Recording Voice Chat

With the introduction of version 2.7 and the new (largely invisible) MegaMix mode, recording audio from voice chat applications such as Skype and iChat is now much, much simpler. As of version 2.7, the following is all that's needed to hijack from Skype, iChat, and Gizmo Project. We'll use Skype in our example.

1) Create a session and set Skype as the audio source, in the Input tab.

2) Click Record, and have your conversation in Skype.

That's it! Now all audio from Skype will be recorded by Audio Hijack Pro, just as it should be. Audio Hijack Pro automatically uses MegaMix mode for all new sessions where the source is Skype, iChat, and Gizmo Project. it can also be activated manually for other applications in the Advanced Hijacking options, by clicking the Advanced... button.

Note #1: If you wish to separate your audio onto one channel and the other party's audio on the other channel, turn on this option in the Advanced Hijacking options, by clicking the Advanced... button.

Note #2: When using MegaMix mode, audio effects will not be audible in local playback. They will still be applied to the recorded audio stream.

PLEASE NOTE: The following setup is deprecated and should not be needed by most users!

The setup below is now deprecated, but has been kept for those users who may wish to have complete control over every aspect of the recording. To use this setup, you must make sure that Audio Hijack Pro is not in MegaMix mode for your session. You can turn off MegaMix mode in the Advanced Hijacking options, accessible by clicking the Advanced... button.

Audio Hijack Pro is great for recording all sorts of audio, but when using Voice Chat in applications such as Skype or iChat, a bit of work is needed to capture both halves of the chat. These applications output audio in a non-standard way, so you'll need to use the setup below to record from them. The following should help you get started recording these chats.


 

Initial Pre-configuration

In order to set up these recordings, you'll need:
• A voice chat application such as Skype or iChat AV
• A hardware microphone (current Apple laptops come equipped with built-in microphones)
• A pair of headphones for monitoring

Set Up & Recording

For our example we'll be recording from Skype, but everything applies to iChat as well.

1) Plug the microphone and headphones in, then launch Audio Hijack Pro and Skype.

2) In the Input tab of an Audio Hijack Pro Session, set the first pop-up to Audio Device and then select Silence Input for the Input Device. Set the Output Device to the Silence Output.


Input tab setup


3) Next, go to the Effects tab of this Session. First, make sure the Dry/Wet Mix is set all the way to the right, on "Wet". This will cause all audio to pass through the effects. Next, insert the Application Mixer plugin. In the Application Mixer's editor window, set Skype as the Application, and set the Crossfade to 100% Application. Be sure to turn on the Monitor Output checkbox, so that audio from this application will be heard.

Note: Be sure to click the Advanced button, and set the Application Mixer to Hijack One Audio Stream. The MegaMix mode is used in the automatic setup at the top of this page, but is not recommended for manual setup. Using MegaMix here will cause both halves of the audio from Skype to come in here, resulting in your microphone audio coming in twice.


Plugins in parallel


4) Next, insert the VoiceOver plugin below the Application Mixer plugin (so that they act in parallel, not in series), as seen above. Set this to your input device (microphone) and adjust the crossfade to 100% Voice.

Application Mixer Settings VoiceOver Settings


5) Adjust the settings in the Recording tab. MP3 Low or AAC Low should be fine for any standard voice chat recordings.

6) Now click Hijack in the Application Mixer plugin editor, and click Start in the VoiceOver plugin editor.

7) Finally, press the Hijack button for the Session itself, then click the Record button and chat away. When you're done, click Record again, and you'll have a file containing your conversation. Be sure to turn off the Hijack button in Application Mixer and click Stop in VoiceOver, to set everything back the way it was.

So, what's going on here exactly? First, Audio Hijack Pro is creating a silent audio stream. Audio from your microphone is then going two places, into Skype and also into Audio Hijack Pro through the VoiceOver plugin. In Skype, this audio is sent to the person to whom you're speaking. In Audio Hijack Pro, this audio is mixed with the audio pulled from Skype with the Applicatin Mixer plugin, specifically the other speaker's portion of the conversation. This is combined together seamlessly to make one audio file, a recording of your conversation. The output you hear is just the audio from the other side of the conversation, which also plays out through your headphones.

Future Usage

After the initial setup, you can re-use this session as follows:

1) Launch Audio Hijack Pro and Skype.
2) Select the proper Session in Audio Hijack Pro and click the Hijack button.
3) Open the Application Mixer plugin's Editor window, and click Hijack here as well. Open the VoiceOver plugin's Editor window, and click Start.
4) Click Record, and chat away. When you're done, click Record to shut off the recording. Then shut off the Application Mixer Hijack button and the click Stop in VoiceOver.

Additional Notes

• When using iChat, it may be necessary to adjust the Stream Index from which the Application Mixer pulls audio. To do this, click the Advanced button in the Application Mixer plugin. From here, you'll be able to switch the Stream Index from Default to a number from 1 through 8. Experiment until you find the proper stream from which to pull audio.

• One additional step for some input devices, particularly headsets, is to adjust the Advanced Hijacking Options. Click the Advanced button in the Input tab to access this window. Choose the headset as the Target device, and change the Left Channel and/or Right Channel to 1 or 2 - do not leave them on Default. You should then hear the other party on the right or left ear - and they'll be recorded.

• You must be sure to hijack the session you're using, not just the Application Mixer and/or VoiceOver plugins in the Effects tab. If the session itself isn't being hijacked, then no audio pipeline will be established and no audio will flow through Audio Hijack Pro.