Recording the noise that scares my dog
March 24, 2009 1:18 PM Subscribe
SoftwareFilter: Looking for voice / sound activated recording software to monitor what noises are spooking my dog when I'm at work. Mac-only, please.
In the space of a week, my dog has become a nervous wreck.
I've made no change to my routine, but my dog is acting scared, nervous, and needs constant comforting.
Oddly, she seems fine when we go for walks.
I'm wondering if there is some event during the day that affects her.
Is there software - open source preferred - I can leave running during the day that might record any loud noises made?
Mac-only suggestions please.
Thanks
In the space of a week, my dog has become a nervous wreck.
I've made no change to my routine, but my dog is acting scared, nervous, and needs constant comforting.
Oddly, she seems fine when we go for walks.
I'm wondering if there is some event during the day that affects her.
Is there software - open source preferred - I can leave running during the day that might record any loud noises made?
Mac-only suggestions please.
Thanks
Other thing: recording all day will fill a lot of space. I'm not sure what temporary file saving options there are, but you may be able to compress audio on the fly.
Option 2) Sound Recorder 2.1 (current version). More open source freeware, but more basic. Audacity is a full-fledged sound editing program, this looks pretty straight-forward. It also tells you how much recording time you have left until you run out of HD space.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:34 PM on March 24, 2009
Option 2) Sound Recorder 2.1 (current version). More open source freeware, but more basic. Audacity is a full-fledged sound editing program, this looks pretty straight-forward. It also tells you how much recording time you have left until you run out of HD space.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:34 PM on March 24, 2009
Um... I would try taking her to a vet to see if there's a medical condition going on.
posted by dondiego87 at 1:34 PM on March 24, 2009
posted by dondiego87 at 1:34 PM on March 24, 2009
While I agree strongly with dondiego87, I'm not sure if Audacity will do noise triggered recordings. Basically (apart from the vet visit) you want a series of recordings triggered by noise, each timestamped. I think some of the newer digital voice recorders can do it; can you borrow one?
posted by scruss at 1:38 PM on March 24, 2009
posted by scruss at 1:38 PM on March 24, 2009
Response by poster: Thanks for the vet suggestions. I actually had her checked out just before this started happening and she has a clean bill of health.
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 1:49 PM on March 24, 2009
posted by Apollo's Favorite Mistake at 1:49 PM on March 24, 2009
Also you're going to need to consider the fact that the average microphone's response frequency range is pretty crummy, and a dog's hearing is pretty damn good so there's every chance you won't pick anything up at all.
posted by fearnothing at 2:00 PM on March 24, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by fearnothing at 2:00 PM on March 24, 2009 [1 favorite]
+1 for Audacity.
With audacity you can set the recording quality to be something pretty low, you can reduce the sound quality quite a bit and still be able to hear and understand what is recorded - holding a work days worth of audio should be no problem for a modern computer.
It may eat up a few gigs or so - but you can scan the sound file for any db spikes and listen only during those times then delete the rest. As long as you do this every day or every other day, the sound files shouldn't build up to any significant amount of space.
GOod luck - I hope you don't hear anything creepy... old lady laughing, children crying, drunk old man voices... basically ghosts, I hope you don't hear ghosts.
posted by Brettus at 2:21 PM on March 24, 2009 [1 favorite]
With audacity you can set the recording quality to be something pretty low, you can reduce the sound quality quite a bit and still be able to hear and understand what is recorded - holding a work days worth of audio should be no problem for a modern computer.
It may eat up a few gigs or so - but you can scan the sound file for any db spikes and listen only during those times then delete the rest. As long as you do this every day or every other day, the sound files shouldn't build up to any significant amount of space.
GOod luck - I hope you don't hear anything creepy... old lady laughing, children crying, drunk old man voices... basically ghosts, I hope you don't hear ghosts.
posted by Brettus at 2:21 PM on March 24, 2009 [1 favorite]
If you record at 8kHz 8-bit mono (telephone quality), the recording won't take up much disk space at all.
posted by rhizome at 2:39 PM on March 24, 2009
posted by rhizome at 2:39 PM on March 24, 2009
Wouldn't it be easier just to set up a webcam you could watch while you're at work (assuming your work would allow this). You could see what time of day the dog gets spooked and narrow it down from there, maybe. I also mention this because I want to do the same thing (watch my dog from work), with a Mac, and am sort of hoping someone will post a great Mac-friendly webcam setup. Good luck with the pooch.
posted by TochterAusElysium at 10:09 PM on March 24, 2009
posted by TochterAusElysium at 10:09 PM on March 24, 2009
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posted by filthy light thief at 1:24 PM on March 24, 2009