hotComm User Guide
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hotComm User Guide

Document number: hcG
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* Record and Playback - HCR Quick Guide - UPDATED: 2014  Video!
* Record and Playback - WMV Quick Guide - UPDATED: 2014
* Recording Audio Only
* Timed Recording
* About the Recording Files
* Troubleshooting Recording


Recording and Playback

Recording and Playback

You can make Audio-only recordings with hotComm Standard/Pro, hotComm Lite or hotComm CL. However, most people ask about Audio/Video recordings.

With hotComm Standard/Pro, you can make Audio/Visual recordings in either hotComm native form (HCR) or Windows Media Format (WMV).

With hotComm Lite and hotComm CL, you can make Audio/Visual recordings in Windows Media Format (WMV) if you have a Plus license or you are in our Audio Test room. Plus is a one-time, extra cost, add-on feature set for one email address that includes WMV recording. Our Audio Test room is enabled for WMV recording so you can try WMV recording before you buy Plus.

The Audio/Visual formats are:

  • hotComm format (HCR) gives a recording that looks somewhat like a live room, with separate windows to show the chat and the charts. It uses the built-in hotComm audio, so if you can hear in the room, you should be able to record successfully.

    Although only hotComm Standard/Pro can record in HCR format, an HCR recording can be played back in hotComm CL, hotComm Lite, or hotComm Standard/Pro.

    See Record and Playback - HCR Quick Guide

  • Windows Media Format (WMV) recordings include either your primary monitor screen or just the charts shown in the room, your choice. Your computer's sound card and drivers must meet the requirements for Windows Media Encoder 9.0.

    WMV recordings are played back in Windows Media Player or other media players.

    See Record and Playback - WMV Quick Guide

You can test recording in our Audio Test room, where there is a non-stop audio tape and a small moving clock image. If you can hear audio in the room, your recording should include the audio.

In all cases, the recordings are stored automatically in your hotComm Transcripts folder.



Advice! Best Performance Checks!

Both recording and playback require significant computer resources, including memory, graphics processing and disk space -- no matter whether you use a hotComm product or a third-party product.

Therefore, before you record or playback, please turn off any programs you don't need in order to dedicate as many resources as possible for the recording. Make sure you won't be running automatic updates during this time.

Also, make sure that you have enough bandwidth for good reception during recording.

The HCR format recordings are generally smaller than the WMV recordings, but even so, recordings can get big. We recommend that you consider making several short recordings rather than one large one. Actual size depends on the content being recorded and the length of the recording.



Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I record more than one room at the same time?
* You only get audio from one room at a time, so the practical answer is no.

2. Can the room moderators block recording?
* Yes.

3. Can I edit the recording?
* hotComm does not include any edit capabilities. If you plan to make recordings for distribution, we recommend that you consider a third-party recording product such as Camtasia that includes not only editing but a wide choice of output formats.

4. Something isn't working right ...
* See Troubleshooting Recording.



Which recording method should I choose?

If your computer's sound system doesn't meet Windows Media Encoder 9.0 requirements, then you won't be able to record in WMV format. You can test this in advance in our Audio Test Room.

The fastest to set up is to use hotComm Standard and record in HCR format.



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