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Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Why Do Voice Artists Use ISDN?

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network.

In sound recording (without getting into all the technical stuff) it's a way of connecting two studios together with very little loss of quality. So I could sit in my studio in London and connect with someone in the States who also has an ISDN line. It looks just like a phone line with a fancy box on the end. In the UK, not surprisingly BT is the main supplier.

However, it isn't quite that simple. The sounds going into a microphones in both studios have to be digitized so they can be sent on the ISDN line. This means both studios need a codec

What's a CODEC?

Short for coder-decoder it turns the analogue sound into digital and vice versa. My codec is a Pronto 2 and looks pretty much like an amplifier. I speak into a microphone, which is connected to a small audio mixer to control sound levels. This is connected to the codec, which is connected to the ISDN line. At the other end, the other studio receives the signal into their codec, which is then plugged through to their recording equipment, and they monitor it through headphones or speakers.

There are various other codecs.

Prima springs to mind, and is very popular. A software application called AudioTX has also been developed which means your PC effectively becomes the codec.

So what's the point of ISDN?

Radio stations love it. Instead of having to use the same voices living locally, or those prepared to travel large distances, they can now choose anyone in the world with an ISDN line and the rest of the kit. Voice artists love it because they can stay at home (wherever that is, maybe miles from civilisation) and not even get dressed to go to work!

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"Embedding Audio Into HTML" Tool - Read This Special Report!

"Embedding Audio Into HTML" Tool is definitely becoming one of the most important online marketing tools. There is no question - you must always be unique on the web. Sounds interesting? read this quick review.

Some background

The secret of this special "Embedding Audio Into HTML" Tool is it's embedded processor - it easily enables you to convert audio and music files to Web-Format. It is very simple and anyone can operate it. In step-1 you select the files that need to be processed, then choose your favorite player-style, and that is it. By the time it completes the job you get a small code that you embed into your HTML page.

This webaudio is a 'streaming file' - it is available in real-time with no download waiting time.

There are so many benefits with this technology simply because it offers so many important advantages; for example: fast tracking your online newsletter or eZine sign-ups or having audio-driven Websites which are currently taking the Internet by storm.

Tip

Before you make your first steps while using this technology: be passionate at what your are speaking about - let your listeners feel it in your voice. One other thing: there are a lot of sophisticated solutions on the net', do yourself a favor and start with one of these simple tools - you'll quickly find out that it is sufficient in most cases.

Final words

Thanks to "Embedding Audio Into HTML" Tool we can significantly improve the affectivity and profitability of our online business. Saying just a few words can sometimes be much more effective than trying to express yourself in writing. It is advised to try it so you could truly evaluate how it can improve the performance of your webmarketing efforts.

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Back to the Future For Streaming Ad Dollars

When I got my first job in radio in the summer of 1979, I worked for a tiny station that had just 5 full time employees and two part-timers on staff. We didn't have a lot of advertisers, but we used a simple system to get sponsors for our shows. This method proved valuable because we had a solid base of advertisers plus an income stream that didn't fluctuate. What we did was sell program sponsorships.

Here's what sponsorships can do for your internet radio station 30 years later. Sponsors provide a solid income and are easier to sell than just selling 'spots' on your station. The problem with AM and FM stations, and the problem you can find with your station is when selling advertising, you frequently run into businesses that want to know how many listeners you have. Not necessarily how dedicated your listeners are, but how many. By selling sponsorships, you take something that isn't tangible (air time) and make it tangible.

Here's how: instead of selling air time, selling programs. That way, when you talk to sponsors you can tell them they can sponsor the weather forecast for "x" amount and that means that when you do your weather forecast, it will start something like this... "This look at the Upper Westside weather is brought to you by John's Widget store, when you need a widget, think John's Widget store on the upper westside..". John the sponsor is happy because he has been associated with a "program" on your station, and your listeners will also appreciate the fact that John brings them the weather. You will also find that by tieing in sponsors with important program segments on your internet radio station that your listeners wil listen longer and will not look at sponsors like they do advertisers on regular AM & FM stations.

No matter what you broadcast on your station, you must relate with your listeners so they will continue to listen. By making advertisers into sponsors, you connect them with your listeners and that means that when your listeners make purchases, they will feel an emotional tie to the business that sponsors their favorite internet radio station. That means you win with money from advertisers, the advertiser wins by becoming a sponsor, and your listener wins by having a new trusted source to purchase from.

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Podcast Marketing

Almost as soon as the original Apple iPod was introduced, people in the marketing profession began to realize the medium's potential to carry brand and product messaging. Today, podcasting is popular method for communicating corporate information that enables businesses to deliver valuable content to listeners. Because the sound of the human voice carries emotion, the medium can deliver content more effectively than text. In fact, some marketing experts believe that podcasting is more powerful than other marketing media such as direct mail advertising. By developing and incorporating a podcast into their marketing programs, companies can, for example, educate listeners about new and upcoming technologies in their industry, inform customers about soon to be released products, and promote new services. Use the following guidelines for developing your podcast.

Plan Your Attack Before you even begin to record a podcast, you need to decide what you want to say, what your target market is, and what your call to action will be. At the end of your podcast you may want to point listeners to a specific web URL that will drive sales and measure how many people heard your podcast. You should also develop a script that tells the person doing the voice over exactly what to say. And due to people's generally short attention span, you should avoid creating a podcast that is longer than 20 to 30 minutes.

Get the Right Tools To create your podcast you will need a PC and a microphone. Many computers already have microphones built in. But you might want to purchase an echo canceling variety to ensure the highest audio quality of your production. Headphones also are a good idea if you want to hear your recordings played back without hearing extra noise from your surroundings.

You'll also need software for recording voice such as one of the basic or preloaded programs that came with your PC's operating system. Or you can purchase a more sophisticated solution that enables you to edit the audio file such as ePodcast Creator or the simple to use and Windows and Mac compatible program Audacity. Audacity is available for free download at audacity.sourceforge.net.

Start Recording Go the file menu of your program and select New. Test your microphone's input level and then just click on the record button and begin. If you're using Audacity, the software saves the recording automatically as an .aup file. However, some programs cannot open this format so you should export your podcast as an .mp3 file after recording.

Upload Your File After you're finished with production, you're ready to upload the .mp3 file to your website or publish it to a blogging service such as Podcasting.com or Apple's iTunes Podcast Directory. If you want to publish on a regular basis, you'll need to create an RSS feed. You can do this with an easy to use program such as FeedForAll.

Publicize Your Podcast To ensure you get a large audience, you should e-mail contacts in your company's database that your program is available. Include some basic details that will attract their attention. And be sure to include a URL where they can download the podcast. You can also maximize your audience by ensuring your podcast is listed with web search engines such as Google and Yahoo and by using RSS search engines, including Google Blog Search, Bloglines, Feedster, and Technorati.

Audio Streaming - How to Succeed - Part 2

Protocol Issues

Designing a network protocol which supports streaming media can be quite involved.

The following issues are noteworthy: Protocols called Datagram, such as the User Datagram Protocol, send the media stream as a series of small components of data. Although this is simple and efficient, the protocol does not contain any provision to guarantee delivery of the data stream. In fact, the onus is placed on the user to detect any loss or corruption in the data, and to reinstate such data using error correction methods. If some of the data is lost, the media stream may incur what is called a dropout.

The following protocols have been particularly designed to deliver streaming media over networks: Real-time Streaming Protocol, Real-time Transport Protocol, and the Real-time Transport Control Protocol.

Dependable protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol, ensure the correct delivery of each bit in the media stream. However, in order to achieve this, they use a system of timeouts and retries, which makes them more complex to implement. The downside is that when the network suffers from is a loss of data, the media stream is put on hold while the protocol handlers detect the loss and retransmit the missing data. By buffering the display data, it is possible to reduce this effect quite noticeably.

When using Unicast protocols, an alternative copy of the data stream is sent from the server to each user. Unicast is most commonly used for most Internet connections. However, it does not perform well when large numbers of users want to view the same program at the same time. When there are many recipients receiving Unicast content streams independently, there tends to be data replication with consequent server/network loads. Even when the streaming content is the same as that provided by the associated streaming server, there will still be a requirement for multiple connections from the Unicast Connections.

However, Multicast protocols were developed in order to minimise this sort of replication. Such protocols send just one stream from the source to a group of recipients. Whether Multicast transmissions are feasible depends on the network infrastructure and type. One possible downside of multicasting is the loss of the ability to utilise video on demand. In the case of continuously streaming radio or television material, the user will be unable to control playback. The use of servers with the ability to cache, digital set top boxes, and buffered media players are all methods which will tend to limit this problem.

The ability to send a single data stream to a number of end users on a computer network is available with IP Multicast. Since routers and firewalls must allow the flow of data destined for multicast groups, this must be considered when deploying IP multicast.

In the case of educational, government, and corporate intranets where the organization that is serving the content has control over the network between server and recipients, then routing protocols such as IGMP and PIM can be used to deliver stream content to multiple LAN segments.

Arranging for pre-recorded streams to be sent between computers forms the basis for Peer-to-peer (P2P) protocols. In this way, the server and its network connections are free from experiencing bottlenecks. There are, however, certain matters that may need to be resolved when using of such an arrangement. These include technical, effectiveness, accuracy of data, and various legal issues.

Audio Streaming - How To Succeed

Audio Postcards - Get Your Audience Listening

An audio postcard looks like a regular postcard on your browser, but the message is in audio instead of in print. This will help your product or service stand out from the noise in your prospect's or customer's life. Even better, it doesn't demand much of you at all. Just follow these steps.

How do I get the audio content?

You start with a teleseminar, and then you chop that up into many different parts, just a few minutes each. Find your best points with some easy audio editing, so each part can stand alone as a valuable benefit to your listener.

A cool goal would be to develop 52 of these audio postcards over time, so it could be a weekly mailing to your list. This would make a great opt-in incentive on your site, simply by repurposing something you already have.

What does an audio postcard look like?

An audio postcard is an HTML page that looks like a postcard with a postage stamp in the upper right hand corner. Sometimes it has the face of the person sending it. That could be your face if you're sending it. There's a clickable link in the lower right corner, which is where they click it to hear your message. On the left hand side of that postcard is the message in text.

That's how you repurpose an audio postcard. You take the audio and you chop it up with software like Sound Forge or Audacity. Then you upload it into Audio Generator or Audio Acrobat, it depends what audio postcard technology you have.

You upload it and just like that you have these audio postcards which are a different and creative way to get your message to your list. A lot of people prefer listening to something rather than reading, so try audio postcards and you'll see good results.