RaimaRadio – Internet Radio DVR

The RIAA may have given up on trying to outlaw DVRs, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying to interfere with your legal right to record content. And when it comes to recording radio, they’ve drawn a line in the sand. Whether its their lawsuit against XM Satellite radio or Creative’s decision to remove FM recording from their MP3 products, there are plenty of examples where the RIAA has used heavy handed tactics to try and stifle innovation.

The RIAA may have been worried about RadioShark, but it was the radio piranhas that were the real threat. While they were busy suing their partners, the open source movement has been filling the stream ripping wake that corporations are now too afraid to touch. By taking such a strong stance against legitimate companies, they RIAA has driven digital recording underground where they’ve now lost all control over it.

Stream ripping software isn’t new, but the functionality has been relatively limited and the interfaces haven’t been ready for the typical user. Screamer Radio is an excellent open source solution for DVR radio, but it lacks the aesthetic appeal and scheduling features that make traditional DVRs so easy to use.

Luckily, the open source community has been hard at work and what Screamer Radio leaves out, RaimaRadio is now bringing to the table. Raima Radio is a powerful freeware program that fuses features like wishlists, program scheduling, and video support with the traditional features of most stream ripping software.

This combination turns a tremendous amount of power over to the consumer and will certainly have the RIAA taking extra heartburn medication (when they find out about it). If they didn’t like XM’s limited subscriber base having the ability to record satellite radio, then they’re going to hate this program… Anyone with a computer and an Internet connection now has the ability to time shift radio to an MP3 player.

Raima supports a large number of Internet radio stations and includes links to web pages, where you can find even more mainstream programs. Because it’s continually caching content, hitting record midway through a show grabs the entire program. For years I’ve wanted to tune into Kevin and Bean’s morning show on KROQ but, since I live in San Francisco, I haven’t had easy access to the program. Now I can use Raima’s program to start recording – even before I wake up. By bridging the gap between the Internet and the MP3, Raima allows you to follow radio that would normally be out of geographic reach.

Even more powerful then the scheduling capabilities, is the ability for Raima to monitor and record specific songs or artists that you are interested in. Instead of illegally downloading songs from the P2P networks, Raima allows you to create wishlists and will scan for those songs on any station that you tune into. The number of streams that you can simultaneously record is only limited by your bandwidth. This allows you to set up filters, record 10 different stations overnight, and in the morning you’ll have a hefty MP3 collection.

This is the functionality that should have the RIAA terrified. If consumers are able to easily record the songs that they hear off the radio, it reduces their need to buy the hit singles. As someone who prefers albums over singles, I think that this is the wrong way to look at it. But I can still understand why they’d see this as a threat to their business model. If you get me hooked on a few of your best songs, I’m going to buy your albums, go to your concerts, and tell my friends about you,. However, if you’re a casual music listener, this software will enable you to avoid ever having to purchase music again.

While the radio capabilities are Raima’s strongest suit, they’ve also thrown in support for recording streaming video. There isn’t a large selection of channels and the quality is terrible, but its a nice bonus over some of the other stream ripping programs. I’d like to see them add support for recording Internet video into XviD, but portability is more important for music than it is for video.

The biggest drawback to Raima’s software is that the quality of the sound files isn’t always the best. The songs usually start recording ten seconds early and cut off before they finish. Unlike TiVo, there is no way to tell the system to start recording earlier or later to account for the lag. The MP3 streams also tend to include commentary from the DJs and sponsors. This isn’t a big deal if you’re trying to listen to a half an hour of talk radio, but it can be annoying, if you are only focused on the music. The quality of the mp3’s is also dependent on your network connection. If you’re trying to record a stream from Japan, while watching YouTube, running Bit Torrent, and playing online poker, then expect stuttering and interference to show up in your recordings. If you have a dedicated connection to a local radio station, then you should be fine.

While these deficiencies aren’t a major drawback, they still help to differentiate time shifted radio from buying the actual music. As great as RaimaRadio is, it still can’t replicate the selection or quality that you can get from visiting Amoeba or buying .mp3’s online.

Another drawback to the software is that you can’t tell if a station is broadcasting until you try to tune into it. Because Raima includes a lot of dead streams, it means that you’ll spend a lot of time trying to load dead air.

Overall, RaimaRadio is a great freeware program and one that is pushing the envelope for time shifted Internet radio. While there is plenty of room for improvement, its one of the better stream ripping programs out there. Universal may be relishing the royalties that they extracted from XM, but in the end, they paid a fair steeper price by trying to squash innovation.

Davis Freeberg is a technology enthusiast living in the Bay Area. He enjoys writing about movies, music, and the impact that digital technology is having on traditional media. Read more at Davis Freeberg’s Digital Connection.