NovaLog Details

 

NovaLog encodes incoming audio using RealAudio® compression. RealAudio is used as it gives an excellent compromise of file size, CPU load, and audio quality - much better than MP3. Audio data is compressed in real time and written to hard disk. Each file is one hour long, and a new file is started on the hour. When the allocated space is filled, the oldest file in the system is over-written every hour.

NOTE - NovaLog requires that RealPlayer® 8 to 13 is installed. A compatible version is available on the Downloads page. Versions from 14 onwards will not work.


How Much Drive Space Do You Need?

 

This is a product of the recording time you want, and the audio quality you select with the RealAudio "flavour". Here are some examples........

 

• NovaLog uses RealAudio® which gives better audio quality and lower CPU load than MP3 at the same bitrate.
• No audio is lost between files. During the hourly transition from one file to the next, NovaLog stores audio in memory, then adds it to the next file.
• NovaLog understands multiple drives. The economy version (NovaLog LT) can record on one specific drive, or all drives, while NovaLog and NovaLog Plus can be told exactly what proportion of each drive to use. During playback, NovaLog automatically finds audio on any visible drive, and presents a chronological list. You don't have to know where the audio is!
• NovaPlay is the desktop player that gives easy access to logged audio on desktop computers. Once NovaLog's drives are mapped in Windows (once off), NovaPlay always displays the complete file list, regardless of how many drives are involved. If more than one NovaLog system (with different registration) is visible on your network, NovaPlay lets you choose which one to play. And like NovaLog, NovaPlay allows you to copy out segments to local wave files.

NovaPlay screenshot    

• Keyboard player control - the player transport can be entirely driven from a keyboard, with similar controls to most audio editors.
• Wave file copying spans files - you can start a dub in one file, end it in another.
• NovaLog really can be two loggers in one. Some other loggers are able to keep a short-term high quality log, then compress files for the long term log. But NovaLog Plus can do both jobs simultaneously with separate audio cards and separate audio inputs. Feed an off-air receiver into the RealAudio "Std Log" for a legal record of what was broadcast. And also connect the direct studio output to the "Hi Fi" log for several days of linear PCM audio unaffected by transmission processing. Perfect for rebroadcasting interviews and live music, or burning programs to CD.
• Like other loggers, NovaLog encodes the recorded date and time into the file name. By altering the name it would be possible to change the time displayed on playback. But NovaLog saves the file name in its RealAudio file headers, and can detect if the file name has been changed (and that's checked with 256 bit encryption). And if anyone attempts to edit the audio, that will almost certainly be flagged as well.
• Two different screen appearances are possible for NovaLog:-
  • A normal window (as with any other application)
  • A full-screen mode that entirely covers the desktop and taskbar.  With just a mouse only playback functions are possible.
• NovaLog comes with a utility to assist a graceful shutdown by an Uninterruptible Power Supply (some software setup is required).

	By using RealAudio, NovaLog is the perfect capture application for a website streaming archived audio. (NovaLog even embeds "metadata" to identify files - Title & Author are based on the on-screen (station) name, while Copyright is set to the NovaLog licensee). Streaming RealAudio requires the Helix Universal Server from RealNetworks.

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® RealAudio, RealPlayer and RealOne Player are registered trademarks of RealNetworks.    
© GWS Audio Visual / Greg Segal 2014.