Record Skype - HotRecorder Review
Posted by Miles Evans
I have always wanted to record skype conversations for fun and profit. Hmm let me explain a bit…
It’s Sunday, and I just saw Oasis and Franz Ferdinand play Bangkok last night. A friend of mine nailed an interview with one of the bands for a local website and he mentioned that he was recording the interview with skype. I have played around with this before (prank phone calls in Thailand are endlessly amusing) and it was a serious pain in the butt to get a solid audio capture via VOIP. Most methods involved multiple PC’s, suction cup handset gizmos, and extra audio cables. Yuck, give me a 1 click solution already.
With podcasting all the rage, I thought I would give this another look and I am happy to report there is a simple solution that even your little sister can handle - Introducing HotRecorder...
For my HotRecorder review I figured I would call a webdev friend of mine (thanks Pascal) and see if HotRecorder lives up to its ad copy. The conversation is kinda goofy and unscripted but hey I'm new at this. So here is my first ProfitPapers podcast.
The crippled trial version of HotRecorder allows you to record only 2 minutes of audio. Luckily it does offer a tool for converting its .ELP formatted files to either .MP3 or .WAV. It's really quite slick. No cables, no dual PC setups, just 1 click recording of any Google Talk™, Skype™, AIM™, Net2Phone™, Yahoo! Messenger™, FireFly™ and many other VoIP applications. Easy like Sunday morning.
Extended features include: A voice mail system, sound quality settings, and 15 amusing sound effects. You will hear these in my examples above. I completely expect to waste the evening away surfing for an Al Pacino or Chris Farley soundboard.
Here are a couple of screenshots of the voice recorder and soundboard. Click the images for a full size view.
So how does this pertain to online marketing? Quick useful content anyone? In a format everyone appreciates. Not only is podcasting bleading edge and cool but it’s highly distributable as well. Podcasting is all the rage in the OLM space and everywhere else. If audio was somehow spiderable this whole review would have been a podcast. There are also podcast submission portals springing up allover the place.
If you are looking for a dead simple way to record Skype or other VOIP conversations for fun, profit, or espionage – HotRecorder is the app you are looking for. Priced at a measly $15, you really can’t go wrong.
Happy Prank, er, Marketing.
Update: I have just noticed that HotRecorder has slashed their prices by 33%. Giddy'up!
Visit the HotRecorder home page for more information.
Posted Feb 20, 2006 at 12:13 AM | Permalink | Trackback URL | Del.icio.us | DIGG!
Comments
Thanks for your review.
I bought Hotrecorder to record my Skype conversations and so far I'm very satisfied.
Alicia
Posted by Alicia Temple on February 21, 2006 7:53 PM
Please take a look at the new free software of SoliCall (www.solicall.com). It enables you to record calls made with any softphone (e.g. Skype, Google Talk etc.)
Posted by Jimbo on September 28, 2006 8:38 AM
take a look at PowerGramo
http://www.powergramo.com
PowerGramo is a powerful Skype audio recorder. It flawlessly records all type of Skype calls (pc-to-pc, skype in/out, conference, skypecast, etc..) with the best quality and have call records encrypted and password protected. Recording is done automantically and necessary information about calls is saved together with the calls for your future review. It is the perfect tool for podcasting, online journalism, conducting business, and much more!
Posted by wangyi on March 20, 2007 4:34 AM
I had a bad experance with this program.
It is impossible to uninstall, cannot use Add/Delete programs. The link in the "Programs" menu fails and the program in the Program Files is a dummy - does nothing except ask a question and does not uninstall - BEWARE! This could be a spyware scam. I still cannot get it off my machine.
Their support does not react at all!!!
Posted by William on July 15, 2007 11:50 AM
Purchased HotRecorder in Jan 08. It was terrible. Pamela Pro is the much better choice.
Posted by Robin on March 3, 2008 9:51 PM