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RadioRipper v1.0 Readme

Copyright (c)1999 Sonetics, Inc.
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Contents

     I. Introduction
    II. Quick Start
   III. Additional Notes (incl. Disclaimers, Legal stuff)
    IV. Licensing Agreement
     V. Troubleshooting (incl. Contact Info)

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INTRODUCTION

  [Please read the disclaimers section below to understand the
  limitations on both this product and this document.  It's your
  own rights and priviledges that are affected, so a brief
  reading is highly recommended.]

  RadioRipper v1.0 is Sonetics' proud offering of the world's
  first radio-ripping software.  If you want to create your
  own collection of MP3's, but are loathe to break the law,
  RadioRipper is the program for you!

  There are a lot of "one hit wonder" bands out there -- you may
  like the song, but you would never buy a $15 CD with just that
  song on it.  Traditionally, there were two ways to solve this
  problem:

    1)  Tape the song off of radio.  This is legal.
    2)  Download the MP3 off the Internet.  This is usually illegal.

  Those of you who have no fear of the law will find little value
  in RadioRipper.  However, for the rest of us law-abiding citizens,
  RadioRipper exists to solve the problems traditionally associated
  with method (1), namely:

    1)  When taping songs off the radio, you tend to miss the first
          few seconds of the song.  The cuts are never perfect.
    2)  Cassettes deteriorate in quality every time you listen to
          them, or even if you just leave them on the shelf.
  
             --------------------------------------
             Your one-stop solution is RadioRipper.
             --------------------------------------

  RadioRipper produces digital copies of songs off the radio,
  storing them in WAV format.  To ensure that the first segment
  of a song is not missed, 30 seconds of music is back-buffered.
  Thus, with RadioRipper, you can produce clean digital cuts of
  your favorite songs off radio.

  Once you record your favorite songs, you can use existing third-
  party tools to manipulate them (e.g. introduce fades), as well as
  convert them to MP3 for easy storage and playback.  With
  RadioRipper, you can create a legal digital archive of all your
  favorite songs!


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QUICK START

Requirements:

  * Win95, Win98, or WinNT 4.0
  * Sound card that supports line-in recording at 44.1 kHz

Steps to use:

  1)  Unzip the contents of radrip09.zip into a directory of your
        choice.
  2)  Create a shortcut to RadioRipper, if you wish.
  3)  Connect your radio to your sound card's line-in socket.
        This is usually done by using a stereo 1/8" cord to
        connect your radio's earphone socket to your sound card.
  3)  Start RadioRipper
  4)  Adjust recording volume using Windows' Volume Control so
        that the peak volume (shown as a flashing rectangle in
        RadioRipper's Volume Optimizer) lands in the yellow zone.
  5)  Listen to the radio.  When a song you like comes on, press
        "record" up to 30 seconds after the song starts.  When
        the song is finished, press "stop".


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ADDITIONAL NOTES (including Disclaimers, Legal stuff)

Further Usage Notes:

  Click Options to set the default directory you want recordings
  to go into.  You can also set a maximum recording time (default
  is 10 minutes) before RadioRipper automatically stops recording.
  
  The Volume Optimizer exists to help you get better recordings by
  increasing the signal-to-noise ratio.  It marks the peak input
  via a flashing rectangle.  To get the best recordings, you want
  to set your radio's output volume as well as sound card's recording
  volume such that the peak input rectangle typically lands in the
  yellow zone.  An occasional red peak is ok, but the Volume Optimizer
  will give you suggestions on how to adjust the volume if it is
  either too high or too low.  Whenever you've adjusted the volume,
  click "Reset Peak" to let the Volume Optimizer recalculate the peak.

Typical Usage Suggestions:

  When you hear a song on the radio that you like, click "record"
  within 30 seconds of the start of the song.  After the song has
  ended, click "stop" and save the song with a fitting name.  Now
  you have a raw WAV file of the song.

  To perfect the recording, open the WAV file in a WAV editor
  (there are several great packages out there, such as GoldWave).
  Trim the WAV to remove sections before and after the song.  Next,
  you may want to "maximize" the audio within the recording, which
  normalizes the volume between different recordings.  You may also
  choose to fade the song in at the beginning, and fade the song
  out at the end.  This is particularly useful in removing the DJ's
  voice-over, etc.

  Now that you have a perfected WAV, you can either write it onto
  a CD as an audio track using a CD-R, or compress it into an MP3
  to conserve hard disk space.

Disclaimers

  Sorry, but they make us say these things...
  
  Sonetics, Inc. provides this software without any warranty,
  expressed or implied, as to its usefulness or proper function.
  
  The user of this software implicitly agrees to accept the risks
  posed by RadioRipper, which may include any and all of the following:
  loss of data, damage of hardware, loss of wages, loss of limb,
  permanent brain damage, divorce, disease, famine, and even loss
  of life.

  The legal information provided by Sonetics in this document was
  drafted without professional legal aid, and thus should not be
  taken as a substitute to proper legal counsel.  If you have
  questions regarding the legality of your particular use of
  RadioRipper, seek professional legal counsel from the recording
  industry.

Legal Issues

  [Please be sure you understand the disclaimers given above before
  reading this section.  Know that information given in this section
  is not meant as a substitute for proper, expensive, and professional
  legal counsel.  Seek the advice of one of your legal counselors
  if you do not fully understand your rights.  The information here
  is given without warranty, expressed or implied.]

  According to the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) of 1992, it is
  your right to record songs off of the radio as long as the recording
  is solely for private, non-commercial use.  This is your right
  because recordings of radio exclusively for private use was deemed
  to fit under the "fair use" definition in copyright law.

  It is also your right to compress the aforementioned recordings into
  any other format, such as MP3, VQF, and AAC.  You may also transfer
  the recordings into any other medium of personal use, whether analog
  or digital.  For example, you may record your RadioRipper WAV onto
  cassette or CD;  you may also compress the WAV's into MP3's.

  HOWEVER, it is illegal to distribute these recordings, in ANY format,
  whether analog or digital, compressed or uncompressed, for profit or
  not for profit.  Redistribution of radio content is illegal, without
  prior written consent from both the radio station and the artist, in
  any form, even if you don't make money from it.  Needless to say,
  posting MP3's made from radio rips onto the Internet is NOT legal.

  Legal Use Example:  Sam runs RadioRipper religiously, converting all
  his favorite songs into MP3's and storing them on CD-R.  He has the
  Billboard Top 200 songs from the past decade all on CD, and hasn't
  bought a CD since he bought RadioRipper.

  Illegal Use Example:  Bobby runs RadioRipper religiously, converting
  all his favorite songs into MP3's and storing them on CD-R.  He has
  the Billboard Top 200 songs from the past decade all on CD, and he
  sells these frequently on online auction sites.  Bobby also runs an
  underground bootlegging MP3 site which hosts the world's largest
  collection of MP3's, all created with RadioRipper.  Bobby also DJ's
  at weddings as a side job, playing CD's ripped off of radio.

  Understand your rights.  Don't abuse the system.  Sonetics, Inc. wants
  to help people exercise their rights _within the limits of the law_.
  Winners Don't Use.  Just Say No.  Etc, Etc.


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LICENSING AGREEMENT

  Sonetics, Inc. is not a volunteer-run organization like the Red Cross
  or the Salvation Army.  Instead, Sonetics is a conglomerate of starving
  programmers who really dig music.  We'd do it for free, but we certainly
  wouldn't last long at that rate.

  To continue supporting Sonetics, particularly to fund improvements in
  the RadioRipper line of products, this software is offered as shareware.
  You are allowed to test and try this software for 14 days, at the end
  of which you must either purchase the software from Sonetics or break
  the law.

  Sonetics refuses to play juvenile games, such as crippling the RadioRipper
  product or inflicting damage on hardware/software, with those that abuse
  the system.  You either obey the law or break the law -- in neither case
  is it Sonetics' job to Big Brother your behavior.

  Your support, however, goes into further improvements of the product.
  Future releases are planned to support the following:  Linux and Mac,
  real-time MP3 compression, in-place WAV editing, and other great
  innovations.  Several user suggestions will also be in the works.

  If you choose to use RadioRipper v1.0 beyond 14 days, the cost is $5.00
  US dollars.  This includes a LIFETIME membership in the RadioRipper line
  of audio products -- all future revisions will be free!  Please fill out
  the order form (order.txt in your installation directory) and mail it to:

    Philip Su, RadioRipper Manager
    Sonetics, Inc.
    6914 Baltimore Ave.
    Hyattsville, MD 20782-1131

  The first 500 people to register RadioRipper will be listed in our Golden
  Members directory on the Sonetics web site (www.bigfoot.com/~sonetics).

  RadioRipper may be freely distributed in its original packaging, with no
  modifications to the following original files:  radioripper.exe, readme.txt,
  order.txt, helptopics.txt.  However, use beyond the initial 14 days requires
  registration.  Registration is on a per-user basis, not on a per-machine
  basis.

  Thanks for supporting independent product development and musical freedom!


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TROUBLESHOOTING (incl. Contact Info)

  Help documentation can be found in HelpTopics.txt in your installation
  directory.  Please give that a brief read, since it addresses some of
  the basic issues you may run into.

  The Sonetics web site may also contain updates to the RadioRipper line
  of products.  Visit when you can, at http://www.bigfoot.com/~sonetics

  Product support will be provided for registered users via email, at
  sonetics@hotmail.com.  Feel free to send product suggestions, comments,
  questions, and fan mail to the above address.


  
                       RadioRipper
                       Sonetics, Inc.
                       http://www.bigfoot.com/~sonetics
                       sonetics@hotmail.com
