Great news for podcasters, but maybe a little too late: Skype has added a free call recorder to its desktop and mobile software, and it’s free to use.
Recording works for video and audio Skype calls, and it’s simple enough to setup: During a call, hit the “+” in the active window, then hit Start Recording. Participants will be told that they’re being recorded, and after the call is over you can download the recording to your computer.
This is a nice addition but way too late. I know me and my friends could’ve used this over a decade ago when we were still novices. Back then we had to record our own voices and edit them together. (Ultimately it made me into a great editor, so I guess I can’t complain.)
We’ve since moved on to Google Hangouts because Skype’s call quality has never improved. Still, this new recording feature is a great way for new podcasters to easily record their podcast. Once you’re finished, all you’ll have to do is download the file, pop it into an editor, and add some music at the beginning and end. If you’re a perfectionist like me, you’ll also want to go through the show itself and clean up any mistakes.
To its credit, Skype does a good job of removing background noise and balancing out audio levels during a live call. By recording the Skype call, you’ll have two less issues to deal with in post-production.
If Skype wanted to win back podcasters, I’d love to see them allow us to record each person’s audio channel in a separate file. That would be a game changer because it would offer the ultimate editing control! Oh, and I’d be willing to pay for better call quality. You listening over that crappy connection, Skype?
Full instructions on how to use Skype’s new recording feature can be found here.
