Reviewer, 2008-05-28 07:20:00

A real-time audio recording software, it records audio streaming from any source (Microphone, Internet broadcasts, CDs etc..) into WAV, AVI and MP3 file, It supports scheduled recording.

Pros: The ACA audio recorder is able to recording in WAV, MP3 and AVI formats. With it you can record sound from Microphone, Line-in, streaming audio from the Internet, or music played by Winamp, Windows Media Player, Quick Time, Real Player, DVD player, Flash, games, etc.. In fact anything that plays through the sound card on the machine can be recorded. ACA Audio Recorder is able to automatically detect the recording formats your sound card supports and then set the application`s parameters for the best possible performance.

The user interface is very simple. Most functions can be called up with a simple mouse click or menu selection. Relevant parameter settings are available on a tabbed page. CD quality recording is the highlight of the features available. The tabs on the settings page relate to file, device, quality and schedule. On the file tab one selects the recording format and the filename of the output file. One can decide to use an existing name and ask the system to delete the existing file automatically while writing. On device tab the user is able to select the audio card if there are more than one present on the system else the existing card is automatically detected and set. Input choices available are mono mix, stereo mix, SPDIF input, Aux, CD player, line in or phone in. Input volume control for the devices and stereo balance adjustment, if applicable, are available too. On the quality tab quality parameters and compression, if any are chosen. Schedule page lets you choose start and end times with a display for total time. The main panel has a display fore elapsed time. Playback/ preview let you check that everything was recorded as planned.

Cons: Applications with an editor included are more useful as that combination lets one do a complete job of recording.

Overall: This is an application with a easy to use set of features, overall it rates 4 stars.