How to record skype calls on audacity

[12jpayne]

Hi
I am looking for a way to record Skype calls on audacity.
can any one help

[Gale Andrews]

Don't, because Audacity is not intended to record Skype. At best you will get both sides of the call mixed into both channels, and at worst you won't be able to get the other side at the correct volume or there will be volume fluctuations when they speak.

Try these applications that are meant for recording Skype:
http://www.pamela.biz/en/products/
http://voipcallrecording.com/
http://www.ifree-recorder.com/
http://atdot.ch/scr/


Gale

[kozikowski]

You should also think twice about using software that insists on saving the work as MP3. If you open one of those up and edit it in Audacity, you shouldn't make another MP3 when you're done. If you do, the honky, bubbling compression damage will increase.

Pamela Professional and Pamela Business save the work as high quality WAV suitable for post production and filtering. They will also save the near and far voices as separate tracks, so if you need to filter or correct one without affecting the other, you can.

Odd that's different from the page I use....

http://www.pamela.biz/en/products/

Koz

[ButWhy]

I've actually got Pamela. I was just looking for a way to directly do it with Audacity. But I get what you are saying.

[kozikowski]

We had exactly one (1) complaint about Pamela and that was from someone who didn't read the instructions.

There are people who record Skype podcasts directly into Audacity like this one:

http://reellife.podomatic.com/

... and they're looking at the rest of us like we're nuts. They are lucky celebrities who happened to hit exactly the right combination of sound pathways, software and computer hardware. Nobody else can do that reliably. Even worse if they publish how easy it was and our postings fill up with people who can't make it work at all. These failures are normal.

Koz

[kozikowski]

That's a little wacky. When I use my link from one computer, I get four different offerings, including Business and Professional (attached). When I use different links or a different computer, I only get three. Twilight Zone moment.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Got it. Their stupid web display software changes the number of offerings with each customer screen size. The only indication of what they're doing is a barely visible light pink and white arrow.

Koz

[tomchick]

Pamela is godawful. I've lost so many recordings because of their software. The callers gradually go out of phase, or the software gets screwed up by some Windows or Skype update. I've previously used Pamela to play MP3s during a Skype call, but that can be spotty, and it'll frequently mess up the call. Furthermore, their customer support is wretched. I've been unable to use Pamela for well over a month due to some recent update. I filed a support ticket and have had a half dozen emails ignored since then.

I'd love to find some way to pipe my Skype audio directly into Audacity. It would be far preferable to taking a gamble on Pamela and their horrible customer support. :(

-Tom

[Gale Andrews]

I'd love to find some way to pipe my Skype audio directly into Audacity.

Audacity does not support recording directly from Skype. There are lots of alternatives such as http://voipcallrecording.com/, http://www.ifree-recorder.com/ or http://atdot.ch/scr/ .


Gale

[kozikowski]

Please note nobody ever complains about Skype. Skype got to be world famous by brutally and viciously taking over your computer sound services. No matter how messed up your computer is, Skype always seems to work. That's a problem when you try to use other software with Skype. Other packages always play second fiddle and may not get to play at all. Worse, yet, Skype has been known to make a change and mess up all your other settings (but not Skype's). This is not a good environment to do production.

If absolutely nothing works for you, you could do what I did and use two computers (you may need to zoom your browser to see both).



I let Skype have its way with the computer on the right, but I record using the one on the left.

Many of the Big Kids work it this way because it's stable and reliable.



Both of us are using Macs with Stereo In and Out, but you can do this with any computer by adding a stereo line adapter such as a Behringer UCA-202.



If you do get a software package to work, do post back.

Koz