[PodcastMN] iChat vs. Skype

Wed Aug 29 16:19:52 GMT 2007

sweet, thank you Michael and Steve for the comments!

I just started using AHP after using Nicecast for about a year (made by the same company as AHP, but with the broadcast feature), but  when doing the live show using stickam.com (or ustream.tv in the next couple monts), there is more uploading than downloading and my internet & CPU seems to suffer.

The nice thing i'm noticing about AHP but i havn't worked with yet is the mutli-recording multi-output function, so i'd be able to tweak the skype call to at least make it better sounding for the podcast mix.

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Steve Borsch 
  To: Graeme Fehr 
  Cc: podcastmn at lists.podcastmn.com 
  Sent: Wednesday, August 29, 2007 11:00 AM
  Subject: Re: [PodcastMN] iChat vs. Skype

  Hi Graeme,

  I've used both Skype and iChat extensively and have recorded them both (even with video...but I digress). Two ways to do it for audio:

  1) The easy way is with Audio Hijack Pro ( http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/) or Wiretap (http://www.ambrosiasw.com/utilities/wiretap/). I've had the best success with AHP so that is my recommendation. They have set up a no-brainer quick Skype or iChat recording function and have detailed a how-to on their web site: http://www.rogueamoeba.com/audiohijackpro/manual/English.lproj/help_ATrecordingchat.html and you can also download a demo so you can try it out first. 

  There are other software solutions (like CallRecorder: http://www.ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/) but they're limited and you won't be able to grow with them as you get better. The kicker with AHP is that as you grow and become more sophisticated in what you want to accomplish, AHP has deep and highly functional capabilities that you can spend hours playing with to get a more perfect sound and geek-out with routing audio signals! 

  2) Setting up a "mix minus" from your mixer or Firewire/USB box so that you can record the iChatters or Skypers on one channel and you on the other channel so you can fix any problems or normalize audio levels in post. My preference is to record *both* an internal recording on my Mac with AHP *and* a backup recording out to my M-Audio Microtrack to make certain I've captured it and there are no hiccups. Saved my bacon twice when doing sessions for one of my clients earlier this year. 

  (By the way, I've set up a new user account on my Mac called "clean user" just for audio recording. The only thing that runs is AHP and either iChat or Skype so NOTHING else is running and interfering with the recording process. I also open Activity Monitor (in your Utilities folder...hit Command-1 to open the current running processes) to make sure that some system-wide process isn't running that's eating up CPU time or causing disk activity like Apple's Backup program. Once you've done this stuff to setup recordings a couple of times, it literally takes just a few minutes to get completely setup and running for recording. There have been times that I've started a recording session on-the-fly since someone has asked me to do so in a conference session and, since I've done it several times, I don't even think much about it anymore since the workflow is ingrained in my brain). 

  The audio guru Doug Kaye has three excellent posts on Skype recording -- with the first two telling you how to setup a mix-minus for (either iChat or) Skype recording -- with his latest post being fabulous if you want to get REALLY great Skype recording without those annoying digital "hiccups" -- since the two of you will have an incentive to tweak your own networks and connections to get better-n-better results: 

  a) Interviews via Skype:  
  http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2005/07/14/interviews-via-skype/

  b) Interviews via Skype revisited: 
  http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2005/07/22/interviews-via-skype-revisited/

  c) Recording Skype interviews: 
  http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2007/07/09/skype2/

  NOTE: for those of you wanting to explore Skype recording software solutions, here's a great page:  http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/06/how-to-record-skype-conversations.html

  Hope this helps.

  -- 
  Steve Borsch 
  Direct/Mobile: 952.486.7678
  Email: Steve at iConnectDots.com
  Blog: http://www.iConnectDots.com
  Podcast: http://www.iConnectDots.com/podcasts/ 

  On 8/29/07, Graeme Fehr <weirdcookie at turkeyvan.com> wrote: 
    If someone has some info or can point me to a disscussion forum, that'd be cool.

    Has anyone used iChat as a means of a conference call vs. a skype call?  Frosty and I are doing the show cross-country now and Skype has it's upsides, but also has it's downsides...

    Can you use iChat using AIM, or do you have to have a .mac account to make this work?

    And if iChat is a means of doing it, with it being based on the AIM server rather than skype, would it run smoother at times or does it matter how many people on a port?

    Thanks in advance.

    -----
    Graeme Fehr
    ----
    http://itradio.turkeyvan.com - ITRadio's Website
    http://www.tpxradio.com - TPXRadio Website
    http://www.stickam.com/profile/tpxradio - ITRadio/TPXRadio Live Show Page.
    ITRadio is live every Thursday from 7-9CST.

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