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.
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.
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
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.
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Application Mixer Settings | VoiceOver Settings |
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.