• By playing the video using a player, such as Windows Media Player, RealPlayer, or a player embedded in a browser, and capturing the pictures from the player's window. For more information on this approach, refer to the How to Record Video from a Screen or Software Player With Total Recorder VideoPro Edition Tutorial.
• By receiving data directly from an Internet server. In Total Recorder, this approach is referred to as background recording. This feature also lets you play back the received video during background recording, or you can simply play the remote stream without background recording, in which case Total Recorder acts like a regular player.

There are many advantages to this second approach. There is no need to use an external player. Decoding and re-encoding does not take place, and therefore it requires less system resources, and there is no loss of quality. There is no need to control the particular region of your screen where video is being played backed to ensure that it is not being overlaid with something extraneous. Also, there are no problems with hardware acceleration. However, Total Recorder can record Internet video streams in Windows Media Video (WMV) format and video streams in FLV format (which are transmitted using HTTP), while the first method, using screen capturing, works regardless of the stream's format.

Take the following steps to background record an Internet stream:

1. Verify that your network settings are correct in the Options-Settings-Networking dialog box. For more information on this dialog, refer to Total Recorder's online help.
2. Ensure that you are connected to the Internet.
3. From the File menu, select Open URL, or press the button. In the URL field, enter the URL you want to open: Note. For background recording of an Internet stream by Total Recorder, you should know the exact URL for the stream. To capture the URL of a stream using Total Recorder, take the following steps:
   
      - On the Open URL dialog, click the Capture transmission button. The Total Recorder minibrowser window appears.
      - In the Total Recorder minibrowser, open your initial URL, navigate to a page from which the transmission can be launched, and start playback.
      - Wait for information about the captured transmission to appear in the Captured transmissions box.
      - Click OK.
   
   For more information on the Open URL dialog, refer to Total Recorder's online help.
4. To start recording the Internet video stream, from the Play/Record menu, select Record, or press the button.
   Note: While background recording, you can start playback of the data being received without interfering with the recording process. Beginning with Version 7.1 you can play an audio file or a video file at a slower or faster speed than normal while optionally preserving the original tone.
5. To stop background recording, from the Play/Record menu, select Stop, or press the button.
6. You can save the recorded stream just as you would any other recording.

Notes:

• To play video streams or to background record them, you require Total Recorder version 7.x with its Video Add-on, or Total Recorder VideoPro or Developer Edition version 8.0, or higher.
• Only the following video streams are supported:
  
  • Video streams in Windows Media Video (WMV) format.
  • Video streams in FLV format transmitted using HTTP.
• You can play back Internet video streams without background recording (i.e. recording Internet video). After you open the URL, you can simply start playback.
• While background recording, you cannot change the current position. The rewind and fast forward features are disabled. Only the "Go to start" operation is allowed. If you stop playback during a background recording, you can start playback only from the beginning of the recorded data.
• You can also schedule the background recording of an Internet video stream.

See also:

Getting Familiar with Video in Total Recorder, How to Record Video from a Screen or Software Player Using Total Recorder VideoPro Edition Tutorial