November 5, 2023

Useful features of 4K Video Downloader+

In addition to using Downie for my YouTube downloads, I also use 4K Video Downloader+ which has a useful subscribe feature I like. I initially got 4K Video Downloader during a sale, which made the upgrade decision to the “+” version easier. However, I don’t believe it is worth the original $65 price tag, as it doesn’t have $65 worth of download power compared to the $25 combination of Downie and Permute. That’s $65 for a lifetime license, which I had before, and look how well that worked out for its predecessor. Lifetime licensees don’t mean what they used to mean. Neither does Perpetual. Like Downie, 4K Video Downloader+ can download audio and video from mainstream sites like YouTube, but 4K struggles when you leave those familiar waters and has a high rate of “unable to resolve links.” My main use case for 4K Downloader is the ability to subscribe to a YouTube channel and automatically download new content as […]

October 22, 2023

Recording streaming audio with Piezo

There are tools to download audio and video. There are tools for converting between formats. And there are tools for splitting and joining files. So, what’s the correct tool for capturing audio when you can’t download it? While there are several tools to handle the job such as QuickTime and Audacity, if you want the quick click option, Piezo by Rogue Amoeba is the best choice. Piezo is capable of capturing system audio generated from a specific device or application. For example, you can capture audio from Safari and Firefox independently. This avoid system dings and notifications. Or you can capture from another application such as Teams, Discord, or Slack. That last one needs permission from the participants, let’s not overlook that. But, there are plenty of Live streams on YouTube where the music plays in a loop, and the stream has been running for several days. With Piezo, it’s possible to capture that audio so you can listen to […]

October 19, 2023

Merge, Join, Stitch together video and audio with Permute and Focus Video

Easy Record and Trim can split an audio file, and Video Cut, Crop and Join can split a video file, but what’s the tool for merging files back together? Even though Video Cut, Crop and Join has “Join” in the name, and it can indeed join or merge videos together, it’s not an intuitive process. It can be done by adding files to the task queue, even though you aren’t processing them, selecting the files in Task List, then right click and select Merge Videos. Give it a few minutes and the job will be done, even though it doesn’t look like anything is happening. The process isn’t intuitive, it duplicates files and uses up space, and the output progress window is basically non-existent. Disappointing to be sure, but there are alternatives for this job. If you have Permute for converting and extracting audio and video, you already have a tool for merging video and audio, it just may not […]

October 17, 2023

Trimming audio with Easy Record and Trim

One of the hurdles I’ve faced when working with audio is handling a 12 hour audio file. Not only is it a gig in size, it’s more than I can listen to in a single sitting, even if that sitting lasted a week. It would be great if I could simply grab the first hour. That’s a good amount of time for study, to help me fall asleep, or to use a timer while getting chores done. What I don’t want to do is wait for the file to load, select the part I want, then wait for it to reprocess. I simply want to create a file from the first hour. With Easy Record and Trim I can do that just that in about 5 seconds. Easy Record and Trim uses a Lossless Cut feature, similar to Video Cut Crop and Join, to quickly make a new file of the length you specify. I’ve started using this for the […]

October 15, 2023

Converting audio and video with Permute

The number of converter apps out there is almost overwhelming, perhaps even maddening if you just want to get the job done. Permute is the other part of the Downie combination that converts files between formats and extracts audio. Permute reads and writes to multiple formats, but by default there are presets for MP4, MP3, AAC and settings for specific mobile devices. If you need more, go into Preferences and define a new Preset. My uses include extracting audio from a video file, converting .mov to .mp4, and the occasional conversion to MP3. For my needs it’s a three step process, drag the video files onto Permute, select MP3 as the format, click Convert. After a time, I have the full audio track as a separate file. Permute can also trim, crop if you’re trying to make something specific. I’ve never had need to go this route, but I have used the Stitch Together feature, which is available through the […]

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