Recording XM Radio

[wlgordon]

Greetings, all. I just joined and this is my first post. I recently became a subscriber to XM Radio (which is wonderful, by the way) and I'm looking for software that will allow me to record streams from XM in a time-shifting kind of way. I haven't had much luck checking the usual search engines and the guy at about.com couldn't think of anything, so I'll pose the question to this forum. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I want to be able to listen to Bob Dylan's new show when it starts broadcasting in March. Thanks! I currently use OSX but would be willing to upgrade to Tiger if that's what it takes.

 

[e²Studios]

Greetings, all. I just joined and this is my first post. I recently became a subscriber to XM Radio (which is wonderful, by the way) and I'm looking for software that will allow me to record streams from XM in a time-shifting kind of way. I haven't had much luck checking the usual search engines and the guy at about.com couldn't think of anything, so I'll pose the question to this forum. Any help will be greatly appreciated. I want to be able to listen to Bob Dylan's new show when it starts broadcasting in March. Thanks! I currently use OSX but would be willing to upgrade to Tiger if that's what it takes.

Its illegal to do this.

See article c "Use Limitations.
You may not reproduce, rebroadcast, or otherwise transmit the programming, create unauthorized recordings of the programming, charge admission specifically for the purpose of listening to the programming, or distribute play lists of the Services. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11, we or any of our programming partners may prosecute violations of the foregoing against you and other responsible parties in any court of competent jurisdiction, under the rules and regulations of the FCC, and other applicable laws. Subscription to the Services does not grant you the right to use any of our or our partners' trademarks. You also may not attempt to override or circumvent any of the usage rules, limitations, or security measures embedded into the Online Service. Only one concurrent login is permitted at any one time. You may login to the Online Service from any compatible Web Device (as defined below), but not from more than one Web Device at any one time. XM will hold you fully liable for all claims and losses resulting from your use or misuse of the Online Service."

http://xmro.xmradio.com/xstream/tc/satellite_agreement.jsp

There are however devices that have a HD inside that will act like a tivo for XM radio but even with those you cannot legally transfer the data to your PC.

This is akin to the person that couldnt play a burned DVD on their system, being in the entertainment industry it disgusts me that so many people are willing to get media via illegal terms. I make my living off of the industry, I support my family from it, I assume if you did the same then maybe you wouldnt have the "lets steal it" attitude i see all too often. Nothing in life is free, stop trying to get a free ride.

Ed

 

[Nermal]

We'd need to see the whole agreement (I currently can't get onto the site) in order to tell whether recording the station is a breach of the agreement. The only part I can see in that snippet is "create unauthorized recordings of the programming", everything else seems to be in regard to distribution. However, without seeing the rest of the agreement, I can't say whether recording for personal use is an unauthorised recording or not.

 

[Mr. Anderson]

If that was the case, XM's own XM2Go portable player would be a violation of their own terms of agreement since it records up to 5 hours of XM content for you to listen to later.

So the question is - how are you hooking up XM to your computer? And what plans do you have for the content you record?

D

 

[e²Studios]

If that was the case, XM's own XM2Go portable player would be a violation of their own terms of agreement since it records up to 5 hours of XM content for you to listen to later.

So the question is - how are you hooking up XM to your computer? And what plans do you have for the content you record?

D

XM2GO is only for the portable player, not to transfer to your pc or mac.

If you do a search for XM PCR it was a device that hooked up to your pc or mac and worked pretty good. then someone created a program called time trax i believe and it allowed you to record the programming to your pc, XM quickly recalled the XM PCR and it is no longer sold. It is a violation of the XM agreement to copy their stream to your PC, hence why they stopped sales of the XM PCR when word of that program spread.

The XM2GO feature only records to that device, it will not transfer to any other device.

Ed

 

[Nermal]

OK, I still can't get to the link you posted, but I found a Terms and Conditions page on their website (emphasis mine):

All text, software (including source and object codes), data, information, visual, oral or other digital material (the radio streams are digital material, right?), and all other content of any description available on our website or included in any services we offer (collectively, the "Content"), and all worldwide copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents, patent registration rights, trade secrets, know-how, database rights and all other rights in or relating to the Content (collectively, the "Intellectual Property") are owned by XM Satellite Radio Inc., its affiliates or third parties who have given us permission to use it.

You may download one copy of the Content to any single computer for your personal, non-commercial home use only, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices. You may not otherwise reproduce, perform, distribute, display or create derivative works from the Content.

We may have some contradicting terms here (although I confess that I don't really understand legalese!)

 

[javabear90]

You could always do a line-in recording. Almost no DRM can get past that. However you would loose quality. (don't kill me for illegal sugesstions... I'm just answering his question)

-Ted

 

[iMeowbot]

We may have some contradicting terms here (although I confess that I don't really understand legalese!)

Those are the terms for their Web site. The XM subscriber agreement is a whole separate document, and it really doesn't have anything to say about recording other than what Ed H quoted above

 

[Nermal]

Those are the terms for their Web site. The XM subscriber agreement is a whole separate document, and it really doesn't have anything to say about recording other than what Ed H quoted above

So the terms are only for the site, despite them saying "any services we offer"? That's lawyers for you

Edit: OK, I can get onto the other page now, and you're right, it doesn't say much. It says you're not allowed to "create unauthorized recordings of the programming" but doesn't seem to define what an authorised recording is!

 

[iMeowbot]

The recording thing seems to be redundant anyway, because of the more general prohibition to "reproduce". And that's just, well, stupid, because both the analog and digital holes are wide open on the Mac, and if the recordings are for personal home use it's completely unenforceable (if you don't redistribute what you recorded, how could anyone possibly know or care?).

 

[mduser63]

IANAL, but fair use laws have permitted recordings of the radio for a very long time. Distribution is prohibited, but not recording for personal use. Of course the DMCA changed some things, but XM Radio is not DRMed, and AFAIK, the DMCA only prohibits breaking DRM. Besides, the very fact that XM has XM2GO receivers that will record their radio indicates that that sort of recording is OK. The XM2GO receivers don't have a built in way to digitally transfer recordings to a computer, but that by no means indicates that it is illegal to do so via analog. Besides, such a policy is completely unenforceable, and I for one don't see what purpose there is in having an unenforceable law.

To answer the OP's question, try Audio Hijack (Pro). You should be able to record the online streams that way. The other option is to use Audacity and an audio cable to the line-in jack on your Mac from the line-out on your XM receiver.

 

[illegalprelude]

Its illegal to do this.
This is akin to the person that couldnt play a burned DVD on their system, being in the entertainment industry it disgusts me that so many people are willing to get media via illegal terms. I make my living off of the industry, I support my family from it, I assume if you did the same then maybe you wouldnt have the "lets steal it" attitude i see all too often. Nothing in life is free, stop trying to get a free ride.

Ed

yes, thank god somebody else. I also work in the industry and I 100% agree. I actually bought Mr. and Mrs. Smith on DVD last week and finally opened it to see it again and before the movie, they had a interesting commercial. Shows a bunch of peope in diff. situations, almost stealing a TV, Clothes, Jewlery etc. but they dont. then it shows them at home downloading movies and it says "you dont steal those but downloading is stealing too" and its so true. what is the difference between going in store and stealing a DVD vs. downloading it? Same thing.

 

[iMeowbot]

Same thing.

The difference is that XM is broadcast content (and paid at that). THe original poster is asking about time-shifted listening to an authorized broadcast. With nekkid copyright there would be no problem with recording this material, it's an additional contract term outside that which is getting in the way.

 

[Nermal]

what is the difference between going in store and stealing a DVD vs. downloading it? Same thing.

When you steal a DVD, you take it. The shop then can't sell it, and money is lost. When you download (copy) a DVD, the original remains and can still be sold, with no loss of money.

I'm not saying I condone downloading, I'm just explaining the difference

As a side note, I wouldn't be too impressed if my legally-bought DVDs accused me of being a pirate - it sounds like the one you bought did exactly that!

 

[illegalprelude]

The difference is that XM is broadcast content (and paid at that). THe original poster is asking about time-shifted listening to an authorized broadcast. With nekkid copyright there would be no problem with recording this material, it's an additional contract term outside that which is getting in the way.

no, I understand what he is saying and I have XM and the My2Go (MyFy Unit) but and im not saying he is doing this but I listen to 20 on 20 alot. So what is the difference of him recording those streamed units, then downloading it? Well you would say he paid for those contents witch is wrong, he paid for the service to listen to those songs, not to own the material. Also, a further argument would be, what is to stop him now from sharing those songs?

 

[iMeowbot]

no, I understand what he is saying and I have XM and the My2Go (MyFy Unit) but and im not saying he is doing this but I listen to 20 on 20 alot. So what is the difference of him recording those streamed units, then downloading it?

The difference is that with the home recorded XM transmission, the bits were transmitted by a party who had permission to transmit them, and the rights holders were paid. If downloaded from some random place on the net, the transmitting party didn't have permission, and the rights holders were not paid.

Well you would say he paid for those contents witch is wrong, he paid for the service to listen to those songs, not to own the material.

Payment was made for the right to listen to the broadcast once. That's why the time shifting principle was upheld in the first place.

Also, a further argument would be, what is to stop him now from sharing those songs?

How about simple honesty?

[Edit: To put the p2p thing in some perspective, the active p2p population is estimated to be a bit shy of 10 million users. The number of Internet users is estimated to be just shy of one billion. That's 98%, give or take a few points, who are playing nice.]

 

[illegalprelude]

When you steal a DVD, you take it. The shop then can't sell it, and money is lost. When you download (copy) a DVD, the original remains and can still be sold, with no loss of money.

I'm saying I condone downloading, I'm just explaining the difference

well, its not as easy as that. Money indeed is lost. With everydownload, thats one more copy sitting on shelves, with every more copy sitting on shelves, that gives studios more reasons to underypay their employees (us who work on the films) because their not bringing is as much cash now, thus cannot pay us that much in return. So indeed, money is being lost

 

[Nermal]

With everydownload, thats one more copy sitting on shelves

If I download a movie, it doesn't increase the number of copies of the movie on the shelf. If you assume that I would've bought the movie instead of downloading it then you're right, but I believe that most downloaders had no intention of buying the movie in the first place.

 

[rdowns]

Your XM subscription includes web streaming. You could just use something like AUdio Hijack to record what's being streamed to your Mac.

Try this page
http://www.pure-mac.com/audio.html

 

[mduser63]

This thread is full of a lot of argument based on assumptions that aren't correct. It is illegal to download copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. The American Home Recording Acts of 1976 and 1992 specifically allow recording of broadcasts as long as the recordings are for personal, non-commercial purposes. In my opinion, recording XM broadcasts falls under this "fair-use" allowance.

 

[840quadra]

In my opinion, recording XM broadcasts falls under this "fair-use" allowance.

No offense, but your opinion is irrelevant to RIAA or XM Lawyers.

I am not saying your thoughts are wrong, I am just playing the devil's advocate.

 

[vga4life]

yes, thank god somebody else. I also work in the industry and I 100% agree. I actually bought Mr. and Mrs. Smith on DVD last week and finally opened it to see it again and before the movie, they had a interesting commercial. Shows a bunch of peope in diff. situations, almost stealing a TV, Clothes, Jewlery etc. but they dont. then it shows them at home downloading movies and it says "you dont steal those but downloading is stealing too" and its so true. what is the difference between going in store and stealing a DVD vs. downloading it? Same thing.

The joke's on you... for buying "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on DVD *AND* for sitting through an MPAA commercial.

I quit the film industry years ago (worked in FX) because I couldn't drink their kool-ade (and was ashamed to be working on crap films with budgets big enough to feed Ethiopia). I'm not suggesting artists shouldn't be paid for their work, mind. I'm just not a fan of the unreasonable power wielded by the teeny-tiny (relatively) copyright industry over the much (25x) larger technology industry, to say nothing of their corrosive effects on our culture.

I think we're sufficiently off topic now. Might I suggest the original poster google timetrax? It's fairly settled law that timeshifting of broadcasts is fair use.

-vga4life

 

[iMeowbot]

This thread is full of a lot of argument based on assumptions that aren't correct. It is illegal to download copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. The American Home Recording Acts of 1976 and 1992 specifically allow recording of broadcasts as long as the recordings are for personal, non-commercial purposes. In my opinion, recording XM broadcasts falls under this "fair-use" allowance.

There were no "American Home Recording Acts of 1976 and 1992." There was an Audio Home Recording Act in 1992 which added Chapter 10 to USC Title 17, but it made no changes at all to broadcast rights. It did place some restrictions on the capabilities of digital audio equipment that could be imported or sold to consumers.

Still, that's neither here nor there, because XM subscribers are under contract to honor a specific license that modifies the subscriber's default rights.

 

[illegalprelude]

The joke's on you... for buying "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" on DVD *AND* for sitting through an MPAA commercial.

I quit the film industry years ago (worked in FX) because I couldn't drink their kool-ade (and was ashamed to be working on crap films with budgets big enough to feed Ethiopia). I'm not suggesting artists shouldn't be paid for their work, mind. I'm just not a fan of the unreasonable power wielded by the teeny-tiny (relatively) copyright industry over the much (25x) larger technology industry, to say nothing of their corrosive effects on our culture.

I think we're sufficiently off topic now. Might I suggest the original poster google timetrax? It's fairly settled law that timeshifting of broadcasts is fair use.

-vga4life

minus the fact of, I had seen it in theaters 5 times so I willingly bought it and enjoyed it again? Sorry you quit the industry but I could careless to be honost. There is plenty of people quiting diff. fields all the time and if I was to care, I would just be a bum. Gotta stick to what you love and film is the way it goes for me

 

[bellis1]

Absurd

Does it say anything about stuffing it up your arse or about the preferred volume I should be listening? I know, I know, its in the disclaimer that its my responsibility to exercise discretion and observe all safety measures required by law and your own common sense. Except that I live in Texas and the laws are not so clear and I'd hate to find out that if I am playing it too loud in my cubicle that I might be held liable for rebroadcasting.