[PodcastMN] iChat vs. Skype

Wed Aug 29 16:36:29 GMT 2007

Brian,

I still use HSC but stopped the monthly $5 Premium service (bunch of
controls plus recording) since I'd rather control the recording on my end.
After trying it several times, the quality of the recording was just plain
mediocre and I was quite dissatisfied. Also, their recordings use Plain Old
Telephone System (POTS) conference bridges which are at 8khz sampling rate
(vs. Skype's 16khz) so it just didn't sound very good.

That's why a guy like Leo Laporte uses Talkshoe and you could probably set
it up like this for HSC (where your voice is studio recorded but the callers
are on phones and you'd record them on a separate channel) but I haven't
done that.

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

On 8/29/07, brian at digitalbob.com <brian at digitalbob.com> wrote:
>
> Steve, do you still use/recommend HighSpeedConferencing.com? Seems like
> with this setup, you wouldn't need to use their recording, unless it's just
> another backup to have. I haven't tinkered with it yet, but to get a minus
> mix from that would be very nice, since the non-techs use the phone.
>
> -Brian
>
> On Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:00:26 -0500, "Steve Borsch" <steve at iconnectdots.com>
> wrote:
> > 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.htmland
> > 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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> >>
> >
> >
>
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> ----------------------------------------
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