Genre: Audio capture

Format: Shareware

Developer: Ambrosia Software

Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.2

Review Computer: 1GHz G4 PowerBook, 512MB RAM, Mac OS X v10.3.8

Price: $19.00

Availability: Out now

See, here's the great thing about Ambrosia Software: when they released WireTap Pro, which costs a mere $19.00, they discontinued WireTap, which was free. Bait and switch? No. WireTap users not interested in all the new features of WireTap Pro can still use WireTap Pro for free and get the same functionality from it that they got from the regular WireTap. All other features will have an audio "soundmark" to prevent their use.

See, now that's classy. I like that.

But then, I like Ambrosia. More specifically, I like their products, and WireTap Pro is no exception. This handy little utility has a very impressive feature set and comes in at an amazing price. I'd be happy to pay $19.00 if all it did was record the audio playing on my Mac. So, before I get into everything else it can do, we'll take a look at that.

Here's a quick scenario for you. Let's say you've purchased and downloaded a song from iTunes. As you well know, you can only transfer that song a certain number of times. Even worse, you have to burn that song using iTunes, which is pretty much useless when it comes to controlling audio level, time between songs, cross fades, etc. For that, you need Jam. Unfortunately, Jam can't play songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store, so you're screwed, right? Wrong. Play the song in iTunes, use WireTap Pro to record the song, then save that song as an MP3 or AIFF that Jam can read. Problem solved, and the conversion took no more than the length of the song.

I've also found WireTap Pro to be a more effective method of pulling audio out of my iMovies, of recording snippets of dialogue from DVDs and streaming movies (great for adding to GarageBand mixes) and even of recording notes and speeches using my PowerBook's microphone.

Working WireTap Pro is incredibly easy. Simply launch the application and click the Record button, then start playing your audio file from its source. When it's done, stop the recording. Actually, it would be wise to set your preferences before recording. You can select your source from either whatever's playing on your Mac or from the microphone/line in. WireTap Pro is set to record everything by default, but can be changed to automatically trim the leading and trailing silence (a highly useful feature that helps eliminate the need for editing after the fact), trim all silence (also eliminating silence during the recording session) and to start recording automatically when audio is detected. With all of these, you can adjust the silence threshold to make sure it doesn't accidentally cut low level audio. You can also preset the desired file format and adjust the compression settings accordingly.

Speaking of that, along with the aforementioned MP3 and AIFF formats, WireTap Pro also supports AAC and QuickTime. I'd like to have the ability to save files as WAVs to keep my PC brethren happy, but this isn't imperative, just a wish.

In the preferences, you can also have WireTap Pro automatically save your files to the hard drive, to iTunes, to an iPod or to another MP3 player. You can define a particular program in which saved files should automatically open, and you can determine if you want WireTap to always remain visible atop other open programs (the screen footprint of WireTap Pro is quite small, so this isn't much of a nuisance). If you choose to not keep WireTap Pro up top, a flashing dot next to its Dock icon will let you know when the program is recording.

Now, but here's where it gets good. Not happy with just iTunes integration, WireTap Pro also offers integration with iCal so you can program WireTap Pro to automatically launch and start recording at defined times. Why would you want to do this? Well, let's say there an online concert or broadcast you don't want to miss, but you won't be at your computer when it starts (or, like me, you're just forgetful). WireTap Pro can automatically launch itself, go to a preset URL for the audio feed, record it, save the file and shut back down. Or, suppose you have an AM/FM receiver hooked up to your Mac. WireTap Pro can record the signal so you can listen to your radio programs at a later date.

Unfortunately, WireTap Pro isn't a complete system. It's lacking many of the higher end features of Audio Hijack Pro, such as an EQ and the ability to burn CDs. This wasn't a major problem with me, as I ran all my audio through Peak or Jam, anyway. If you don't have programs such as these, though, you may miss some of Audio Hijack Pro's features here. It should be noted, though, that WireTap is more robust than the standard Audio Hijack, and is priced between the two programs. In other words, if you haven't been happy with Audio Hijack but haven't seen the need to upgrade to the full Audio Hijack Pro, WireTap Pro could be your happy medium.

Throughout the review period, WireTap Pro performed flawlessly. It never stuttered while recording, it never crashed on me and I never noticed any problems with the files it generated. The longest I left it running was for a little over half an hour when recording songs from They Might Be Giants' Clock Radio. Without WireTap, I'd have no method of making these songs permanent fixtures in my collection.

And that's pretty much what WireTap Pro is all about. It's not a perfect audio capture source for audiophiles, but for those who occasionally hear things on their computer—coming from audio streams, movies, games, etc.—and think they'd sure like to keep them around, WireTap is a powerful, elegant way to do it.

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