Windows Sound Recorder
Encyclopedia
Sound Recorder is an audio recording program included in Microsoft Windows
. The Vista version can record for longer durations but contains fewer options, and cannot play back recorded sound.
Many alternative utilities are available for download, including the open source tool Audacity
.
or headset
. In addition, many modern sound cards allow their output channels to be recorded through a loopback
channel is typically called Wave-Out Mix, Stereo Mix or similar. The recorded audio can be saved in .wav
. Sound Recorder can also open existing uncompressed or compressed .wav
files. To successfully open compressed .WAV files in Sound Recorder, the audio codec used by the file must be installed in the Audio Compression Manager (ACM).
In all versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista
, Sound Recorder was based on Audio Compression Manager. It could open and save audio in 8-bit or 16-bit uncompressed PCM format (.wav) from 8 kHz to 48 kHz, including CD Quality audio (44,100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo PCM).
Although Sound Recorder only saved in the .wav
format, it could use any of the installed ACM codecs to compress the audio; typically several voice codecs and the MPEG Layer III (MP3) codec were installed by default. As ACM supported only Constant bitrate (CBR)
stereo audio files, Sound Recorder also had these limitations and did not support Variable bitrate (VBR)
files or multichannel audio
.
All versions prior to the Windows Vista version of Sound Recorder could apply some simple audio transformations:
Command line switches are needed as it will not auto-play a file referenced in a batch file, startup folder, or task scheduler event. Use the /PLAY switch to launch the playback automatically. (SNDREC32.exe /PLAY "C:\Path\File.wav") Use the /CLOSE switch at the end of the string to close the application. (SNDREC32.exe /PLAY "C:\Path\File.wav" /CLOSE) In Vista, Sound Recorder is instead called SoundRecorder.exe and has different command-line switches. Vista's SoundRecorder.exe can be started at the command line by using the /DURATION switch (example: SoundRecorder.exe /duration 1000:20:30 will record for 1000 hours, 20 minutes, and 30 seconds) and is automatically terminated after the duration. The SoundRecorder icon will be displayed in the task bar during recording. Using the /FILE switch (examples: /file filename.wav /file filename.wma) allows you to name the file and select a file type.
In editions before Windows Vista
, on computers with more than 2 GB of RAM, after recording (but not when playing), Sound Recorder will return an error message indicating that there is not enough memory. This is a design flaw of older versions of Sound Recorder and officially cannot be resolved except by reducing the amount of available physical memory. There does, however, exist an unofficial patch that resolves this problem.
Under some circumstances, Sound Recorder will not default to the Windows default recording device (set in Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Audio tab, Sound recording, Default device). In this case, one must manually select it by clicking Edit, Audio Properties.
The new version of Sound Recorder included in Windows Vista uses the hard disk for recording audio and can therefore record audio up to any length as long as there is free space on the hard disk drive. Also, tags such as Artist, Album, Title, and Genre can be added to the sound file directly from the Save dialog. However, Sound Recorder lacks several features that were present in the earlier version of the program. It cannot open existing WAV or WMA files, and by default, it only allows saving to the lossy WMA
format at 96 kbit/s. (Windows Vista N only allows saving as WAV; on other editions, to force Sound Recorder to save as WAV, the user must start Sound Recorder with the command line "soundrecorder /file outputfile.wav".) Sound Recorder has been stripped of all basic audio processing features, foremost the ability to play an audio file, but also lacks sample rate conversion
, adding echo, reversing the audio, changing volume and playback speed, splitting, and inserting and mixing audio. The overhaul of the user interface resulted in the removal of the sound wave graphic display.
Versions of Sound Recorder before Windows Vista
recorded audio to memory, rather than to the hard disk, and the length of recording was by default limited to 60 seconds. Microsoft recommends recording 60 seconds and pressing the Record button again to record another minute. Alternatively, it was possible to open a previously existing blank file of the desired length and record over it. Also, the user could implement the Decrease Speed function several times to extend the length of the recording. The most sensible solution, however, was to record a bit of audio, then copy and paste the sample, repeating the process until the file reached the desired length.
Like other programs that ship with Microsoft Windows – such as Notepad – freeware and shareware programs are available that can replace Sound Recorder. These third-party programs often have more features, such as voice activated recording, automatic songs splitting and tagging, multi-track recording), but care must be exercised to ensure that these programs are obtained from a trusted source to be certain that malicious code is not executed when running such programs.
To record sound in Windows Vista and Windows 7, users need to enable Wave-Out Mix. As an alternative, it is possible to use software that doesn't need Wave-Out Mix for recording sound.
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...
. The Vista version can record for longer durations but contains fewer options, and cannot play back recorded sound.
Many alternative utilities are available for download, including the open source tool Audacity
Audacity
Audacity is a free software, cross-platform digital audio editor and recording application. It is available for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and BSD.Audacity was created by Dominic Mazzoni while he was a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University...
.
Features
Sound Recorder can record audio from a microphoneMicrophone
A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
or headset
Headset (telephone/computer)
A headset is headphones combined with a microphone, or one headphone with a microphone. Headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Headsets typically have only one speaker like a telephone, but also come with speakers for both ears...
. In addition, many modern sound cards allow their output channels to be recorded through a loopback
Loopback
Loopback describes ways of routing electronic signals, digital data streams, or flows of items from their originating facility back to the source without intentional processing or modification...
channel is typically called Wave-Out Mix, Stereo Mix or similar. The recorded audio can be saved in .wav
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
. Sound Recorder can also open existing uncompressed or compressed .wav
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
files. To successfully open compressed .WAV files in Sound Recorder, the audio codec used by the file must be installed in the Audio Compression Manager (ACM).
In all versions of Windows prior to Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, Sound Recorder was based on Audio Compression Manager. It could open and save audio in 8-bit or 16-bit uncompressed PCM format (.wav) from 8 kHz to 48 kHz, including CD Quality audio (44,100 Hz, 16-bit, stereo PCM).
Although Sound Recorder only saved in the .wav
WAV
Waveform Audio File Format , is a Microsoft and IBM audio file format standard for storing an audio bitstream on PCs...
format, it could use any of the installed ACM codecs to compress the audio; typically several voice codecs and the MPEG Layer III (MP3) codec were installed by default. As ACM supported only Constant bitrate (CBR)
Constant bitrate
Constant bitrate is a term used in telecommunications, relating to the quality of service. Compare with variable bitrate.When referring to codecs, constant bit rate encoding means that the rate at which a codec's output data should be consumed is constant...
stereo audio files, Sound Recorder also had these limitations and did not support Variable bitrate (VBR)
Variable bitrate
Variable bitrate is a term used in telecommunications and computing that relates to the bitrate used in sound or video encoding. As opposed to constant bitrate , VBR files vary the amount of output data per time segment...
files or multichannel audio
Surround sound
Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
.
All versions prior to the Windows Vista version of Sound Recorder could apply some simple audio transformations:
- Convert the bitrateBitrateIn telecommunications and computing, bit rate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time....
, bit depthBit depthBit depth may refer to:* For bit depth in graphics, see color depth* For bit depth in audio, see audio bit depth* For bit depth in drilling for petroleum, see drilling rig...
and sampling rateSampling rateThe sampling rate, sample rate, or sampling frequency defines the number of samples per unit of time taken from a continuous signal to make a discrete signal. For time-domain signals, the unit for sampling rate is hertz , sometimes noted as Sa/s...
of the audio file - Use Audio Compression Manager (ACM) to compress the audio using installed ACM codecs or convert it to a different codec format.
- Inserting and/or mixing in audio from other files.
- Splitting out parts of the current audio clip.
- Increasing or decreasing volume in 25% increments.
- Increase or decrease playback speed in 100% increments.
- Adding an echoEcho (phenomenon)In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single...
(without reverberationReverberationReverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...
). - Reversing the current audio clip.
Command line switches are needed as it will not auto-play a file referenced in a batch file, startup folder, or task scheduler event. Use the /PLAY switch to launch the playback automatically. (SNDREC32.exe /PLAY "C:\Path\File.wav") Use the /CLOSE switch at the end of the string to close the application. (SNDREC32.exe /PLAY "C:\Path\File.wav" /CLOSE) In Vista, Sound Recorder is instead called SoundRecorder.exe and has different command-line switches. Vista's SoundRecorder.exe can be started at the command line by using the /DURATION switch (example: SoundRecorder.exe /duration 1000:20:30 will record for 1000 hours, 20 minutes, and 30 seconds) and is automatically terminated after the duration. The SoundRecorder icon will be displayed in the task bar during recording. Using the /FILE switch (examples: /file filename.wav /file filename.wma) allows you to name the file and select a file type.
In editions before Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
, on computers with more than 2 GB of RAM, after recording (but not when playing), Sound Recorder will return an error message indicating that there is not enough memory. This is a design flaw of older versions of Sound Recorder and officially cannot be resolved except by reducing the amount of available physical memory. There does, however, exist an unofficial patch that resolves this problem.
Under some circumstances, Sound Recorder will not default to the Windows default recording device (set in Control Panel, Sounds and Audio Devices, Audio tab, Sound recording, Default device). In this case, one must manually select it by clicking Edit, Audio Properties.
The new version of Sound Recorder included in Windows Vista uses the hard disk for recording audio and can therefore record audio up to any length as long as there is free space on the hard disk drive. Also, tags such as Artist, Album, Title, and Genre can be added to the sound file directly from the Save dialog. However, Sound Recorder lacks several features that were present in the earlier version of the program. It cannot open existing WAV or WMA files, and by default, it only allows saving to the lossy 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...
format at 96 kbit/s. (Windows Vista N only allows saving as WAV; on other editions, to force Sound Recorder to save as WAV, the user must start Sound Recorder with the command line "soundrecorder /file outputfile.wav".) Sound Recorder has been stripped of all basic audio processing features, foremost the ability to play an audio file, but also lacks sample rate conversion
Sample rate conversion
Sample rate conversion is the process of converting a signal from one sampling rate to another, while changing the information carried by the signal as little as possible...
, adding echo, reversing the audio, changing volume and playback speed, splitting, and inserting and mixing audio. The overhaul of the user interface resulted in the removal of the sound wave graphic display.
Versions of Sound Recorder before Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
recorded audio to memory, rather than to the hard disk, and the length of recording was by default limited to 60 seconds. Microsoft recommends recording 60 seconds and pressing the Record button again to record another minute. Alternatively, it was possible to open a previously existing blank file of the desired length and record over it. Also, the user could implement the Decrease Speed function several times to extend the length of the recording. The most sensible solution, however, was to record a bit of audio, then copy and paste the sample, repeating the process until the file reached the desired length.
Like other programs that ship with Microsoft Windows – such as Notepad – freeware and shareware programs are available that can replace Sound Recorder. These third-party programs often have more features, such as voice activated recording, automatic songs splitting and tagging, multi-track recording), but care must be exercised to ensure that these programs are obtained from a trusted source to be certain that malicious code is not executed when running such programs.
To record sound in Windows Vista and Windows 7, users need to enable Wave-Out Mix. As an alternative, it is possible to use software that doesn't need Wave-Out Mix for recording sound.