The best software for downloading/capturing Windows Media and or Real Media streams

[placebo]

hoooohh.. for saving (let's call it "saving" instead of downloading and or capturing) Windows Media and or Real Media streams, there are better [sic] [sorry] tools out there than WM Recorder. I know 2 better. Well. At least 1. (the other one of the 2 is WM Downloader, by a Chin*se coder/company). I've tested WM Recorder but i am not really happy with the GUI and ease of use. And download results. In fact, downloading WM/RM from rtsp or mms 100% correctly (exact server file copy, crc32) is high art and all commercial tools (except for 1) on the market (NetXFer/NetTransport, HiDownload , WM Recorder, WM Downloder, RMC3, RMC4, FlashGet, FlashGot, Thunder, Orbit Downloader, Internet Download Manager, DownloadHelper, etc etc) don't do a 100% perfect job. They do a 99.6% job, and files play in their respective applications (WMP, RP), so why would the average he or she dare to complain? no big deal, right? Well, for techies and perfectionists (and maybe i am ) such a download result is dissatisfactory. ((In order to know whether a file is 0.4% different (crc32) from the original server file or 100% identical with it, you, of course, need to possess the original server file as reference; otherwise any attempt to do comparisons isnt valid. hehe. but that's another story ))

I agree that none of the stream recorders is perfect and this is dissatisfactory. However I can record almost all streams that I need with Replay Media Catcher, WM Recorder and rtmpsuck.

And I strongly disagree that WM Downloader is better than WM Recorder. In my experience, WM Recorder is the most powerful Windows Media and Real Media recorder. It is the only program that allows to capture Windows Media and Real Media streams (in the PRO mode) as well as download them (in the ADA mode). Moreover, while other applications use Miscrosoft code (and this is illegal) and can be sued for that, WM Recorder code was written from scratch. The developer of WM Recorder was even praised by Microsoft!

I will be surprised if you will find a Windows Media stream that can be downloaded by WM Downloader, but can't be downloaded or captured by WM Recorder.

The interface of WM Recorder is a little bit complicated because it need to support several recording modes. But it has a user guide and video tutorials that make the learning process very easy. And you only need to hit the Record button to record with it. So I don't think users will have many problems with the software.

[placebo]

*OIC*.
i agree that the user interface GUI of WMR is a little more complicated than it needs to be. My last tough testing of difficult challenging WMA-stream url's wasnt too long ago, and, although *some* tools are able to download those "test url's"... the results with WMR (and WMD) were not satisfactory. i'll give WMR another chance. same url, same test.

EDIT:
with WMR 14.8, i've just downloaded:
mms://stream.zune.net/a4241/e3/008/146/123/at/audio.wma
8,17 MB (8.577.053 Bytes), FCD03CD3
and then:
rtsp://stream.zune.net:554/a4241/e3/008/146/123/at/audio.wma
4,09 MB (4.298.237 Bytes), 94907BCC

the file on the zune server is the same (identical url, except for protocol change). but WMR downloads 2 different (sized) files. the "4MB"-sized file smells right, because the bitrate of the audio is 128kbps. first of all, WMR should be able to reproduce identically-sized files, or am i wrong with this question ask alex? (correct file size is: 4,10 MB (4.304.213 Bytes); please dont question how i know that 4.304.213 Bytes is the correct file size. the corresponding CRC32 is "95851B39". please dont question either. i cant tell where i have these data sorry); then it should be able to reproduce the 95851B39 code.

*IMHO* if a download tool saves/records/captures/downloads 2 different sized files for the same original server file, then the download tool needs a serious fix. just my 2 cents.

WMR has two recordings modes for Windows Media.

The default mode has the ability to remove the DRM's such that the recorded file can be played in the local computer. It still preserves the DRM conditions. The downloaded file can be saved and played in the computer that purchased the rights however burning, conversion and transfer to other computers are still covered by DRM conditions. Due to the DRM extraction this mode is not ASF compliant and may have sometimes parsing errors that usually are corrected by Windows Media Player.

The other recording mode is WMSDK which is an implementation of Windows Media SDK. It can be enabled from Settings/Media Options. This mode is ASF compliant and does not have any parsing errors. WMR doesn't provide this as default mode because DRM protected streams cannot be downloaded or are scrambled by the ASF compliance.

This is explained in the User Manual and other published documents about WM Recorder. You may use the WMSDK mode if you care about the differences between the two downloads.

[placebo]

i am just claiming that WM Recorder cannot do it 100% perfectly whatever settings you use. and if you claim that no tool could do such a perfect job on this (because the file is DRM protected) then this is not correct.

So the task or challenge is clear and simple for *any* helpful WMR user out there to stand the test:
1. Use WMR to reproduce given file size and given code by using the MMS protocol.
2. Use WMR to reproduce given file size and given code by using the RTSP protocol.

if you want to prove the power or strength or perfection of WMR, then you are invited to do the above test since you're are the strongest advocate of the WMR tool (and also the most experienced user of it), good luck

for my part, i dont need to prove any tool's imperfections. i will simply continue to claim that WMR (with so many other commercial competitors) cant do a perfect job on this particular task..

Originally Posted by placebo

i am just claiming that WM Recorder cannot do it 100% perfectly whatever settings you use. and if you claim that no tool could do such a perfect job on this (because the file is DRM protected) then this is not correct.

What exactly is not perfect? Is there any quality loss or packet loss?

The only reason I really like WMR is because I was able to record more Windows Media streams with it than with any other tool.
Its RTMP support is also pretty good. I haven't seen any better RTMP recording application with scheduling than WMR.

[placebo]

Originally Posted by Stream Recorder

What exactly is not perfect?

file size is wrong. file code is wrong.

Is there any quality loss or packet loss?

i dont know about packet loss. and i cant hear any quality loss. ( i havent listened to the audio file. it is DRM-protected )

hehe.. so i guess you're not (in the mood) up to the challenge: to do the testing (and eventually the proving) of the 1 given url (well, 2 url's).

ok, let's leave it then as it is *sigh* . WM-files downloaded with WMR can be played with WMP -- i guess that's the most important point, and the most important feature of WMR.

[...]

This thread is about "the best software for ...", so my vote honestly doesnt go to WMR. Let's present and vote for some further tools of this kind:

+ SDP Downloader
a noteworthy tool (Japan China), which is extremely easy to use and FREE. doesnt cost you a penny.

+ WM Downloader
a professional commercial website (company) (China) dedicated to various media and streaming subjects, similar to this forum. when i did some hardcore testing of MMS/RTSP url's last year, WMD gave perfect(!) results compared with WMR, HiDownload, and NetXfer.

As a general "rule", feed a given arbitrary rtsp-url to 10 different stream downloaders. The rule is that 3 tools will give resultA, 3 tools will give a resultB, 3 tools will give a resultC, and 1 tool will give a resultD. Although it is the same server file (unchanged URL), the tools download DIFFERENT files. Once i realized this situation, last year, i began to question *all* 4 results and to investigate which one was 100% identical to the server file. Then i had to "get" the original server files "somehow", to possess a reference for binary file comparisons. And the story went on... etc.

Anyway, WMD (and WMR) are great mms/rtsp-downloaders, so we have mentioned them here. For perfectionists, WMD is a good choice to begin with. For people who want to have WM-files which just play without notable error messages, then *any* other tool is as good a choice: WMR, SDP, Replay Media Catcher 4, HiDownload , NetTransport (NetXFer), and maybe even FlashGet and FlashGot, Orbit Downloader, etc.

Originally Posted by placebo

file size is wrong. file code is wrong.

i dont know about packet loss. and i cant hear any quality loss. ( i havent listened to the audio file. it is DRM-protected )

hehe.. so i guess you're not (in the mood) up to the challenge: to do the testing (and eventually the proving) of the 1 given url (well, 2 url's).

I don't see any sense capturing/downloading a DRM protected stream that I won't be able to play.

I recommend to remove DRM protection so that people can use legally purchased content on any device they have. But I suggest NOT to abuse rental licenses and NOT to distribute DRM-free content.

Originally Posted by placebo

This thread is about "the best software for ...", so my vote honestly doesnt go to WMR. Let's present and vote for some further tools of this kind:

+ SDP Downloader
a noteworthy tool (Japan China), which is extremely easy to use and FREE. doesnt cost you a penny.

+ WM Downloader
a professional commercial website (company) (China) dedicated to various media and streaming subjects, similar to this forum. when i did some hardcore testing of MMS/RTSP url's last year, WMD gave perfect(!) results compared with WMR, HiDownload, and NetXfer.

My favorite Windows Media recorders are WM Recorder, freeware WebVideoCap and freeware GetASFStream.

Originally Posted by placebo

As a general "rule", feed a given arbitrary rtsp-url to 10 different stream downloaders. The rule is that 3 tools will give resultA, 3 tools will give a resultB, 3 tools will give a resultC, and 1 tool will give a resultD. Although it is the same server file (unchanged URL), the tools download DIFFERENT files. Once i realized this situation, last year, i began to question *all* 4 results and to investigate which one was 100% identical to the server file. Then i had to "get" the original server files "somehow", to possess a reference for binary file comparisons. And the story went on... etc.

In case of live streams there can be a packet loss. In all other cases I don't see much difference between all Windows Media recorders. If they can record, they get a perfect digital copy of the stream. If the files are not 100% binary equal, I don't see any problem with that.

Besides programs like WM Recorder index .ASF files automatically, so you can fast forward and rewind your recordings. And if you get the result that is better, why complaining?

Originally Posted by placebo

Anyway, WMD (and WMR) are great mms/rtsp-downloaders, so we have mentioned them here. For perfectionists, WMD is a good choice to begin with. For people who want to have WM-files which just play without notable error messages, then *any* other tool is as good a choice: WMR, SDP, Replay Media Catcher 4, HiDownload , NetTransport (NetXFer), and maybe even FlashGet and FlashGot, Orbit, etc.

Since the most popular streams now are RTMP and HTTP flash videos, I recommend to use Replay Media Catcher 4 and NetXFer. And if you can't download some Windows Media stream with them, then just capture them with freeware WebVideoCap or WM Recorder in the PRO mode.

[placebo]

Originally Posted by Stream Recorder

I don't see any sense capturing/downloading a DRM protected stream that I won't be able to play.

testing the download with WMR for the sake of testing. no further sense.

My favorite Windows Media recorders are WM Recorder, freeware WebVideoCap and freeware GetASFStream.

i'll check them out next time i have a difficult mms/rtsp task For the sake of testing.

I don't see much difference between all Windows Media recorders.

my words

If the files are not 100% binary equal, I don't see any problem with that.

most people dont care about "corrupt-yet-playable" audio/video files i would assume

And if you get the result that is better, why complaining?

hehe. 'not complaining. just claiming that WMR (and all the others) just "downloads something which can be played back in WMP" but no further than that. Software developers may care more about such reports (or claims) of mine.

(...)

i like the recommendations. i would second that!! And it showcases that one needs a bouquet (or assortment) of stream downloaders to get one's download project done. The more tools you have or know, the better, hooray!

Originally Posted by placebo

people dont care about "corrupt-yet-playable" audio/video files i would assume

Ok, I'm not asking how you can prove that there is any corruption. But can you show any recorded stream where corruption can be noticed?