a review by Tom Piper
From time to time, I need to record audio from a variety of sources. When I do, I always return to the best software available to capture quality sound with ease and speed.
With Audio Hijack 3.1.1, I can record any audio from applications like iTunes, Skype, Safari, radio, hardware devices (including most microphones and mixers), and many other sources. Once captured, I can then quickly pass files to an audio editor, add them to iTunes, or share them via the Share sheet, all from the Recordings tab.
Recording from any application is easy by just selecting it and hitting Record, then I’m immediately saving sound. The System Audio source helps me record all the audio heard on my Mac, or even audio streaming from the web. If I can’t hear it well enough, Volume Overdrive will crank it to levels well past 100%.
If I need to a save a conversation from Skype, FaceTime, Google Talk, and more, its just a few clicks away. Amazingly, my music on tapes or vinyl can also be digitized with little effort at all. Concert DVDs, movies, iTunes, digital radio are just as easy to record into almost any format that I want to use like MP3 and AAC (this program will even help me with the ones I don’t use very often like AIFF, WAV, Apple Lossless, or FLAC).
Bulletproof recording means that even if my computer crashes, I’ll still never lose a recording. I can tinker and tweak my recording settings to make them perfect, then save a preset for future use with just one click. I can even use the Template Chooser to get a pre-configured Session.
Once saved, I can check my recordings by playing them back with a single click. The great new Time Shift effect lets me pause, delay, and rewind live audio. The included audio effects are easy to use and easy on the eyes. If I need to plan ahead, I use the Schedule tab to set up timed recordings for when I’m not around (it can also turn any app on my Mac into an alarm clock). All of my recordings are sorted by Session in the Recordings tab. If I decide to be a DJ or Podcaster, the auto-ducking is now possible.
There are also some great new features such as automatically stopping a recording, splitting it to a new file, or removing audio, based on silence in the stream. There is so much more that this terrific utility can accomplish. No wonder it gets such high praise.
If you want try before buying, a free download is available (everything works, but noise is overlaid on all audio capture lasting longer than ten minutes). To unlock the full version, just purchase a license key for only $49 at rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack. Owners of an older version of Audio Hijack can upgrade to the newest for just $25.
Rogue Amoeba Software is a privately-held software company, based in the USA with offices around the globe. Since 2002, they've been making additional tools for Mac OS X to assist us with all our audio needs such as Airfoil for Mac (or Windows), Fission, Intermission, Nicecast and Piezo. In that time, they've delighted tens of thousands of users and received some of the highest honors in the industry. I am one of those delighted users, and believe this audio utility is the best value on the market.
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