Recording Radio & Converting to MP3

D

davidwd

New Member
Hi all
First-time messaging, so here goes

I like to record speech programmes from BBC R3, R4 & R4x to use in the motor during business travels. I live in a black hole as regards DAB radio reception so the recordings on my DAB radio so far have been dire.

I read a suggestion on a techie web-site that I could use tsMuxer to rip and convert radio programmes I have recorded on my Humax and copied to an external HDD to MP3 format.

So my questions are:
a) Has anyone used tsMuxer and can advise me on its use?
b) Do I just convert the radio files I have copied to the external HDD (is it that simple)?
c) Can anyone suggest an alternative option?

Hope the above makes sense and thanks in advance for any helpful advice

David
 
The Humax HDR-Fox T2 CFW has a built-in feature that extracts an MP3 file from a recording, see the OPT selection on the right :-

Capture.PNG

As posted by af123, the above is only possible by installing the Custom Firmware
 
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Ah, I hadn't noticed that the post wasn't in the Custom Firmware area, also I posted the wrong picture, now corrected
 
I use tsMuxer with radio recordings made on my Foxsat HDR. Its demuxer option extracts the raw .mpa audio stream rather than converting it mp3 format which is better if your player / car radio supports it ( I rip my recordings to a Rockbox'd Sansa Clip+ PMP which does play native .mpa).

Two alternatives to consider: Many speech programmes are available as podcasts and can be set up to automatically download to your mobile phone (eg The Archers, In Or Time). You can also use the BBC iPlayer Radio app on your phone or tablet to directly download radio programmes which is what I do for classic comedies such as Hancock. These can then be played back through your car radio using Bluetooth, USB audio connection (which you seem to have), an audio lead from headphone out to aux in on the radio if it has it or failing all else using an FM transmitter device such as the Satechi Soundfly which I always have to hand when on the road.

(I work as a multi-drop delivery driver and have had years of practical experience of this topic)
 
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Note that by default the rip is only to pseudo-MP3 (MP2 in a .mp3 file), and some players won't cope with this (including my car stereo). The process of converting can be done on the HDR-FOX, but it takes much (much) longer, and is configured by a setting in the WebIF control panel (Settings). With the switch flipped, all "convert to MP3" operations result in proper MP3, but with the required lengthy processing time.
 
Thank you all for all the advice I have received

I have been downloading the BBC podcasts, however since the BBC in their wisdom changed the format slightly around last April they will not play in the motor. So I have to convert them to WMA files to play.

One final question does anyone know the safest place I can download tsMuxer without attracting any malware etc?
 
Your original question was about Humax recordings of radio programmes.

To convert these to proper MP3 with maximum compatibility, ensure they are decrypted then use the WebIF Opt+ Extract Audio operation, having first ensured that WebIF >> Settings >> General Settings >> Audio extraction type is set to "MPEG-1 Audio Layer III (MP3)".

I have never had any problem with podcasts, these download as .mp3.
 
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