In this guide we will go through the process of converting a RealAudio file into an mp3 for easier distribution and editing. For now, we will only cover this process on Windows-based computers.
Necessary Software
For this guide you will need to download and install Streambox VCR 2 (mirror).
Getting Started: Finding the Audio
As an example we will make an mp3 copy of President Bush declaring unequivocally that there are WMD in Iraq.
John W. Dean provides the following list of quotes in his article “Missing Weapons Of Mass Destruction: Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?”:
“Right now, Iraq is expanding and improving facilities that were used for the production of biological weapons.” United Nations Address
September 12, 2002
“Iraq has stockpiled biological and chemical weapons, and is rebuilding the facilities used to make more of those weapons.”
“We have sources that tell us that Saddam Hussein recently authorized Iraqi field commanders to use chemical weapons — the very weapons the dictator tells us he does not have.” Radio Address
October 5, 2002
“The Iraqi regime ... possesses and produces chemical and biological weapons. It is seeking nuclear weapons.”
“We know that the regime has produced thousands of tons of chemical agents, including mustard gas, sarin nerve gas, VX nerve gas.”
“We've also discovered through intelligence that Iraq has a growing fleet of manned and unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to disperse chemical or biological weapons across broad areas. We're concerned that Iraq is exploring ways of using these UAVS for missions targeting the United States.”
“The evidence indicates that Iraq is reconstituting its nuclear weapons program. Saddam Hussein has held numerous meetings with Iraqi nuclear scientists, a group he calls his ‘nuclear mujahideen’ — his nuclear holy warriors. Satellite photographs reveal that Iraq is rebuilding facilities at sites that have been part of its nuclear program in the past. Iraq has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes and other equipment needed for gas centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.” Cincinnati, Ohio Speech
October 7, 2002
“Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent.” State of the Union Address
January 28, 2003
“Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised.” Address to the Nation
March 17, 2003
Let’s take March 17th quote first. Now, fortunately for us the majority of Bush’s comments are archived on whitehouse.gov. Therefore, to find this specific quote we need only search with the following Google query: site:whitehouse.gov "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq".
This yields one White House transcript. Bush’s quote appears four paragraphs down.
Notice that this speech, like all audio on the White House website is only available in streaming RealAudio. This means that normally we would be unable to download and edit it. We’ll now do just that.
Downloading the Streaming Audio
First you’ll need to download the streamaudio to your hard drive. Follow these steps:
- Right-click on listen and choose Save As and put the .ram file somewhere where you’ll find it.
- If you thought that downloaded too quickly to be audio, you are right. The file that you downloaded (20030317-7.a.ram) is merely a text file that tells the RealAudio player where to get the streaming audio from. Open the file in a text editor.
- You’ll now see that the file contains the following line:
rtsp://a200.v59134.c5913.g.vr.akamaistream.net/ondemand/7/200/5913/3e771f76/whitehouse.download.akamai.com/5913/20030317-7.a.rm. - Load Streambox Vcr 1.0 beta 31smf+turbo.
- Click on the icon that looks like the globe with a plus sign.
- Paste the contents of 20030317-7.a.ram into the location.
- Choose a destination folder then click OK.
If all goes well it should download shortly.
Converting to mp3
Now, you’ll need to convert the .rm file that you’ve downloaded to .mp3. This is easy:
- Load Streamripper (it was automatically installed with the Streambox VCR).
- Drag the .rm file you downloaded onto streamripper.
- Click on convert.
- In "encode output file," choose mp3.
- Hit OK.
You now have a full mp3 of Bush’s lie. To excerpt the specific quote you’ll need to edit the mp3. This can be done with a freeware program called Mp3 DirectCut.
Why War? has compiled a few of Bush’s WMD claims. They can be downloaded from the Audio Primary Sources. We've also archived the definitive listing of Administration WMD claims. Additional help with converting realaudio to mp3 is available at the Streaming Media Recording Forum.