Posted By Paul Kafasis on July 31st, 2015

Would you believe that it’s time for more Audio Hijack? We’ve just released version 3.2 of our popular audio recording tool, and it adds some killer new features, while also killing some old bugs. Today also sees the release of an exciting new companion to Audio Hijack which we’d like to introduce.

Audio Hijack’s New Companion

Audio Hijack is extremely powerful, and few users are aware of all that it can help them do. That’s why we’re delighted to be able to introduce Take Control of Audio Hijack, a brand-new downloadable eBook. It’s been independently produced as part of the Take Control series, which has helped countless users get more out of their software.

This new title is the work of Mac and audio expert Kirk McElhearn, who provides an encyclopedic guide to Audio Hijack. Whether you’re a new user who wants a detailed primer on the app, or you’d just like some more information on specific aspects of the software, this book can help you make the most of Audio Hijack!

The full Take Control of Audio Hijack eBook is just $10 right through our store.

Click to Buy the eBook Now

For more information and to get a free sample of the book, visit this page.

Major Updates in Audio Hijack 3.2

In conjunction with the new eBook, we’ve also got a great new version of Audio Hijack.

The update starts with useful refinements to the Time Shift Block, which provides a pause button for audio on your Mac. One rather unexpected use case for Time Shift is using it to assist in transcribing audio. Mac writers Serenity Caldwell and Jason Snell have each written about using Time Shift to transcribe Apple’s earnings calls. After hearing about this, we set about improving Time Shift to make transcribing all types of audio even easier. We began by giving Time Shift a powerful popover:

Time Shift’s popover

The popover provides a long slider which makes it easier to move around the buffer, along with buttons for discrete jumps of 3, 10, or 30 seconds in each direction. Like all popovers in Audio Hijack, you can tear it off for easy access. Better yet, you can pin it to make it float above other windows for access from within other applications.

Perhaps best of all, however, are the new global keyboard shortcuts. Open up Audio Hijack’s preferences, and you’ll see that you can set hotkeys for Time Shift’s controls. Now your hands won’t even have to leave the keyboard when transcribing audio to text.

You’ll also find two brand new blocks in Audio Hijack 3.2. First up is the new Sync Block. If you’ve ever needed to adjust the “A/V Sync” on a stereo receiver, you’ll understand the Sync Block. It allows you to add a precise delay to any audio. While Sync is similar in concept to Time Shift, it works at much smaller scale: up to 1000 ms (1 second) per Block. It’s perfect for syncing an audio stream with video that’s lagging behind.

Next up, the new Peak/RMS Meters provide a fully-calibrated visual of your audio, showing both RMS and Peak Levels, as well as a helpful clipping indicator. The existing VU Meters and Menu Bar Meters are handy for a quick look, but the new Peak/RMS Meters are the way to go if you want precise audio analysis. The popover, seen at the right, offers a particularly precise view.

Note that we’ve reorganized the Block Library slightly. Look for the Advanced section to find the Sync Block (and Time Shift as well). The Peak/RMS Meters are in the Meters section as you’d expect.

The last big feature to mention in this update is shareable Sessions. Audio Hijack 3.2 makes importing and exporting Sessions a snap. You already know you can configure Audio Hijack to get exactly the setup you need, then use it over and over again. But what if you want to share your settings with someone else? Now you can, just by exporting a Session! Just highlight it in the Home window, then select “Export Session” from the Session menu.

When you export, Audio Hijack will save your Session out as a .ahsession file. Once you have that, you can email it to a friend, publish it on your website, or share it however you like. When another Audio Hijack user opens the file, the Session will be automatically imported into their copy. It’s a great way to show off your custom setup!

There are plenty of smaller feature improvements in this update too. One that old-school users of Audio Hijack will appreciate is the return of the “Session Name” and “File Counter” variables, for use in both tags and file names. We’ve also improved the way popovers work, added additional support for FLAC, and much more.

This update is also notable because it offers general support for using Audio Hijack fully on Mac OS X 10.11 (El Capitan). We expect further updates will be necessary when the official release of the OS occurs, but at this time, users on El Capitan can now make full use of Audio Hijack, including the Instant On extra.

Get It Now

This update is free for all current owners of Audio Hijack, so get it now. Download the latest Audio Hijack from our site or just choose “Check for Update” from within the app. Happy hijacking!