Once the download is complete, run the downloaded .exe file.
3
Accept the licence agreement
You will first be presented with the software licence agreement. Once you have read and agree to these terms, click I Agree.
4
Choose components
Choose the components to install. Here you can select whether to install Start Menu and Desktop shortcuts. Click Next to continue.
5
Choose install location
Choose the location to install the software. By default, this is in Program Files, but can be changed to your preference. Click Install to begin installation.
6
Launch PlayIt Recorder
Tick Start PlayIt Recorder and click Finish to launch PlayIt Recorder. By default you can access PlayIt Recorder from the Start Menu or Desktop.
Minimum Requirements
PlayIt Recorder requires the .NET Framework 4.7.1 which is automatically downloaded and installed via the installer. To install this framework requires at least Windows 10 or Windows 11; or Windows Server 2016 or later, with all Windows updates applied.
Upgrading Versions
New versions of PlayIt Recorder are regularly available from playitsoftware.com/Products/Recorder. It is important to back up your data before you install any new versions. Data and logs for PlayIt Recorder are stored in the Windows 'ProgramData' folder.
By default, this is located at:
C:\ProgramData\PlayIt Recorder
To back up your data, simply copy this folder to an alternative location, such as an external hard drive.
When a new version is installed, or an old version is uninstalled, the data in the location above will not be removed.
Uninstallation
When installed, PlayIt Recorder will include an Uninstall shortcut in the Start Menu.
If you chose not to add Start Menu shortcuts, the uninstaller can be found at (by default):
C:\Program Files (x86)\PlayIt Recorder\uninstall.exe or
C:\Program Files\PlayIt Recorder\uninstall.exe
Double-click the icon to start the uninstall process. Click Uninstall to remove PlayIt Recorder.
Note that you can choose whether PlayIt Recorder data is removed when you uninstall.
Getting Started
Getting started with PlayIt Recorder.
In order to begin using PlayIt Recorder, you need to log into your PlayIt Software account. Click the Log In button to begin logging in. If you do not have an account, you can create one for free by clicking Register or visiting playitsoftware.com/Account/Register.
If the computer you are using is not connected to the internet, you can activate offline.
Logging In
To get started with PlayIt Recorder, click on the Log In... button in the Get Started window. This will take you to a web browser where you will be prompted to log in using your PlayIt Software account.
To access PlayIt Recorder, enter your account email address and password, or log in using your Facebook account.
Once you are logged in, the main window will be shown.
Enter Registration Details
If you do not already have an account, click on the Register... button in the Get Started window. This will take you to a web browser where you will be prompted to register for your PlayIt Software account.
After clicking Register, you will be prompted to verify your email address. Please check your registered email account for an email from PlayIt Software with the subject "PlayIt Software: Please verify your email address...". To ensure that you receive this email, please add [email protected] to your address book.
Once you have followed the verification link in the email, you will be logged in to PlayIt Recorder and the main window will be displayed.
Activating Offline
If the computer on which you have installed PlayIt Recorder is not connected to the internet, it is possible to activate offline.
1
Open the Activate Offline window
From the Get Started window, click Activate Offline...
Make a note of the Computer Name and Machine Code shown in the Activate Offline window. You will need to enter these on the PlayIt Software website to generate your licence key.
A code that uniquely identifies this installation. Enter this value on the website when generating your licence key.
2
Generate a licence key
On a computer that is connected to the internet, visit the Licences page in the My Account area of the PlayIt Software website. A licence can be generated by visiting playitsoftware.com/Account/Licences/Generate. You may be prompted to log in or create an account.
In the Generate New Licence section, select PlayIt Recorder and ensure that v2.01+ is selected as the version. Enter the Computer Name and Machine Code you noted in the previous step and click Generate Licence Key.
3
Enter the licence key
Once generated, you will be presented with a licence. Make a note of the Licence Key and copy it into the PlayIt Recorder window. Alternatively, download the licence file and select the file within PlayIt Recorder. Note that licence keys start with the text 3*.
By following these steps, you can activate PlayIt Recorder offline without an internet connection.
Quick Start
PlayIt Recorder is used to create scheduled recordings of the audio from your selected sound card device.
Initial Setup
When you first launch PlayIt Recorder, the message 'Click here to set up PlayIt Recorder...' will appear in the notification bar. Click this to open the Settings window.
After initial setup, you can open the settings window by going to File > Settings... from the main window.
From the Settings window, select the device you wish to record, the recording location, the format of the recording filename and the format of the recording. If you choose not to convert the recording audio it will be recorded in WAV format.
You can also choose to delete recordings after a number of days, or when the space on disk drops below a certain percentage. You can also add a chosen number of minutes to each recording to ensure there is an overlay on each recording.
Click OK to save your settings. For more information about each of the settings, see the Settings section.
Creating a Programme
Each recording must be associated with a Programme. To create a programme, from the main window go to Programming > Programmes...
Click the Add New button and enter a name for your first programme:
To confirm your changes, click the OK button on the Programmes window:
Scheduling a Recording
Next you need to schedule a programme to record. Go to Programming > Schedule...
Choose the slot you want to schedule by clicking in the grid, or click the Add New Button:
Then choose the programme you want to schedule:
Review the schedule item settings.
If you want to repeat the recording you can use the Repeat checkbox. For example, if you simply want to record every hour of every day you can choose Repeats Daily, every 1 day, at All hours:
Click OK to save the schedule item.
The grid shows the new schedule item:
Click OK to save the schedule.
You will be prompted to start the scheduler if you have not already done so.
Go to Recordings > Start Scheduler... to start the scheduler.
During the scheduled item time the recorder will record the device you set in settings.
To stop the recording early press Stop...
Quick Recording
If you need to record a one-off recording outside a schedule, you can use the Quick Record controls:
Click the record button to launch the Start Quick Recording window:
The name will be given a default, so press Enter to start the recording, but you can change the name to something more informative if you need to. You can also stop the recording after a period of time. Click OK or press Enter to start the recording.
Main Window
The main window is the main control of PlayIt Recorder. It shows the active recordings, completed recordings and allows the ability to start Quick Recordings.
Use the arrows to select between currently active recordings. If there are multiple programmes scheduled at the same time, or you have entered the bleed time setting then multiple active recordings can occur.
Click the record button to start a quick recording. This will show the Start Quick Recording window allowing you to enter a name for the recording. A default name will be shown so you can just press Enter or click OK to start the recording. You can enter a different name if you need to. You can also select the Stop the recording after check box to select a time after which the recording will stop.
When the recording is active, the controls will change:
Press the pause button to temporarily halt the recording. Press the stop button to end the recording.
The recording levels show the volume of the recording. This is used to monitor the recording to ensure the audio is not too loud or quiet. Recordings should aim for the green area.
Settings
The Settings window allows you to configure all aspects of PlayIt Recorder. Open it from the File menu by clicking Settings....
The Settings window with all configuration options.
Enter the folder where recorded audio files will be saved. Use the Browse... button to find the folder. You should ensure that the currently logged in user has access to write to this location.
Enter the format for the filename. This is the template that will be used to generate the filename for the recording. Use the Edit... button to show a helper window to help you build the filename format.
Hover over each of the dynamic value buttons, e.g. {year}, to find out what will be displayed. An example is displayed below the text box to show what will be generated.
It is possible to add a backslash \ to put recordings in folders. For example, {year}{month}{day}\{hour}{min}{sec}_{name} would place recordings in a new folder for each day.
Recording audio can be converted to another format. In its simplest configuration, you can configure MP3 in various qualities. Higher qualities sound better but take up more disk space. Click the Advanced > button if you wish to use your own encoder and parameters.
Advanced: For full control over the encoding process, click Advanced > to switch to advanced mode.
Specify a custom encoder executable and parameters. Enter the path to the encoder in Encoder location or use Browse... to find it. Enter the command-line parameters in Encoder parameters, using {filepath} as a placeholder for the output file path. Set the File extension to match the encoder's output format. Click < Simple to return to simple mode.
You can add a specified number of minutes to the start and end of scheduled recordings to ensure there is no break between old recordings stopping and new recordings starting.
Click OK to save changes to the programme. Click Cancel to discard changes.
The schedule window allows you to set up when programmes will be recorded.
To add a recording, click an empty slot in the grid (or use the Add New button), then choose the programme to record. To change an existing recording, double-click it to open the Edit Schedule Item window. Use the week buttons to move between weeks, and click OK to save your changes.
Indicates a scheduled programme in the schedule. Double-click the scheduled programme box to edit it. The Edit Schedule Item window will be shown. To delete a schedule item, right-click and select Delete.
For recurring schedule items the Edit Recurring Item window will be shown, allowing you to select whether to edit only this occurrence, this and future occurrences, or all occurrences.
This shows an empty hour slot in the schedule. Click the slot to add a schedule item. You can drag to create a schedule item longer than one hour. The Select Programme window will be shown, followed by the Edit Schedule Item window. It is possible to schedule recordings of any duration via the Edit Schedule Item window, they are not restricted to hours.
Click the Add New button to create a new hour-long schedule item at the current time. The Select Programme window will be shown, followed by the Edit Schedule Item window.
Click the Cancel button to discard any changes made to the schedule.
The Edit Schedule Item window is shown when editing a schedule item via the schedule grid, or adding a new schedule item via the Add New button from the Schedule window.
How frequently this schedule item should repeat. You can select between every 1 to 14 days, weeks, months or years depending on the repeat period selected.
If the Weekly repeat period is selected, you can choose which days and hours the schedule item should also repeat on. For example, you may have a drive time show which repeats weekly Monday to Friday between 4pm and 7pm.
If the Daily repeat period is selected, you can choose which hours the schedule item should also repeat at. For example, if you want to split recordings into hour-long blocks every hour, you can select the Daily "All" hours option.
Repeat the schedule until a particular date and time. The selected time is inclusive, so if a future recording schedule item starts at this time it will be included.
Click the Cancel button to discard changes to the schedule item.
The Select Programme window is shown when changing the scheduled programme for a schedule item or when adding a new schedule item from the Schedule window.
