Audiograbber
Encyclopedia
Audiograbber is a proprietary
freeware
CD audio extractor
/converter program for Microsoft Windows
. It was one of the first programs in the genre to become popular. The data extraction algorithm was designed by Jackie Franck and was included in the Xing Technology
software package Xing Audio Catalyst in the mid 1990s.
It does not use Xing Technology's proprietary MP3 encoding library. Instead, it uses the LAME
encoder, Ogg Vorbis encoder, WMA
codec, as well as any format supported by an external command-line encoder library. The author is no longer developing this software.
Audiograbber is able to rip CDs, or record audio coming in via mic jack, or capture audio playing on the computer, into several formats, including WAV, MP3 and others. It performs the conversions entirely digitally, bypassing the system sound card, enabling accurate digital conversion. For convenience, it supports the freedb
database of Compact Disc track listings, to allow ripped tracks, with reduced user effort, to have the names of songs, artists and albums. It also supports normalizing, ID3
tag and CD-Text
support. An line-in sampling function can automatically split LP
recordings into separate tracks, plus it can perform noise reduction with a proprietary VST
plug-in from Algorithmix.
Prior to the release of version 1.83 in February 2004, Audiograbber was shareware
. The unregistered versions of the software only allowed a random selection of half the tracks of a given CD to be extracted in each ripping session. These limitations in the software were due to a restrictive clause in an agreement between the author and Xing Technology. After the agreement expired, the software was made available as freeware with no limitations on its function.
Proprietary software
Proprietary software is computer software licensed under exclusive legal right of the copyright holder. The licensee is given the right to use the software under certain conditions, while restricted from other uses, such as modification, further distribution, or reverse engineering.Complementary...
freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
CD audio extractor
CD ripper
A CD ripper, CD grabber or CD extractor is software that convert tracks on a CD to standard computer sound files, such as WAV, MP3, or Ogg Vorbis.It rips raw digital audio in CDDA format on a compact disc to a file or other output.- History :...
/converter program for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It was one of the first programs in the genre to become popular. The data extraction algorithm was designed by Jackie Franck and was included in the Xing Technology
Xing Technology
Xing Technology was a live audio broadcast software company founded in Arroyo Grande, California in 1989 by former networking executive Howard Gordon.-History:Gordon founded Xing on the basis of a simple JPEG decoding library that he had developed...
software package Xing Audio Catalyst in the mid 1990s.
It does not use Xing Technology's proprietary MP3 encoding library. Instead, it uses the LAME
LAME
LAME is a free software codec used to encode/compress audio into the lossy MP3 file format.-History:The name LAME is a recursive acronym for "LAME Ain't an MP3 Encoder". Around mid-1998, Mike Cheng created LAME 1.0 as a set of modifications against the "8Hz-MP3" encoder source code...
encoder, Ogg Vorbis encoder, WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
codec, as well as any format supported by an external command-line encoder library. The author is no longer developing this software.
Audiograbber is able to rip CDs, or record audio coming in via mic jack, or capture audio playing on the computer, into several formats, including WAV, MP3 and others. It performs the conversions entirely digitally, bypassing the system sound card, enabling accurate digital conversion. For convenience, it supports the freedb
Freedb
freedb is a database of compact disc track listings, where all the content is under the GNU General Public License. It was originally based on the now-proprietary CDDB . As of April 24, 2006, the database holds just under 2,000,000 CDs...
database of Compact Disc track listings, to allow ripped tracks, with reduced user effort, to have the names of songs, artists and albums. It also supports normalizing, ID3
ID3
ID3 is a metadata container most often used in conjunction with the MP3 audio file format. It allows information such as the title, artist, album, track number, and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself....
tag and CD-Text
CD-Text
CD-Text is an extension of the Red Book Compact Disc specifications standard for audio CDs. It allows for storage of additional information on a standards-compliant audio CD...
support. An line-in sampling function can automatically split LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
recordings into separate tracks, plus it can perform noise reduction with a proprietary VST
Virtual Studio Technology
Steinberg's Virtual Studio Technology is an interface for integrating software audio synthesizer and effect plugins with audio editors and hard-disk recording systems. VST and similar technologies use digital signal processing to simulate traditional recording studio hardware with software...
plug-in from Algorithmix.
Prior to the release of version 1.83 in February 2004, Audiograbber was shareware
Shareware
The term shareware is a proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability, or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a...
. The unregistered versions of the software only allowed a random selection of half the tracks of a given CD to be extracted in each ripping session. These limitations in the software were due to a restrictive clause in an agreement between the author and Xing Technology. After the agreement expired, the software was made available as freeware with no limitations on its function.