STARTING JAKSTA MEDIA RECORDER

When you start Jaksta Media Recorder for the first time you will be presented with a Welcome screen.

This screen lets you start monitoring for downloads and also allows you to select a user interface to use - Beginners, List View and Adavanced.  If you havnt used Jaksta Media Recorder before then use the beginners interface. Once you know your way around you can the customise the interface how you would like.

The welcome screen also contains links to this guide, the Demonstration Videos page which provides instructional videos and also to the tutorials.

You can choose whether to display the welcome screen at startup or not by checking or unchecking the "Show at start" checkbox in the bottom right corner of the screen.

The tutorial screen provides a graphical overview of how to perform most tasks.

You can choose whether to display the tutorial screen at startup or not by checking or unchecking the "Show at start" checkbox in the bottom right corner of the screen.

You can open the tutorial screen at anytime via the Help > Tutorials menu.

LIBRARY: ORGANIZING YOUR DOWNLOADED VIDEO, MUSIC AND RADIO

When you start the application for the first time, the default module is the Library.

The Library displays all audio and video that you have downloaded or recorded. Subsequent starts will default to the last module you were in when you exited the program.

From the library you can select the type of recording (Internet, Audio or Screen) you would like to do using the drop downlist. When you change the recording type the toolbar icons will adjust for that recording type. If you have selected to display a modules tab then these controls also appear on that tab.

The Library has two types of views. A list view and a thumbnail view. To change views select the one you want from the toolbar.

Thumbnail View

The thumbnail view displays an icon for each download or recording. The icon will be taken from a frame within video or from an image lookup from the internet for audio.  You can change the image on the Properties form.

The context menu button in the top right corner of each thumbnail displays action menu items that apply to that item.  This menu can also be displayed by right clicking the item.

Double clicking an item will play it.  If there is a progress bar across the item, double clicking the progress bar will display the Properties dialog.

 

Renaming an item is similar to renaming a file in Windows Explorer: To rename an item, click the name.  Use the Escape key to cancel or Return key to confirm.

List View

The list view displays a row for each item with columns containing the date, name and status of the item.  It also displays an icon indicating the status.

To display the context menu for an item(s) select the item(s) and right click. Alternatively select the Library menu.

Folders

There is a virtual folder for each module that contains downloads and recordings for that particular module.

You can create your own folders via Library > Folders > New Folder menu item.

Each module also has a default output folder and you can change this using the toolbar icon on the appropriate module.

You can drag both thumbnail and list view items to folders you create.

You can show or hide the folders via Library > Folders > Show folders menu item. You can show/hide individual default folders under this menu as well.

You can import items into your library by drag and dropping them from Windows Explorer. When viewing a folder you have created you can import all media in that folder by Library > Folders > Synchronize.

Settings

The Library > Settings menu will display the Settings dialog and automatically display the Library tab.  You can change the following settings:

  • Media Folder: This is the root folder where your media will reside.
  • Thumbnails Per Page: The number of thumbnails that appear in the Library after which a "More" icon will appear.  Clicking this icon will display the next page of items.
  • No recently added: The number of items that will appear in the Recently Added view of each module after which a "More" icon will appear. Clicking this icon will display the next page of items.
  • Clear library after exit: When checked this will clear the library of all media when the application is exited. No media files will be deleted.
  • Delete to recycle bin: When checked deleting an item will move it to the recycle bin. Unchecked and the file will be deleted.
  • Use IE Proxy settings: When checked the application will use Internet Explorers proxy settings.
  • Small Interface/Display tray: When checked and using a modules small interface, inprogress downloads and recordings will be displayed in a small panel just above the task tray
  • Small Interface/Always on Top: When checked and using a modules small interface, the small interface will be the top most window.
  • Player/Choose based on Windows file association: When checked the player associated with the items file extensions will be used. When unchecked the Jaksta Media Player will be used.  If it is not installed you will be prompted to download and install it.
  • Minimize to task tray: When checked and the application window is minimized it will appear in the task tray and not the task bar

To reset to the default settings. Click the Defaults button.

Conversions

Conversions are preformed by the excellent open source product ffmpeg that is distributed with all our products.

The Library module contains a drop down list of preset conversion settings in the toolbar. Selecting a preset from this drop down means that any download, recording or conversion started after the preset is changed will be converted to that format.

Preset conversion settings are sorted by Device type, Manufacture and Format, so finding one right for you is very easy.

 

If you dont wish for a conversion to occur, select Dont Convert

By default converted items are created in the Media folder.  You can change the output folder using the Output Folder menu item to select a new folder.

To automatically import recorded, downloaded and converted media into iTunes, select an iTunes supported conversion settings and check the Import into iTunes item at the bottom of this menu.

You have full control over the preset conversion settings and can create, delete and modify them.  However as new devices and formats are released we update preset conversion settings on our servers and these are automatically downloaded when you start the application.

To create, delete or edit existing preset conversion settings select the Configure menu item from the drop down to display the Conversion Settings dialog.

  • Select the preset conversion setting you wish to modify from the drop downlist
  • Edit button: Will enable editing of the existing preset.
  • Copy button: Will prompt you for a new preset name and create that preset.
  • Delete button: Will delete the preset
  • Defaults button: Will reset all presets to their default settings

For more information on the conversion settings options please refer to the FFMPEG help: http://ffmpeg.org/ffmpeg.html.

Tools: Convert

The Library > Convert menu will allow you to select one or more media files from your file system to convert.  These files can be out side of your library and will be imported if required.

Tools: Fix FLV

The Library > Fix FLV menu will allow you to select one or more FLV files from your file system to fix. For more information on fixing FLV files please refer to Fix FLV in the Internet section of this guide.

Tools: Meta Data/Tags

The Library > Meta Data/Tags menu will allow you to select one or more media files from your file system so you can change the ID3 tags. Double click a tag to change the value.

Properties

On each items menu is Properties item that when clicked displays the Properties dialog

  • General Tab: Displays information such as Name, Location, Size, Source and Image. You can change the name and image. To view the file in Windows Explorer click the folder icon next to the location.
  • Meta Data/Tags: Displays and allows the modification of ID3 tags if the fomat supports it. If supported double click a tag to change its value.
  • Progress Log: Displays information about the download, recording or conversion. If a download, recording or conversion has failed then look at this log to see why
INTERNET: DOWNLOADING AND RECORDING VIDEO AND AUDIO FROM YOUR BROWSER

Jaksta Media Recorder will detect and download video and music from thousands of sites and streamed via many different protocols and in many different formats.

Browser Independence

It does not matter what browser or other application (including in the applications guide) that you use to watch video or listen to music that is streamed from the internet.  This is because Jaksta Media Recorder monitors the network stream for media and once detected will download or record the stream.

Monitoring for internet streams

You must start monitoring for internet downloads BEFORE you watch or listen to media in your browser that you want to capture.

You do this in the Library tab by selecting "Download from the Internet" and then clicking the Start button, or you can do this in the Internet tab by clicking the Start button

Small Interface

If you are capturing a lot of media from the internet (say a playlist of songs) then you may wish to use the Small Interface by clicking  in the toolbar. The Main Interface will disappear  and the Small Interface will appear in the top right hand corner of your screen and allow you to stop and start monitoring as well as return to the Main Interface by clicking 

Setting the output folder

At any time you can change the default output folder that recordings and downloads will be saved in by clicking  in the toolbar.  Note that each recording type (Internet/Audio/Screen) can have its own different output folder.

Settings

The Internet > Settings menu will display the Settings dialog and automatically display the Internet tab.  You can change the following settings:

  • Monitor
    • Select from the Internet Monitor or Winpcap as the network driver. Use the Internet Monitor if you are capturing over a VPN.
    • Enter ports to be monitored and their expected protocols

  • HTTP (Click for information on the HTTP Protocol)
    • Audio and video streamed over the HTTP protocol is identified by the content-type.  You can add and remove content-types and the associated file extensions.
    • You can quickly add or remove the detection of SWF files by checking/unchecking the SWF checkbox.
    • Some sites do not allow multiple connections to them or use urls that are valid only the first time they are used (by your browser).  We refer to them as secure sites. Media Recorder can automatically record instead of downloading secure sites. Add the urls for secure sites here.

  • HTTP Adv. (Click for information on the HTTP Protocol)

    To increase the speed of HTTP downloads, Media Recorder can use a method called segmented downloading. This is where a single download is broken to several smaller downloads (segments) and each is downloaded at the same time. The speed boost obtained is dependent on your network connection, your computer and the server streaming the video or audio.

    Here you can configure the number of segments to break a download into and the minimium size a segment can be.

    If a download is failing and you see in the Progress log that segements are failing, turn the Max number of segments to 1.

    The application can capture from YouTube in a variety of ways. These settings allow you specify which way you wish to detect and capture. Remember that you can always download any available YouTube format/quality using the built in YouTube guide.

    • Download Method
      • Raw. Detects and downloads media streams from YouTube based on the content-type. This method fully supports YouTubes new adaptive streaming protocol. This is the recommend method.
      • Generate. Detects and downloads media from YouTube. Will normally always result in an 640x360 FLV being captured.
      • Page. Detects and downloads media from YouTube. The format and quality downloaded will depend on the Format and Quality you select below. This method usually results in videos being downloaded as soon as the page is viewed and therefore faster downloads.
    • Download Format.  Only enabled when method Page is selected.
    • Download Quality. Only enabled when method Page is selected.

  • RTMP (Click for information on the RTMP Protocol)

    Some sites that stream RTMP will also try and secure it with a technology called SWF Verification. It is illegal for our products to respond to SWF Verification requests so we ignore them. This will cause the server connection to then drop after a period of time. The following settings allow you to control how these secure streams are handled.

    • Automatically resume when a secure RTMP connection is dropped: Enable this and the download will automatically restart each time the connection is dropped.
    • Automatically record when a secure RTMP stream is detected: Enable this and the application will automatically record the stream, instead of attempting to download it.
    • Always record RTMP streams (instead of downloading): Enable this and the application will always record RTMP streams.

  • Some sites use protection technologies (including SWF Verification and other site specific technologies) that mean it is only possible to record. Media Recorder can automatically record instead of downloading secure sites. Add the urls for secure sites here.

    Live streams such as webcams sometimes send incorrect timestamps.  This means the file created for the download plays back incorrectly. The following settings allow you to control how these are fixed.

    • Automatically fix live streams and those without a duration: Enable this and such streams will be fixed
    • Rebase timestamps to 0: Enable this and all timestamps will be rebased so the file starts at 0 time

  • RTMP Adv. (Click for information on the RTMP Protocol)

    The RTMP protocol allows us to request the amount of data the server should send in each chunk. Requesting a large chunk means that in many instances the download will happen much faster than the playback speed. The following settings allow you to control how this Super Download feature works.

    • Initial client buffer size (seconds): The number of seconds of data the server should send
    • Enable Super Download:: Check to enable this feature
    • Super Buffer size (seconds): The number of seconds of data the server should send when attempting a Super Download.
    • Disable for live streams: Check this to disable this feature for live streams

  • Dynamic Smooth (Click for information on the Smooth Streaming protocol)
    • Microsoft Smooth Streaming is an adaptive streaming protcol which means that the quality of the media displayed to the user changes in real time as the user watches based on their internet connection.
    • Therefore there are many different stream qualities available. Select the quality you wish to download from the drop down list.
  • HDS (Click for information on the HDS protocol)
    • Adobe HTTP Adaptive Streaming is an adaptive streaming protcol which means that the quality of the media displayed to the user changes in real time as the user watches based on their internet connection.
    • Therefore there are many different stream qualities available. Select the quality you wish to download from the drop down list.
  • Lumberjack (Click for information on the Lumberjack protocol) 
    • Lumberjack Adaptive Streaming is an adaptive streaming protcol which means that the quality of the media displayed to the user changes based on their internet connection.
    • Therefore there are many different stream qualities available. Select the quality you wish to download from the drop down list.

  • BT (P2P Torrent)

    The excellent open source P2P client aria2 is intergrated within the application to handle torrent and magnet link downloads and is controlled via the following settings.

    • Aria2 Port: The port that aria2 will listen on
    • Seed Time: The number of minutes after a download is complete that it will seed for.
    • Allow Overwrite: If checked then any existing file will be overridden
    • Enable DHT: Check to enable distributed hash table lookups
    • DHT Entry Point: Sets the host and port as an entry point to IPv4 DHT network.
    • DHT Listen Port: Sets the UDP listening port used by DHT(IPv4, IPv6) and UDP tracker. Multiple ports can be specified by using ,, for example: 6881,6885. You can also use - to specify a range: 6881-6999. , and - can be used together.

  • Naming

    Naming rules applied when a stream is detected

    • Active Browser: If a browser window is active then the title of that page will be used. Supports IE, Chrome, Firefox, Opera
    • YouTube: The last visited YouTube page title will be used for a YouTube download
    • Playlist: Video and music players sometimes use what is termed playlist files to obtain the stream(s) to play and these can contain title.  Jaksta will match stream urls against any detected playlists to see if a title can be found.  This is common for music sites (e.g. Pandora)
    • Referer: HTTP request can contain what is termed a referer which identifies the url of the page which made the request. If the detected streams request contains a referer then the title of this page will be used as the name.
    • HTTP Title: The application keeps track of all visited HTML pages.  The domain name of a streams url will be used to lookup the last page visited in that domain and that page title will be used.  Extended HTTP Title lookup will occur once the download is complete.
    • URL Parameter: The streams url is searched for parameters such as title= or name=. If one is found then that will be used as the name. Extended HTTP Title lookup will occur once the download is complete.
    • URL Path: The file part of the streams url will be used.  For example http://www.jaksta.com/some/path/file.mp3 the name would be file.mp3.  Extended HTTP Title lookup will occur once the download is complete.

  • Naming rules applied when a stream has completed downloading

    • Meta Data/Tagging: The resultant file will be examined for ID3 tags.  Applies to file types that support IDS tags (MP3, MP4, WMV, etc)  - not FLV.
    • Identify and Tag: Audio finger printing is used to identify and tag MP3 files.
    • Extended HTTP Title: The application keeps track of all visited HTML pages.  The streams domain name is used to lookup the last 5 visited pages.  Each pages content will be examined to see if the streams url appears in the page.  If it does then the title of that page will be used as the name.

  • Plugins

    Media Recorder supports adding third party plug-ins like rtmpdump to handle the downloading of streams. If Media Recorder can not download or record a file, installing a plugin will give it extended power.

    • Click the add button to bring up the External Program dialog.
    • Select the protocol you would like to pass to the plug-in
    • Enter part of the URL to match
    • Enter the plug-ins executable name and place the executable in the Media Recorder installation folder
    • Enter the executables parameters. Use the patterns url and file as indicated on the dialog. Other parameters should be hard coded.
    • Click OK to save

  • Ad Blocker
    • Downloading ads can be anoying. Enable Ad blocking and video (ads) from the list of domains will not be downloaded.

Tools: Manual Download

You can perform manual downloads using the Internet > Manual Download menu.

The dialog lets you select the type of download to perform.

  • Normal: A normal HTTP download will be peformed of the given url.
  • RSS Feed: Enter the url of an RSS feed containing media and select the publication date after which all media in the RSS feed will be downloaded
  • YouTube Channel: Enter the url of a YouTube channel and select the publication date after which all videos in the channel will be downloaded. The format and quality downloadeded is determined by the options selected on the HTTP Adv. Settings Tab.
  • YouTube Page: Enter the url of a YouTube page. The format and quality downloadeded is determined by the options selected on the HTTP Adv. Settings Tab.
  • YouTube Playlist: Enter the id of a YouTube playlist. The format and quality downloadeded is determined by the options selected on the HTTP Adv. Settings Tab.

SCREEN: RECORDING YOUR SCREEN AND COPY PROTECTED VIDEOS

Screen recording is only enabled with a Jaksta Deluxe license. With any other license it runs in trial mode and only one minute is recorded.

Screen recording is a great way to capture copy protected videos.

Screen recording can be performed from the Library tab by selecting "Record your Screen" or you can do it on the Screen tab.

Choose a method of selecting the area to record

  • Select video in browser: The video in the top most browser window is selected. This works best in IE but does support most other browsers depednihg on how the video is embedded in the page.
  • Select full screen: Selects the entire screen for recording
  • Default selection: Places a red box in the center of your screen. This can then be dragged and dropped by the top left hand corner to the desired location and the edges can be expanded and contracted as required.

Once you have selected an area to record you can start recording by clicking the Start button in the toolbar. The Screen module will glow blue whilst recording.

Small Interface

If you are recording alot then you may wish to use the Small Interface by clicking  in the toolbar. The Main Interface will disappear  and the Small Interface will appear in the top right hand corner of your screen and allow you to select areas to record and stop and start recording as well as return to the Main Interface by clicking 

Setting the output folder

At any time you can change the default output folder that recordings will be saved in by clicking  in the toolbar.

Settings

The Screen > Settings menu will display the Settings dialog and automatically display the Screen tab.  You can change the following settings:

 

  • The audio input details
  • The output video details

"Stero Mix" or "What You Hear" is required to be enabled to capture sound in screen recordings.

The default settings are tuned for recording online video.

AUDIO: RECORDING WHAT YOU HEAR FROM YOUR SPEAKERS

Audio recording is a great way to capture copy protected music.

Media Recorder's audio recording is unique in that it records audio driectly from an application (like a browser) and does NOT mix the sound from different applications together.

This means that if you are recording and someone rings you on Skype your conversation will NOT be mixed in with your  recordings!

Media Recorder also audio fingerprints audio tracks and lookups up things like title and artist of songs as well as the art work - these details are then saved to tags in the file!  Cool Hey!

Audio recording can be performed from the Library tab by selecting "Record Audio" or you can do it on the Audio tab.

Start recording by clicking the Start button in the toolbar. The Audio module will glow blue whist recording.

Small Interface

If you are recording alot then you may wish to use the Small Interface by clicking  in the toolbar. The Main Interface will disappear  and the Small Interface will appear in the top right hand corner of your screen and allow you to stop and start recording as well as return to the Main Interface by clicking 

Setting the output folder

At any time you can change the default output folder that recordings will be saved in by clicking  in the toolbar.

Settings

The Audio > Settings menu will display the Settings dialog and automatically display the Audio Settings tab.  You can change the following settings:

 

  • Output Format: Either MP3 or WAV. If MP3 you can also select the output rate.
  • Silence: Is a value between 1 and 255. Sound values at or below this number will be considered silence
  • Slience Time: The number of milliseconds that sound values should be below the Silence value for silence to be detected
  • Record Silence: Silence based on the parameters above will be recorded when this is checked. When unchecked silence is not recorded.
  • Split on Silence: The current recording file is closed and a new one opened when silence is detected based on the parameters above.
  • Minimum duration: Recordings less than this value are automatically deleted. This can be used to remove ads.
  • Automatically Identify and Tag Music: Enables audio fingerprinting to lookup title/artist information.

On the Audio Capture tab you can add and remove executables that audio will be captured from. If its not in this list the audio will not be captured from it.

On the Audio Naming tab you can specify how you would like your audio recorded media named.

HISTORY: EXTRACTING MEDIA FROM YOUR BROWSER CACHE

The History module monitors the Adobe Flash player running in your browser and also the caches of IE, Firefox and Chrome.

It is the only way to be able to capture videos that are streamed over HTTPS (SSL) which is encrypted and therefore hidden from network monitors.

The History tool works best when used inconjuction with IE as its cache is not memory mapped and therefore always available for interrogation.

  • Start monitoring by clicking the Start button in the toolbar. The History module will glow blue when monitoring.
  • Play the video in your browser.  It may take a little while before the browser descides to cache it and it appears.
  • Once complete click the item to move it from the history to your library

Settings

The History > Settings menu will display the Settings dialog and automatically display the History tab.  You can change the following settings:

 

  • Minimum File Size: Cached files under this size will not be displayed.
  • Timeout: If no data is written to the cache for this time then the file is concidered complete.
  • Monitor Browser Caches: When checked monitors the browsers cache as well as the flash player.  This may result in the same file being shown twice: Once from the cache and the other from the flash player.
GUIDES: EXPLORING THE GUIDES

Various Guides are available to help you find Music, Video, Radio, Podcasts and Audio Books to download and record. We are adding new guides all the time so be sure to always use the lastest version.

Some guides provide the ability to download and schedule downloads directly from within the guide itself.  Others require Internet monitoring or audio recording to be switched on to capture media as it plays in the guide.

When you open a guide you may be prompted for the best method to download or record from that guide. If you are not prompted then the guide will allow you to directly download from within it.

Guides that allow direct downloads can have content scheduled for download or recording. Using the guide for Scheduling ensures correct information is entered into the scheduler.

SCHEDULE: SCHEDULING RECORDINGS

The application contains a sophisticated scheduler which allows you to schedule regular and unattended downloads and/or recordings

The scheduler takes into consideration the timezone of the source and also handles changes in daylight savings between the source and you. This is particularly import for regular radio recordings.

The application does not need to be running when a download or recording is scheduled.  It will automatically start.

You can configure a scheduled download or recording as follows:

  • Name: This is the name of the scheduled recording/download. It will also be used for the resultant file name. You can also use the following parameters to add start time information to the file name:  {D} - day, {M} - Month, {Y} - year, {H} - Hour, {MI} - minute .
  • Url: The url
  • Capture:
    • Direct download: The url will be downloaded directly
    • Record from stream: Internet monitoring will be switched on and the url will be opened in the default browser. What ever is streamed will be captured.
    • Record Audio (output from speakers): Audio recording will be switched on and the url will be opened in the default browser. What ever is streamed will be captured.
    • Record Screen and Audio Output: The url will be opened in the default browser and the player will be automatically detected and screen recording started.
  • Launch/Download: Changes based on the capture selection. Defines how the url will be started or defines the download method to use for the url.
  • From: Is enabled for downloads such as RSS Feed, BBC Episode and YouTube channels which have published dates. Items with published dates after this date will be downloaded. Each time the schedule runs for such downloads this date will be updated ensuring only newly published items are downloaded.
  • Start: The start date and time in the given TimeZone
  • Duration: The duration of the recording after which time it will be stopped. -1 is no duration.
  • At complete: What action to take (if any) when a download triggered from this schedule is complete.
  • TZ: Time zone of the start date and time. This will be used to schedule the task at the correct time on your machine.  Each time a schedule task occurs the start time is updated against the timezone to take into account daylight savings changes or your machine and this TZ.
  • Schedule: The days of the week on which the scheduled task will run. If you dont select days then a once off task will be created at the Start date and time.
  • Convert: Select a preset conversion setting to convert to once the download is complete
  • Folder: The folder within your media folder that the download will be saved to.

We recommend that where possible always use the Schedule menu from within a Guide. This will ensure times and timezones are set correctly for the source.

 

You can export your schedules to a file and move them to Jaksta Media Recorder running on another machine. Use the Export/Import menu items under the Schedule menu.

Schedule Tasks are infact Windows Task Scheduler Tasks.  You can edit any features that the Windows Task Scheduler supports through the Windows Task Scheduler itself.


CONVERTING

Please refer to the Conversions section in the Library section of this guide