WireTap Studio 1.0.4 – Record, Edit, Play -
Podcasting Nirvana
Reviewed by Robert Pritchett
Introduction
Can it really be this easy to record audio?
“Using WireTap Studio,
you can record the discrete audio output of any application, as well as all
system audio, or record audio input from any microphone, line-in, or audio
input hardware.
If you can hear it, WireTap Studio can record it.
Once you have recorded
your audio, you can easily organize your recordings in the convenient Recording
Library, and edit them with WireTap Studio's integrated lossless audio editor.
WireTap Studio also boasts full
Audio Unit effects support, for adding professional quality effects to your
audio.”
Observations
WireTap Studio is the replacement for WireTap Pro. The
latest release includes support for formats found in Leopard such as AMR, 3GP
and 3GPP2 and a few bug fixes that have been resolved after feedback from such
sites as TUAW - http://www.tuaw.com/2007/12/20/tuaw-review-wiretap-studio-shows-polish-and-promise/.
You probably didn’t even know those were in Leopard.
The WireTap Studio Release
Notes can be found under the Help tab.
All the excellent video-based tutorials were recorded with
Snapz Pro X. The link to this nifty app can be found in the Help menu that
links here - http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/snapzprox/.
The 1-page PDF for using Audio in WireTap Studio is found in the Snapz Pro X
folder.
The 1-page Video Capture with Snapz Pro X PDF is found in the WireTap Pro
folder.
There are a variety of tutorials that provide an overview of
the Controller, how recording and media formatting is accomplished, use of
LivePreview and Effects captured before recording. The Editor section covers
cropping, format changes, effects, deletion, silence and using two tracks in
real time. The Library section has 2 videos as an overview and doing exports.
The Recording Sessions has 1 video on time-shifting.
Many on our staff have either reviewed or have posted
reviews in their choice of media – specifically Gene Stenberg’s Tech
Night Owl Live with his interview of Andrew
Welch and the review over on Tim Verpoorten’s Mac ReviewCast podcast by Allison Sheridan. Both are linked above
under “Other Reviews”.
You did see that it got one of the MacWorld Eddy Awards for
2007, right?
There are about three competitors vying for your dollars in
this audio-editing space and WireTap Studio just upped the anti a bit.
Conclusion
Support professional products at shareware prices by giving
Ambrosia a little green, especially if you do any kind of audio recording and
want an easy way to do it. Your work will act and feel like a professional job
without the professional costs associated with producing quality product.
