From Software Informer
Programs:StationRipper
StationRipper
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Free version of StationRipper running against two stations | | Developed by | Ratajik Software |
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| Initial release | 12/13/2003 |
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| Written in | C++ / MFC |
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| Operating system | Windows |
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| Available in | Multilingual |
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| Type | Radio music ripping |
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| License | Proprietary and freeware |
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| Website | http://www.stationripper.com |
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StationRipper is a commercial Microsoft Windows software program developed by Ratajik Software. It acts as a front end for several other pieces of software, with a focus on recording and downloading music, including: Shoutcast streams, Web based stations like Last.fm and Pandora.com, and Podcasts.
When recording streams with Streamripper or LastFMConsole, it can record to MP3 or Vorbis formats. While using StationSniffer or PodCastConsole, it can record any type of media file. For all stream types, it uses information brought down in the various streams to split each song into a individual file named by Band and Song name. The resulting files have the correct ID3v1 and ID3v2.4 tags set, and are unhindered. It can also download the songs album art, saving to a separate file or embedded in the MP3
The software it front-ends includes one Open Source GPL program and three proprietary programs by Ratajik Software:
- Streamripper - a free Open Source GPL streaming engine that records ("rips") Internet audio streams on Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, BeOS, OS/2 (amongst others). The StationRipper software was first released on December 13th, 2003. It can record to MP3 or Vorbis formats
- StationSniffer - software that downloads media files from web sites. It sits as a proxy between the web browser and a web server. As files are requested, it analyzes each file, saving off copies of any that it detects are media files, such as MP3 or MP4 files. The StationSniffer was specifically developed to record Pandora.com. When used against that site, it uses additional information to name the file correctly by Band Name and Song Name, downloads the Album art, and sets the Genre. It also recognizes and does the same do the same against Slacker.com, AOL Radio, Seeqpod, and Rhapsody. The software requires the user to play music from these sites, in the web browser. It works against any type of browser including IE, Firefox, Opera, and Chrome. For other sites it downloads the song into a single MP3 but does not name the song
- LastFMConsolse -records music from Last.fm
- PodCastConsole - downloads podcasts
Integration into iTunes is built in - songs recorded can automatically be placed on a iTunes playlist, which in turn can be automatically synchronized to a iPod (iTunes radio stations can also be recorded). The software also supports integration with MediaMonkey, MSN Messenger, and Twitter
StationRipper is available in a free version as well as a paid version ("Silver" and "Gold" licenses). It uses the Microsoft Access format for its library. The software embeds Microsoft Internet Explorer in the main window. The user interacts with various web pages, and the software captures certain actions, tells the browser to ignore the action, and then acts on it itself (e.g., clicking a record button that is a URL to a station on a web page starts recording, instead of playing the stream in the browser).
[edit] Overview
Major features of Stationripper are:
- Ripping shoutcast audio and video streams
- Web 2.0 Radio recording, including Pandora.com, AOL Radio, and Rhapsody.
- Recording Last.fm stations
- Downloading podcasts
- Synchronizing the recorded files to iTunes and MediaMonkey
- Search for songs that have played, via StationPortal.com
- View songs that are currently playing via StationPortal.com
- Album art download
- Commercials deleted (ignore files under a certain size)
- Tracking of stations recorded and songs that have been recorded
- Auto-skip of songs that have already been recorded
- Tracking Naming with Band and Song name, along with ID3v1 and ID3v2.4 tags
[edit] Legal issues
There are several points of view on the legalities of internet ripping software such as StationRipper. One point of view says that the DMCA restricts software like this.
In a brief[1] by the EFF it is argued that while the DMCA took steps to regulate the playlists
of noninteractive webcasters, it did not impose any design mandate on devies that might recod those webcasts - and that there are a wide array of lawful software products
that enable the recording of webcast content (StationRipper being specificaly mentioned).
[edit] StationPortal.com
As of version 2.80A, the software uses StationPortal as the page that comes up inside of the software. This as as a social site around internet radio stations - it allows users to vote for stations, to search for songs and bands, by station (against what has been played by each station in the past), and has pages that allow the user to view what is currently playing, both in a static page, a AJAX page, and Google Maps Mashup
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