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WMRECORD(1)                        WMRecord                        WMRECORD(1)


NAME

       WMRecord - General Purpose Recording Utility for Linux


SYNOPSIS

       wmrecord [-d <dsp>] [-m <mixer>] [-h]


DESCRIPTION

       WMRecord is a general purpose recording utility for Linux systems
       running X11, currently using the Open Sound System (OSS) to access the
       audio subsystem. The interface is designed to work in conjunction with
       WindowMaker's Dock or AfterStep's Wharf, two popular window managers
       for the X Window System. An alternative interface incorporating a more
       general purpose GUI toolkit is planned but not imminent.

       WMRecord was originally conceived as a tool for recording memos,
       interviews and meetings, and this approach is reflected somewhat in the
       interface. Recordings are made to one of 99 numbered slots or tracks
       which the user may browse through. There is no limit (other than the
       constraints of the file system) to the size of recording you make.
       Recordings are automatically saved to disk, but may be erased or
       recorded over as necessary.

       The user may select the input source, line quality and bit rate of the
       recording as well as determining whether or not to record in stereo.
       All settings are automatically saved by the program, so there need be
       no fiddling with configuration files in order to manipulate the
       settings.

       Version 1.0.5 now uses the WAVE file format for recording samples. This
       should allow users to import recordings into other applications and
       therefore increase the usefulness of WMRecord. However, recordings made
       with version 1.0.0 will no longer be playable with the new release.


OPTIONS

       By default, WMRecord uses the devices /dev/dsp and /dev/mixer to
       manipulate the audio hardware. There is currently no way to change this
       from the interface, but it is possible to override these settings at
       the command line using the following switches:

       -d <dsp>
              Set the DSP audio device.

       -m <mixer>
              Set the Mixer device.

       The main display area of the interface shows the length of the
       recording in seconds (or in playback mode, the number of seconds
       elapsed), the recording source (icons representing either a microphone,
       a line jack or a CD) and the sample rate. Two green LEDs represent mono
       or stereo mode and two red LEDs represent 8-bit or 16-bit sound
       quality.

       Directly underneath are the Record, Stop and Playback buttons and
       underneath that is the track selection which comprises a display of the
       current track number, Previous Track and Next Track buttons, and the
       Erase track button. Using the right mouse button on the Previous and
       Next track buttons changes the volume.

       Arranged from top to bottom on the right hand side of the interface are
       controls for selecting the Input Source (either Mic, Line or CD), the
       Sample Rate (either 8000, 11025, 22050 or 44100), the Mono / Stereo
       toggle and the 8-bit / 16-bit toggle.


FILES

       All files are stored in the directory $HOME/.wmrecord. Recordings are
       listed "rec01.wav" ... "rec99.wav", while the configuration file is
       called "wmrecordrc".


CAVEATS

       WMRecord uses the OSS (Open Sound System) as its interface to the audio
       hardware. WMRecord also assumes that samples are little-endian.  As
       such, this means that WMRecord is probably limited to the x86
       architecture.

       There is no processing of the recorded audio. This means that there is
       no noise filtering, and data is written to disk uncompressed.

       8-bit data does not appear to be recorded correctly.

       There is no more space on the interface for new buttons. *sigh*


CREDITS

       The interface is based on an excellent dockapp called WMTune, with the
       input source icons being taken from another excellent app called
       WMMixer. Well, I'm not too good at drawing fiddly little things and
       these applications look great. The sources for WMTune (and other
       dockapps for that matter) also came with a general purpose dockapp
       library which I have also used for creating the window and copying
       pixmaps around. I think that this should be packaged up into a separate
       library for WindowMaker / Afterstep as it really cuts down the number
       of hoops you have to jump through in order to please Xlib.


TO BE DONE

       -      Find a better way to update the configuration file. Normally I
              would have left all updates until the program received a signal
              or a DestroyNotify event but this does not seem to achieve the
              desired effect in WindowMaker.

       -      Implement a method for selecting the dsp and mixer devices
              without the need for command line switches.

       -      Fix the playback timing bug: the playback counter updates more
              rapidly than the rate at which the recording is being output,
              unless high quality settings are specified.

       -      Allow a user to impose a maximum recording time.

       -      A configure script or Imake setup, perhaps?


AUTHOR

       Malcolm Cowe <malk@bruhaha.demon.co.uk>

Linux                          4th October 1999                    WMRECORD(1)

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