talks about recording from my own phone. Are there call in services that will do this for me for multiple participants? Free or Fee?

posted by dhacker to computers & internet (6 comments total)

No need to discuss legalities, everyone will consent. Radio stations are doing this all the time now for interviews and that's basically what we're talking about here.
posted by dhacker at 3:26 AM on June 21, 2006

A lot of podcasters these days seem to be using Skype for this. There are many how-to articles on how to record the audio of Skype, and if you have the SkypeOut service you can call any standard telephone number.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:29 AM on June 21, 2006

Should I worry about Skype quality? I'm familiar with all the Skype "concepts" but I've never used the service myself.
posted by dhacker at 6:47 AM on June 21, 2006

Skype's audio quality is superior to the quality of the standard analog telephone system (POTS). So, if you're using SkypeOut to talk to someone over POTS it's going to sound like the standard muffled telephone call quality, but that's only because POTS is century-old technology. If you record a Skype-to-Skype call it will sound strange because it will be much clearer than a telephone call... it won't sound like a telephone call at all, in fact, because you'll be hearding those frequencies outside of the narrow band of 300 - 3400 Hz that POTS is limited to.

Though do note that if you use Skype behind NAT you should configure it to use a port that you've forwarded through the NAT router. This will allow a direct connection and prevent it from having to route your call through a third party supernode (which adds delay.)
posted by Rhomboid at 7:18 AM on June 21, 2006

I'd use a "telephone recording control" from your local RadioShack. You'd plug it in between your phone and the cord and then plug the other end into a computer with Audacity running or a minidisc recorder or anything else with a 1/8" jack on it. Saves you the trouble of finding a service, and you get more control over the output format and quality.
posted by fvox13 at 1:52 PM on June 21, 2006

At work, I've used Verizon to host and record conference calls to mp3s, but it's pretty expensive, and the sound quality is not great.
posted by clarissajoy at 3:51 PM on June 21, 2006