PopCatcher intros FM-ripping MusicDock MD-601

If the egg-shaped design of TimeTrax's TraxCatcher didn't do it for you, perhaps the retro stylings of PopCatcher's new MusicDock MD-601 will be more to your liking. It'll give you the same algorithm-enhanced FM radio recording of the TraxCatcher, chopping up the over-the-air broadcast into more manageable MP3s and automatically loading 'em up onto the docked (and included) 1GB MP3 player. Once the player's filled up, you can simply offload the tracks onto your computer via USB for transferring to the MP3-capable device of your choosing. Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing or availability just yet, although PopCatcher is currently taking names and promising to let you know the minute you can get your hands on one.

[anonymous @ Jan 25th 2007 5:01PM]

the only thing wrong with trying to capture music using internet radio stations is that the meta tagging that identifies the beginning and end of each song rarely gets sent in sync with the beginning and ends of the songs so that the parsing routines can accurately chop music into whole files. More often than not, you get some of the next song in the previous songs file and would have to spend time 'mixing' with an audio editor to piece them back together. There is software already available to do internet-radio capturing. Give it a radio station to capture, tell it where to store and off it goes, creating MP3s for each song, albiet, slightly outta sync.

[anonymous coward @ Jan 25th 2007 6:25PM]

The PopCatcher doesn't work off meta-tags. It works by listening to the radio station for a few hours, "learning" how it plays songs, commercials and DJ chatter, and then using that learning to cut out everything except music.

I have a pre-production version of the MD-601 sitting here on my desk next to me as I write this, and it has recorded 500+ songs off the local classic rock station over the last few days without once picking up a piece of commercial, DJ, or anything else.

Oh, and by the way - the TimeTrax TraxCatcher and the Popcatcher MD-601 are exactly the same thing under the skin. :)

[Brad Johnson @ Jan 25th 2007 11:23PM]

this looks pretty sweet. I've got XM and have heard Sirius and I find the FM radio quality to be superior to both in terms of dynamic response. FM just sounds better. Does anybody know if this has an HD radio tuner or if it's a standard FM tuner?

[wille @ Jan 26th 2007 2:38AM]

It's released here in Sweden and it costs about 200 dollars.

I rewieved it a couple of weeks ago and it works fine but it would be cool if it could name the files through GraceNote or some similiar DB.

Heres some more pictures and my rewiev (in swedish)
http://pryl.feber.se/feber/art/8126/minitest_popcatcher_musicdock/

[anom @ Jan 26th 2007 2:50PM]

This is an interesting product that has some real interesting technological innovation. Of course it would be more interesting as an embedded technology. I don't really care too much for owning yet another system to sit on my desk or coffee table.

[Jay Nielson @ Jan 26th 2007 3:23PM]

As PopCatcher's embedded technology sales representatives, we've been amazed at the disruptive potential that this technology presents (even in this age of satellite radio; this particular unit has a line in on the back that can take any source making the 192kbps worth it). ... check out our blog post (http://www.designwin.net/2007/1/26/popcatcher-pops-up-again) talking about the potential for this technology being integrated into a docking station for ANY playback device: cell phone, pmp, etc.

[Nobody @ Jan 30th 2007 8:43AM]

Hej,
I just got an answer from PopCatcher. In fact, the MD-606 as shown on the pictures is available in Europe only and will never be sold in the US. However, they say their team is developing a product that "will better suit the Americans' needs" and which will be released within 6 months. The same docking station but for an iPod????