Digital Home Thoughts: Review: InstantFM Music

Getting Started
The ADS InstantFM Music is a combination hardware and software solution that is composed of a USB FM tuner and software package that allows your PC to record FM broadcasts, automatically identify the songs, and convert them to MP3s. The software can also be programmed like a DVR to record specific stations at specific times, in essence allowing you to create your own podcasts of any radio show you like.

To start with, let's look at what comes in the box. The USB tuner is a bit larger than even a large USB memory key. You can plug the key directly into a USB 2.0 port or use the included dongle. There is an additional dongle with a retractable antenna. Unfortunately, mine refused to lock in the open position. A carrying pouch, software/driver CD, manual, and product registration card round out the package.



Installation went off without a hitch. There are two main software components: Instant Radio and Snaptune One. Instant radio is a basic radio interface while Snaptune One is a much more full featured product. Let's start off with a quick look at the Instant Radio software.



As you can see from the above screen capture, this is your basic radio software. As the product name states, this is an FM device, so you can't tune any AM stations. The first of two notable features is the fact that the hardware is capable of receiving RDS/RDBS data. What this means is that if your favorite radio station broadcasts this data, you will see additional information such as the station name or song name in the display. Unfortunately, only one local station here appears to broadcast this information and they only broadcast their station name. The other notable feature is the record button. It does just what you would expect, press it and it starts recording the station. Now for the bad part. It only records to a .wav file and then only at an absurdly high 3072 kbs bitrate. I searched, but could not find a way to adjust this. But, not to worry, other than just plain listening, you probably won't be using Instant Radio since Snaptune One is a much better recording application.

Snaptune One has some basic recording features that will allow it to act like a DVR for radio. It performs this function fine, but that is not where it really shines. Here is Snaptune One's killer feature in a nutshell. You pick a station and let it record it for a couple of days. It will then give you a fairly comprehensive listing of the songs played during that time period. You can then play any song or convert it into an MP3. Let's take a closer look at how it does this by looking at some of the main Snaptune One screens.

Below is the radio tab. When you first launch the application, the program will scan for available stations. You should note that Snaptune One is a fully independent product from the hardware tuner. In fact, Snaptune One is a free software product that you can get from here. Snaptune One will work with any tuner or line in as well as with Web radio stations. Since this hardware is FM only, selecting the AM radio button gets you nowhere. From this screen, you can choose the station you want to listen to and set it to start recording.