Sound Recording Software

Avisoft-RECORDER

part # 10301 ,10302, 10201, 10202

Avisoft-RECORDER is a versatile multichannel triggering harddisk recording system. It was designed for the special needs of bioacoustics, but it can also be used for any other audio signals. Possible applications are:

  • Long-term monitoring and recording of acoustic events both in the laboratory and in the field.

  • High-speed harddisk-recording with sampling rates up to 1 MHz* with various data acquisition boards (Avisoft-UltraSoundGate, National Instruments and soundcards or audio interfaces (up to 192 kHz).

  • Pre-trigger recording of sporadic animal vocalizations in the field (either manually or automated using one of the various triggering options : threshold / manual / digital input / timer / time program ... ).

  • Individual triggering and saving of single channels from multichannel soundcards or data acquisition boards.

  • Multichannel real-time spectrographic display (frequency [kHz] vs. time [s]).

  • Multichannel real-time spectrum display (amplitude [dBFS] vs. frequency [kHz]) with temporal averaging and temporary peak hold.

  • High-pass filtering for attenuating low-frequency noise.

  • Real-time acoustic monitoring of ultrasound signals by using heterodyning, aliasing or envelope tracking techniques.

  • Playback through both standard audio interfaces and National Instruments DAQ devices, optionally with playlist functionality.

  • USV monitoring option for counting and measuring rat or mice ultrasonic vocalizations.

  • Batch mode for processing large numbers of animals in USV drug testing procedures.

  • Acquiring GPS location data from NMEA 0183 or Windows Location API compatible GPS receivers and logging the geographic locations of the recorded .wav files into metadata chunks and into separate .gpx, .kml or .shp files (automatic geotagging).

  • The dedicated Bat Call Trigger Filter tool can distinguish bat echolocation calls from other unwanted signals, such as insect noise.

  • An automated call parameter measurememt tool can quantify various call parameters and classify the calls based on these parameters in real-time. The created log files provide a quick overview on the recorded data, which can also be easily transferred via low-bandwidth internet connections (these log files are much smaller than the original .wav files).

  • Customizable metadata input tool for embedding user-defined database records directly into the recorded .wav files. These embedded data records can afterwards be accessed from SASLab Pro and subsequently integrated into a metadata base.

  • Real-time weather data logging (into dXML and bext .wav file metadata chunks) from Kestrel 4xxx Pocket Weather Tracker, Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2 / Vue / Envoy and Airmar LB150, PB150, PB200 series devices and many other common PC weather stations through a generic real-time log file interface option HID TEMPer, Weather Station Data Logger, Cumulus, Weather Display, Heavy Weather, KlimaLogg Pro).

* The maximum sampling rate for real-time display and streaming to disk depends on the type of acquisition board and computer performance (USB, PCMCIA or PCI board, processor speed, graphics adapter, disk transfer rate, …)

Screen shots

  • Data flow scheme
  • Avisoft-RECORDER screen shot
  • configuration diolog box

Up to 8 channels, each sampling at up to 1 MHz can be monitored simultaneously. Optionally, Avisoft-RECORDER can record from up to 32 audio channels. Each channel can be triggered separately by different trigger events. An trigger event can be the exceeding of a certain energy threshold within a pre-defined frequency interval. This mechanism prevents triggering caused by undesired disturbance signals outside the frequency range of the animal vocalizations. Additionally, an entropy parameter can be used to discriminate between noise and pure-tone signals. For more sophisticated signal filtering, the Avisoft-SASLab classification facility may be used.

Alternatively, trigger events can be keystrokes, joystick button hits or timer intervals. Once a trigger event has occurred, the assigned channel(s) will be written into numbered WAV-files onto the hard drive as long as the trigger event is active. In order to capture sounds preceding the trigger event, a pre-trigger duration can be specified. Additionally, a hold-time can be defined to prevent cutting up of related sound elements.

The created event files are time-stamped (at sample clock resolution) enabling subsequent re-assembling into larger continuous files for precise temporal analysis. Sound-activated recording can be restricted to user-defined periods of time (and optionally putting the computer to sleep in order to save power).

The adapted Avisoft-SASLab Pro sound analysis software and the LOG file output support quick navigation through the captured sound files. For single-channel applications a special low-cost version is available.

Both standard audio interfaces and National Instruments DAQ devices can be used for playing back .wav files. Playing a .wav file can be initiated simply by dragging the desired file into the RECORDER application window. There is also a versatile playlist feature enabling automated playback of long file sequences.

  • playlist screen shot
  • USV monitoring screen shots

    The USV monitoring option provides instant results on the acquired ultrasonic vocalizations. Various descriptive statistics items such as the total number, total duration, mean duration or standard deviation of the detected USVs can be reported.

  • GPS data logging screen shots

System Requirements

  • Operating system: Microsoft Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7 or Vista including Intel-based Apple Macintosh running Parallels or Boot Camp
  • Analog input: Soundcard or audio interface with common MME/WDM driver, UltraSoundGate, National Instruments E, M or X-series DAQ device with 16-bit resolution (conventional NI-DAQ or NI-DAQmx driver)*, Data Translation* or Measurement Computing* data acquision devices
  • For GPS data logging, a GPS receiver complying with the NMEA-0183 data protocol or the Windows Location API is required (either a Bluetooth GPS receiver, a USB GPS mouse, a handheld GPS unit or just a computer with integrated GPS/GNSS capabilities)

* Note that the operation of these data acquisition boards is not always straightforward. Decent knowledge and experience is required to connect the analog inputs (and outputs) properly. In contrast, common soundcards and the Avisoft-UltraSoundGate devices are much easier to handle.

For more details on the RECORDER software consult the DEMO version with its HTML formatted online help system and the tutorial.