Recording Skype conversations

Update: Writing in August 2006, I've decided to turn this page into a list of Skype conversation recording software, after asking this back in January 2005:

One drawback of Skype: recording conversations. For a journalist this is quite an important drawback since recording an interview over the phone is as necessary as recording an interview face to face. J. Murali wrote a couiple of days ago about the problem in The Hindu : Business : Recording Skype sessions and some solutions, but he wasn’t impressed:

This author did a little research on the Net to get the details of the recording solutions already implemented by Skype enthusiasts and could spot some of them. But, unfortunately, most solutions found were difficult to implement.

Anybody else got any better solutions?

Quite a few folk have since added their suggestions, out of which I've cobbled together the following. I haven't tried some of these, and to be honest, I've still not come across one that completely satisfies me. Problems I've encountered are recording latency (where two people's words overlap with each other on the recording where they didn't in real life), lack of tweakability of sound levels so the two voices are the same and easy ways to give the resulting files filenames. But maybe one of these cracks it.

Windows:

• SkyLook: Skylook is a unified messaging platform built around Outlook and Skype. As part of this unified messaging, Skylook records all voice calls to MP3 and archives them in a folder within Outlook.
   
• HotRecorder: Doesn't mention on its website that it handles Skype calls but I recall it used to.
• iSound: turn your computer into complete audio recording studio.
• Pamela: answering machine, auto chat reply, birthday reminder, auto Skype status change when in a call, call/video/chat recording etc.
• PrettyMay: Lets you record and replay any Skype call easily and simply. Saves in mp3.
• 123 SoundRecorder: record your own music, voice or other sound into MP3, OGG VOX or WAV files from microphone, music cassettes, CDs, LP's, games as well as from music played by other program like Windows Media Player, Winamp, etc. (doesn't mention it records Skype but allegedly it does)
• Call Soft VoIP: Call Soft VoIP is a call manager for voice over IP networks. 

Macs:

• Audio Hijack Pro: Among other things, lets you record voice chat (from applications like Skype or iChat) into mp3.
• Call Recorder: an easy way to record your Skype calls and podcast interviews. Call Recorder is an add-on for Skype which automatically transforms your calls into QuickTime movies.
  

I'm sure there are more...

Comments

[fauntleroy]

Have you considered Audio Hijack Pro?

[terrie]

You might want to check out this article from Mac DevCenter.com:

How to Record a Podcast, by Glenn Fleishman
http://www.macdevcenter.com/pub/a/mac/2005/01/25/podcast.html

It looks like good info on recording conversations on Skype in general. (I work for O'Reilly and happened to see the article today.)

[dina]

Hey Jeremy - have you seen this - a how to on Skypecasting - http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/001056.html

It looks all complex but is really simple if you follow the instructions - i did and i'm really quite a tech-goofball but i have it working :)

There are follow-up posts too - and a whole Skypejournal category at his blog with some neat innovations and thinking on the subject - http://www.henshall.com/blog/archives/cat_skype_journal.html

[Pablo Martínez-Almeida]

Hi Jeremy, I don't have the answer to your question but I have thought long about the possibility of everybody recording their own conversations. In fact I posted about it at Smart Mobs some weeks ago:
http://www.smartmobs.com/archive/2004/12/01/an_idea_about_t.html

[JW]

Check out a more recent post on this: http://loosewire.typepad.com/blog/2005/05/great_tool_for_.html

[Paul Andrews]

Skylook offers a very simple to use and set up feature that automatically records all Skype conversations to a folder in Outlook (as MP3 attachments). You need Outlook 2000/XP/2003 and Skype 1.2 or later. www.skylook.biz

[Natasha Vita-More]

I spent two days trying to follow the instructions created by Skypecasting (per Terrie's post) and it was so difficult I cried.

What is needed is a simple explanation of how to use Skype to record an interview and then how to get that recoding into podcast format so that it can be broadcast.

After spending hour upon hour searching the web for easy instructions I have given up.

If anyone can help, at this late date, please email me at natasha@natasha.cc

An unhappy podcasting wannabe.

[sashilover]

PrettyMay is nice.simple to use.

[raj]

Hi Jeremy,

There's a write up at VoIP-Sol (http://www.voip-sol.com/15-apps-for-recording-skype-conversations/) about 10 Windows and 5 Mac apps for recording Skype.

[Graham]

I have had some success recording Skype calls with NiceCast on the Mac. Journalism.co.uk gives a good run through on how to do it;

http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/story1646.shtml

However, I couldn't eliminate the echo I was hearing during conversations which is very offputting.

Also, some recordings have failed which is no less fun. Call Recorder would seem to be the best and simplest answer for Mac users that I have since come across.

[Mas Jimbo]

I'm having some memorable video chats with my four month old while on the road on the other side of the world. How do I record Skype video? Any suggestions?