TubeDigger vs GetFLV: Help to choose the best stream recorder

[heyadam]

Hello.

I am comparing TubeDigger vs GetFLV to purchase one of them. I searched the forums and couldn't find a consolidated comparison thread.

I am seeking real world reviews and experiences with both. Some questions I have are: interface? how many sites overlap between the two? anything missing from either? conversion quality/performance? cost of incremental versions and upgrades after initial purchase? support?

Thank you in advance for sharing your feedback.

So far, I have only seen this chart on all-streaming-media.com:
http://all-streaming-media.com/recor...g-software.htm
Program Protocols Resume recording Password protected stream recording Comment Rating as Stream Recorder Price
Windows Media Real Video/Audio Quick Time Flash video

TubeDigger - - - http, rtmp, rtmpe + ± flash stream downloader/capture software with RTMP/RTMPE support 8/10 $24.95
(free trial)

GetFLV - - - http, rtmp, rtmpe ? ± flash stream downloader with RTMP/RTMPE support 8/10 $59.95
(free trial)

Regards,
heyadam

[heyadam]

I purchased TubeDigger today and am now a registered user!

Please see my review below.

Review:
Overall: Tube Digger is a slick, elegant solution to recording HTTP and RTMP(E) streams that works with many popular sites. It also offers intelligent, guided conversion to many popular containers and codecs.

Interface: Minimalist, well-organized and efficient. With the URL entry at the top you can either go to a page or drag a shortcut directly into the bar. The site is presented in the center. At the bottom, the now familiar list of detected streams with protocol, URL and mouseover tips. Below that, buttons for Convert, Settings, Video Folder and About. There are no menus! I actually quite like this. Clean interface design and does what I need it to. Themes through msstyles.

Downloading: Tested at several video sites, all listed on TubeDigger's homepage. Has worked flawlessly. It gives me the information I need quickly to determine the quality of the stream I want to record.

VideoCap: Works well although I have only used this once as a test. Turn "Rec On" and record live streams.

License: $24.95 for the current version and lifetime updates. Of note, there is some strange thing listed in the FAQ about being able to verify the key 5 times on the same computer or 5 different computers every 12 months. This is a strange restriction with no indication in the app what my status is (i.e. how many verifications have I already done?). Why not tie the key to an email address or user name and if both pieces of info match when verifying out to the web then OK? This is a difficult and burdensome requirement for someone who is frequently upgrading or changing their OS.

Comparison: GetFLV is TubeDigger's main competitor right now. I do not consider RTMPdump a competitor because it is open source, free and command line--an amazing program, too! I tried both TubeDigger and GetFLV before purchasing TubeDigger. I found GetFLV's interface to be cluttered and confusing. I didn't like that I had to click around the different sections on the left to view my downloads, convert, fix, etc. Everything should be visible in the main screen or pop-up as it is in TubeDigger. Also, I found that GetFLV suffered from more frequent stops requiring a restart while downloading than TubeDigger. TubeDigger has better and more lean conversion options than GetFLV that output playable video. GetFLV is very reliant on the version of Flash that you have installed. Apparently, according to the developer, TubeDigger is not. Finally, GetFLV is more expensive at $59.95 for the current version and one year of updates or $159.95 (!!!) for lifetime. Really GetFLV?

Summary: TubeDigger is a competent program that does what it is supposed to do at a great price! Well worth it.

Cheers,
heyadam

[raneru]

I don't know about GetFLV but TubeDigger is worth it

TubeDigger trial is slow (not sure if that's intentional or just a bug) but the prog is very good when registered

I was a bit hesitant at first after trying the trial but the quality of full product is good

No idea what the full version of GetFLV is like but when I tried a protected video with the demo the first couple of seconds of the video was fucked up, other protected vids on the site were ok but this one just kept messing up at the start

[TubeDigger]

Originally Posted by raneru

TubeDigger trial is slow (not sure if that's intentional or just a bug)

Can you explain more in details why you decided that trial version is slow?

[raneru]

Originally Posted by xeebosoft

Can you explain more in details why you decided that trial version is slow?

The kbs kept going up and down but roughly staying at 30kbs most of the time (I'm talking about it recording as I'm watching the video), but then when I bought a legit key everything seems faster now, it still jumps but roughtly between 200+ to 400+ kbs (which is more like the speed of my connection)

But I must add that the trial speeds on youtube were always fast. I'm talking about those other sites... 4od, etc

[TubeDigger]

Originally Posted by raneru

The kbs kept going up and down but roughly staying at 30kbs most of the time (I'm talking about it recording as I'm watching the video), but then when I bought a legit key everything seems faster now, it still jumps but roughtly between 200+ to 400+ kbs (which is more like the speed of my connection)

But I must add that the trial speeds on youtube were always fast. I'm talking about those other sites... 4od, etc

In trial mode TubeDigger records only 4MB therefore you got impression that recording is slow because you had only short time for speed to become higher.