Stream Recorder

Techopedia explains Stream Recorder

The stream recorder saves streaming media differently depending on the stage in the process the user is attempting to capture the data. There are three recording methodologies:

1. URL Snooping. This is the easiest method, which provides the highest quality but is not readily available. This stage involves requesting the data from a website. Software packages designed to locate and download such data include URL Snooper, Coojah and Grab++.
2. Encoded Capture. This is the most difficult method but provides high quality. This stage involves the streaming protocol such as an encoded media stream within a network stream. However, legal issues may arise with digital rights management, decryption, reverse- engineering and hacking an existing client to extract the desired data rather than decoding it. This can be done passively offline by capturing the data and then manipulating it to extract the desired data (usually video or music). Or, it can be done actively online by a streaming protocol program which requests the desired data. There are also a number of programs available to download and capture RTMP (real time messaging protocol) streams which are available for different OSs.
3. Decoded Capture. This method yields the lowest quality data. It involves recording anything that is viewed or listened to, including data passed to the computer’s video or sound card, which is already decoded. Decoded capture can be done regardless of the original format or protection, but suffers some degradation of quality. An alternative, which further degrades quality, is to simply use audio or video equipment to record speaker or video sound and images.