Sound Catcher

Getting started

1. Download the zip file above, right-click it → Extract All…, and put the folder somewhere of yours, such as Documents. Don't run it from inside the zip, and avoid Program Files: the program has to write files next to itself when it updates.
2. Double-click SoundCatcher.exe. Its window opens by itself. The first time it shows a notice about copyright and silent recordings; read it and click Got it.
3. Play the music or video you want, then click the big round Record button. The level meters start to move.
4. Click it again to stop. The file is in Music\SoundCatcher (change it under ⚙️ Settings → Destination folder) and appears in the Recent recordings list. Click it to listen, click ✂ to trim it, or 🗑 to delete it (the file goes to the Recycle Bin).
5. The file format, the speaker to record and the file name pattern are under ⚙️ Settings. A name that is already taken never overwrites the old file. A WAV larger than 4 GB carries on in a new file by itself.

Only record what you have the right to

Use it for your own sound, for work you have permission for, or for personal use only. The copyright of a recording belongs to whoever owns the sound, and that is your responsibility. Recording copyrighted work, or recording other people's conversations without telling them, may be against the law. The program does not check whether you have the right. This notice is shown in the program the first time it opens, and you can read it again under ⚙️ Settings → Copyright and silent recordings.

The recording is silent?

• Sound from services that protect against copying (DRM). Windows may hand over such sound as silence, which the program cannot fix, and some services may give a silent file even though you can hear the sound.
• The wrong speaker is chosen. If the file is silent though you can hear sound, check ⚙️ Settings → Sound device to record to see that it is the speaker or headphones you are using. If it is right, the DRM case above is the likely reason.
• Nothing is playing. The program records only what the speakers play; if nothing plays, the file is silent.
• Microphone. The program does not record a microphone, and in this version it records all programs together, not one at a time.

Requirements

• 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11. Recording needs no internet connection (the internet is used only for ads, usage statistics and updates).
• The program's window uses WebView2, which comes with Windows (without it, the program opens in your default browser instead).
• Free disk space for your recordings (WAV is much larger than FLAC). The program is in English or Thai: it picks the language from Windows and you can switch under ⚙️ Settings → ภาษา / Language.

Ads and removing them

Every feature of Sound Catcher is free. It shows a small ad bar at the bottom of the window (one line of text, or a picture of 468×60, 728×90, 970×90 or 320×50, scaled down when the window is narrow) and, when the window is wide enough, an ad box beside the list of recordings (text, or a picture of 300×250 or 300×600, scaled down to fit the window's height). To remove the ads, ask for a key at contact@freesabai.com, then click Remove ads on the bar, paste the key into Ad-removal key and click Enter key. Keys are checked on your computer, without the internet.

Privacy

The sound you record, the file names and the lengths of the files stay on your computer and are never sent to freesabai. Sound Catcher sends only a usage report at most once a day (a random ID for the installation, the version, the Windows version, the Windows language and region, whether a key is in use, and how often each ad was shown); it never sends the computer name or user name. The first time it opens, the window shows a notice about this before anything is sent. Switch it off by clicking Usage statistics: on under ⚙️ Settings → Privacy. You are still told about new versions, because the latest version number comes with the ads the program already downloads. When you click to update the program, it downloads the new version from freesabai.com and sends nothing else. Recording, trimming and playing a file all happen on your computer, with no internet connection. The full details are in our privacy policy.

Updating and removing

• When there's a new version of Sound Catcher, even with usage statistics off, a strip under the top of the window says the new version is out (Later hides the strip until the program is next opened and leaves an ⬆ Update to button with the new version number at the top of the window, next to ⚙️ Settings, for later). Click Update now on the strip, or that button, and the program asks first; click Update now and it downloads the new version from freesabai.com, checks our signature, then closes and starts again by itself (a recording in progress is stopped and saved first). Your settings stay; other files in its folder are only replaced when they are Sound Catcher's own, such as the README.txt from the zip. (Click See the download page if you'd rather download it yourself from the program's download page on freesabai.com.)
• To check yourself at any time, go to ⚙️ Settings → Check for a new version (the program asks freesabai.com only when you click this button). If the check fails (for example without internet), the program opens its download page on freesabai.com. The program never downloads a new version without your click.
• If it can't update itself (for example its folder can't be written to, or the download fails the checks), it opens the program's download page on freesabai.com instead. You can also close the program and replace SoundCatcher.exe with the new one; your settings stay.
• To remove: close the program and delete its folder. What it remembers about this computer (the settings, the ad-removal key and the random ID for the statistics) is in %LOCALAPPDATA%\SoundCatcher; you can delete that too. The recordings you made in Music are not deleted.

Problems and ideas

Found a problem, or want Sound Catcher to do more? Tell us on the feedback page. No sign-up needed.