Blog - Comments

Jan Anderson comments on My FaffCon 4 Experience: Unexpected Results

Jan Anderson — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 04:35:49 +0000

Hi George,

I'm glad that the link problem was resolved, because last night I was chomping at the bit to read more about your Faffcon experience. Thanks for sharing about it! Sounds like it was a great experience. I haven't attended one yet, but hope to one of these years..... :-)

Take care, George.
Jan

steve hammill comments on ISDN USERS: It's time to get a backup system

steve hammill — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:20:17 +0000

ISDN was EOL (end of life) when I was using a Network General Sniffer to troubleshoot networks in the 90s and before I got back into doing VOs. The telcos have slowly been phasing ISDN out while squeezing out every last penny of ROI that they can. ISDN was never a best seller; it did a lot better in Europe than here. The key difference between ISDN and IP is simply reliability, speed has nothing to do with it really; ISDN is pretty slow and always has been. When you talk about IP the issue, it is more about capacity than speed. It is true that speed begets capacity, but that's a brandy & cigar conversation between network protocol analysts.

ISDN establishes a circuit between point A and point B. Once it is established, the earth has to move to rattle the connection (at least it used to be that way before the infrastructure started crumbling). IP networks do not establish connections the way ISDN does; the path between point A and point B can go from A to L to C to B for the first packet and go from A to Q to R to S to Z to Y to L to M to N to B for the second depending on network conditions. Each of those routers delay the arrival of a packet so that it is possible for the 3rd packet that only had 3 "hops" between A and B to arrive at destination B before the 2nd packet. Keep in mind that we're talking MILLIONS - maybe 10s of millions - of packets in a recording session over the Internet. The layer 3 IP protocol has two dominant layer 4 transport protocols: TCP or UDP. TCP is reliable, but the overhead is staggering, unfortunately I do not remember how many more packets it would add to a conversation of a million packets. The other transport protocol is UDP. It is unreliable. It shoots packets on to the Internet and doesn't give a hoot if the packet makes it from point A to point B. RTP, real time protocol, which was developed for audio and video transmissions generally uses UDP.

We all know that Skype has a really special VOIP system and proves there's hope for a top shelf, studio grade system. Skype's VOIP protocol is proprietary and I have never sniffed a Skype connection (I need to put that on my to-do list). ...but there's hope for those of us with studios in the remote Rocky Mountains :)

When I last spoke to the Source Connect people, I believe they told me that they used UDP as the transport layer protocol. What that means is that even with a more than adequate network connection, if the local telco has over-sold their available bandwidth (which they all try to do), the number of packets lost and the processing time required for packet reassembly in the destination router and then on the destination computer increases and degrades audio quality. And remember, at multiple stops along the path between point A and B the packets must traverse shared media where your packets must wait their turn before they get to go.

This is not simple technology. I've never used a Source Connect connection, but I'd bet that here in the Rockies, I'd experience great days, good days, and bad days depending upon the condition of the path from here to a studio in New York or LA.

Is Source Connect the future? It is a step into the future, but the future won't depend on UDP as a transport protocol; you can take that to the bank.

Jerry McClellan comments on QUICK REVIEW: TASCAM iXZ iOS device audio interface

Jerry McClellan — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:57:51 +0000

George, wasn't expecting the quality the IXZ produces. I think your review pretty much summarizes it's usuage. It would handle most on-the-road auditions, and, perhaps even a gig or two.
Thanks,
Jerry McClellan
Atlanta

steve hammill comments on QUICK REVIEW: TASCAM iXZ iOS device audio interface

steve hammill — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:00:13 +0000

Sounds damned good! I found it for $50 bucks! That's nothing! I wonder how it works with Android devices?

Although it's really just a cEntrance MicPort Pro sort of device if you starting thinking about using it with an actual laptop. Correct?

Very interesting piece.

DC Goode comments on Beau Weaver gives the iO Dock from Alesis a test run with the iPad

DC Goode — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 17:01:39 +0000

Thanks much George and Beau.
Hard to hear enough difference to justify the difference in investment, although I have never been a "golden ear" when it comes to hearing the subtleties.
I'm curious to hear how it works out with interfacing to ISDN.

Thanks again!
dennis

George comments on New Tut! Twisted Wave for Beginners Screencast Tutorial

George — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 17:00:35 +0000

Bill, thanks for the kind words! I have plans to create more tutorials. Please do let us know if there are any specific tutorials you would like to see.
Twisted Wave is not capable of mixing in music over dialogue, since it is just an editor. For that you could just use Garageband. Take your finished file and import it into a Garageband project and add your music there.

George

Bill Cleveland comments on New Tut! Twisted Wave for Beginners Screencast Tutorial

Bill Cleveland — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:53:11 +0000

I purchased this module and the one on using TW effects. They gave me the fundamental understanding of TW and how to record and edit. I'm looking forward to more TW modules in the future. I use a Macbook and have found TW to be very easy to use.
I would like to understand if TW can be used to record a music track, a voice track and add effects to create a final production for a client if one was asked to do so? thanks.

George comments on Notes from the Field: Matt Wiewel's home studio

George — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:59:51 +0000

Drop a recorded sample from the booth in the dropbox, Matt! I don't have one, but via Skype it sounded excellent. I share it on the blog post.

Matt Wiewel comments on Notes from the Field: Matt Wiewel's home studio

Matt Wiewel — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:51:17 +0000

Thanks guys!

This has been a really fun project and I'm extremely happy with how it turned out. Some people have been asking where I got some of the other components, so I thought I would post that here.

PCV Connectors - 3 way corner, 4 way cross, 4 way Tee from www.formufit.com
PCV Hinges - "Wing Clips" from www.clipandgoagility.com
Moving Blankets - Producers Choice Oversized Sound Blankets from www.moverssupplies.com
PVC pipes, Clear Zip Ties and Rope Lights - Lowes
Remote Light Switch - Skylink WS-100/WS-100N Wireless Remote Control from www.Amazon.com

At George's suggestion, I also purchased a PCV cutter. I didn't even know they existed, and now could not live without one! No more piles of white PCV sawdust!

-Matt

John McLain comments on Notes from the Field: Matt Wiewel's home studio

John McLain — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 17:22:39 +0000

Slick! PVC is a wonderful material - like a grown-up Erector set. In my last house, space was at a premium, and my wife and I devised something very similar: a PVC frame, but instead of acoustic panels, we used some remnant sofa fabric and made "curtains" for panels. I threw an old, fluffy comforter on top for a roof, and voila! I used that booth for over a year. We've since moved, and now I have a walk-in closet that I've treated and use exclusively for a booth. I still have the PVC booth, though - we never glued it, so it turned out to be somewhat portable! We labeled all the parts so we could figure out how to reassemble it someday.

Great solution, Matt! I'm with you, George - I love seeing the result of creative minds at work. Thanks for sharing this, guys!

- John McLain