Guide to configure and record sound with Windows
Table of contents:
Since its inception, Windows has included a selection of excellent sound recording tools with which, using a microphone, you can take notes, create voice-overs and endless related uses.
With the new versions of Windows, in addition to using the sound recorder of a lifetime, we will be able to use a new sound notes application included in Windows 8.1. Don't you know how set up your microphone to start recording? Don't worry, we are going to know the procedure step by step.
Configuring the microphone in Windows
Years ago, successfully configuring a desktop microphone in Windows required us to navigate a long time through the various menus and system options operational. Today the only thing we need to know is where to connect it, since the configuration process, in most cases, is automatic
The minijack connector of a desktop microphone or computer headset (peripheral that starts at an approximate price of 4 euros and up ) is usually pink or red, depending on the manufacturer.
Connect it correctly it's a matter of finding the minijack input in any of its three usual places on your Windows computer: front of your tower, bottom back of your tower, or side/front connector, if it is a laptop.Like the male connector on the microphone itself, the input is also easily recognizable thanks to its pink or red color.
We must bear in mind that many computers already have a built-in microphone (usually Windows laptops or tablets), and there are also microphones or digital recording systems that work via USB connection In that case it would be a matter of connecting and installing them as a conventional USB device, using their original drivers. Windows will later recognize them as sound recording devices.
Once connected to the computer, the microphone should be recognized automatically To make sure, let's check Windows recording devices, to For this we will click with the right mouse button on the volume icon, located in the system bar, and select said option.
A new window will open in which we will see a list of connected devices (or possible devices to connect) with which we can record sound. One of them will be the default for recording, a situation that we can change with a simple touch on the right mouse button.
In the same contextual menu that appears if we right-click on the preferred microphone, we can access the section “Options”.
There, in different tabs, we can specify specific microphone settings, such as its levels, with which we can amplify the capture of sound or reduce it, or determine its pickup quality.
Sound recording in Windows
After all the theory comes practice: if it's already easy to connect your microphone to Windows, recording your sound is even easier .
From Windows 8.1 onwards we have the Sound Recorder application, an application specially designed for Windows 8.1 and Windows RT, which allows us to makes it easy to take quick sound notes, clip them, and share them.
In the Sound Recorder application we have a button to start recording shaped like a microphone, a button to pause the recording and a button to stop it. Nothing more.
After making our recording, we can assign it a name, delete it, trim it or share it using the sharing function of our Windows 8.1 system ( appears when you move the cursor to the right corner of the screen).
If we uninstall the Sound Recorder app, the stored sound notes will disappear with it and if we switch apps while recording, that recording will stop.
If your intention is to store the recording in a separate file, you also have the Traditional Windows Sound Recorder, which also has with a record button and a stop button. When finishing a recording we will be offered to save our resulting WMA sound document in any folder of our Windows system.
Welcome to Windows 8
Download | Sound Recorder in the Windows App Store
