Technology | Dave Courvoisier's Blog

FocusRite iTrack Solo

April 2, 2013 By CourVO Leave a Comment

focusrite Just ricocheting a post from Alan Curry of PieHole that I thought had merit in case you didn’t see it.

Alan hails the new FocusRite iTrack Solo with the following comment on my Voice-Over Friends FaceBook Group: “…it’s never going to replace a properly equipped studio, nevertheless I’m impressed with it so far and can’t really fault it as a portable or temporary solution. Indeed, for certain projects like web video, on-hold & IVR, I’d even go so far as to deem it perfectly acceptable…”

Banking on the legendary FocusRite reputation, and selling at a reasonable $159 at online shops like Sweetwater, the FocusRite iTrack Solo is touted as being compatible with Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad.

From the website: “…A supplied cable connects iTrack Solo to the iPad, and it is powered by the included USB cable that delivers the power necessary to run the iTrack’s high-specification components. If you are using iTrack Solo with a Mac or PC you don’t need to connect it to the mains, your computer will supply enough power via the USB cable….”

Here is the link to Alan’s SoundCloud audio sample using the iTrack Solo: https://soundcloud.com/alancurry/ipad-itrack-solo-audio-sample/s-rZeD8

Thanks Alan!

CourVO

Filed Under: Equipment, Technology Tagged With: Alan Curry, focusrite, focusrite iTrack solo, iTrack Solo, Piehold, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices

Record On Your Android Device

March 17, 2013 By CourVO Leave a Comment

irigpre Now that Android OS phones are dominating the smartphone market, and Android OS tablets are becoming a regular fixture, it only follows that voice actors will be hoping to find ways to do a decent recording on those devices (the endless search for the perfect portable recording setup!).

A number of voice actors have told me they have successfully installed and recorded using the USB Audio Recorder Pro availabe in the Google Play store. My good friend, and ace audio engineer Cliff Zellman sweetened the pot when he mentioned that Audio Evolution is the perfect sound editing compliment to USB Audio Recorder Pro (also works in Windows).

Sadly, this geeky blogger has not been able to get the USB Audio Recorder Pro software to work on my Motorola XOOM tablet, nor my Google Nexus 7 tablet, despite the fact that both devices are listed as compatible with the app (and believe me, I’ve TRIED with just about every configuration I could come up with). I would encourage to you to try it though, as the app is reasonably priced, and is said to be reliable. Maybe you’ll have better luck. I continue to try to get this Android solution to work, and have a customer support ticket in with the folks at USB Audio Recorder Pro.

In the meantime, though, fellow Vegas Voicer Dennis Allen pointed me to the latest offerings from IK Multimedia…makers of the iRigMic for iOS that I’ve blogged about in months past.

Now, the folks at IK Multimedia have re-designed their iRig Recorder to work with Android too.

More than that, IK Multimedia also is out with their iRig Pre XLR Mic interface for iPhone, iPad, and Android. This device not only works across device formats, but also allows you to use any standard XLR mic input to record on your tablet or smartphone. A smart move!

I have not had a chance to evaluate the new iRig offerings, but you know I will. My iRig Pre XLR is already on order, and when I get it in, I’ll give a whirl in a comparison sound recording.

Have a great Monday!

CourVO

Filed Under: Mics, Technology Tagged With: android, Android OS, Audio Evolution, Audio Evolution app, Google Nexus 7, iOS, iPad, iPhone, iRig Pre XLR Mic, iRig Redorder, Motorola XOOM, smartphones, USB Audio Recorder Pro, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice oves, voice talent, voiceover, Voiceovers, voices

SoundStreak Windows Preview Released

March 14, 2013 By CourVO 1 Comment

Thursday I got the email I’ve been waiting for. The SoundStreak Preview Release for Windows is out.

I’ve blogged about SoundStreak several times in the last few months. The definitive article, featuring an interview with CEO Dan Caligor is here: SoundStreak – From the Top.

Dan sent the email…and I was excited to hear about it (1) because I’m a diehard Windows user, and (2) I have a great deal of respect for the potential of this product.

Galigor and his developer — Matthew Hensrud — have been letting me in on the beta testing. I’ve been doing some sessions with them over the past weeks, and I’d like to think some of those instances helped a little bit.

SoundStreak’s native development was for the Mac OS, but after reaching a Beta product in that realm, SoundStreak wasted no time working on a version compatible with Win7. It should more than double their possible user base.

Read the official SoundStreak announcement. You’ll find all the appropriate links there to get started. The program installs quickly.

In addition, Dan Caligor offered me a few other tidbits of information in his email:

“This preview is fully functional and largely feature-complete, and is fully interoperable with the Mac version (i.e., you can assume either the Production or Talent role on either platform and mix-and-match within sessions).

All sessions on SoundStreak — as well as the software and account — will remain free of charge while we continue to finalize all the elements of our system. This preview is the tip of the wedge for a number of exciting changes we will be making over the next eight weeks or so. These include new features and capabilities, a new and highly scalable back-end, multi-user and eterprise-grade account capabilities, and user and account admin portals.”

Just briefly, for those unfamiliar: SoundStreak maximizes an internet connection between talent and producer to provide a real-time link for studio quality remote recording. Like ISDN, the session is usually initiated from the producer end, and both parties need to have the SoundStreak software up and running. The producer feeds the script and even lo-res video (if needed) which appears on the talent’s screen. Talent delivers as many takes as the producer wants…the producer listens…chooses the one he/she likes, and the “good” take is immediately downloaded in a hi-res version to the producer’s side of the equation. All recordings also remain on the talent side of the recording.

That’s a quick paraphrase, and there are many other handy and feature-rich nuances to the process, but the system is robust and intuitive.

Hensrud told me that by the end of business Thursday, the new Windows Preview Release had gotten a couple of hundred hits. ‘Not bad for the first day on the market!

Below is a quick screen capture I did of my test session yesterday to show you the screen interface. My promo read is horrid, but you can see the sequencing of the countdown into the delivery of the video. In my headphones, I was hearing all the background crowd noise of the video, plus Traci Ulman’s soundtrack, as well as the beep-beep-beep of the 3-second countdown.

Great going SoundStreak!

CourVO

Filed Under: New Paradigms, Technology, Web Resources Tagged With: Dan Caligor, Matthew Hensrud, SoundStreak, soundstreak.com, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, Voiceovers, voices

Like Lightning!

March 13, 2013 By CourVO Leave a Comment

Barely had the digital ink dried on my blog from Monday’s unveiling of the RØDE iXY before my good friend Tim Keenan (owner of Creative Media Recording) chimed in with some welcome news.

Most portable mics designed to work with iPhones, iPads, iPods, etc. come with the 19-pin connector common on the iPhone 3 and 4, and early models of the iPad and iPod. But as I mentioned in the iXY blog, Apple is fond of designing away from 3rd-party vendors, just to keep ‘em hopping, I think.

But look at what our friends over at Zoom Electronics did! They’ve already come up with a pretty snazzy mic

Zoom H4n

that fits Apple’s new Lightning Connector now installed on the iOS 6.0 or later (iPhone 5, iPod touch [5th generation], iPad mini, etc.). Bingo!

As you know, Zoom is the innovator behind a number of pro-quality hand-held audio recorders…chief among them, the Zoom H4n…and now the new H2n as well.

The new unit is called the iQ5. It has a unique ball-type design that they call “stereo mid-size microphone” that has both horizontal and vertical positioning.

From the SamsonTech website: “…the iQ5 features a 3-position Mid-Side stereo field switch (90°, 120°, RAW) for selecting the width of your stereo field and creating incredible flexibility over your recordings. The iQ5’s 3-position gain control switch (Auto, Limit, Off) lets you quickly choose your volume settings, while its analog mic gain wheel allows you to fine tune your levels while recording.”

I don’t see a price anywhere for this unit. It’s not even listed on the offiicial Zoom site.

The site I’m linking to here claims the Zoom iQ5 is available at Guitar Center, but Guitar Center’s online site doesn’t return any results on a site search.

Again, this disclaimer — so well elucidated by tech officianado and LA voice talent Bo Weaver: “No mobile mic-with-tablet-and-app configuration will match the fidelity of your home studio.” (paraphrased)

Innovation marches on!

CourVO

Filed Under: Hardware, iPad, iPhone, New Paradigms, Technology Tagged With: apple lightning connector, iOS6, iPad, iPhone, iPod, portable recorder, portable recording, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices, Zoom iQ5, ZoomH2n, ZoomH4n, ZoomiQ5

FaceBook NewsFeed Changes Today

March 7, 2013 By CourVO 3 Comments

The social network we all love to hate, and CAN’T STAY AWAY FROM is changing again.

In a sense (and as they say) change is good. With today’s frenetic innovation, and super-short attention spans, there’s bound to be plenty of trial-and-error tinkering…even with a product as ubiquitous as FaceBook.

Mark Zuckerberg’s baby favors new products. Remember FB Questions?…Checkins? FaceBook has to take risks on new ideas. Even a network with a billion members needss to remain as agile as possible.

But “shares” and “likes” are down. Facebook has admitted as much. People are posting more (according to Zuckerberg’s law), but these days, reading less. Not only that, but a lot of critics are noticing that FaceBook is inserting a lot more ads, and higher up, than it used to. Visitors see that as a grasping, even desperate move to make more money. Also, the cherished teen demographic is not so enamoured of FB anymore.

So, FaceBook is changing again. Today.

There will be a big news conference, and the typical hype. FaceBook is playing their cards close to the vest, but the best pundits expect a significant change to the look.

Mashable is saying “…we could see multiple news feeds based on categories, such as Instagram photos and music your friends are listening to and artist updates…” TechCrunch claims, “…in addition to several news feeds, we’ll be seeing larger photos and image-based ads.”

A new look for Timeline is already underway in New Zealand (New Zealand!!!???)

Regardless, we don’t really get a vote, and I just didn’t want you to wake up and wonder what the heck had happened to your cherished FaceBook.

CNET probably said it best: “…If News Feed were a window, the frame would be dilapidated and the glass distorted after years of wear and tear…”

Wanna read more? Check out these links:

LA Times

TechCrunch

Yahoo News

Boston Globe

CourVO

Filed Under: Social Media/Networking, Technology Tagged With: FaceBook, Facebook news feed, FaceBook newsfeed, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices

Visiting With VoiceZam’s Bob Merkel

February 28, 2013 By CourVO 6 Comments

Woe is me for missing FaffCon5! I’ve regretted my misfortune ever since, but have been working to make up for the loss. First of all, I got myself into a stand-up group, and of late, I’ve been familiarizing myself with VoiceZam.

The founding force behind this innovative tool for voice actors — Bob Merkel — became a Faffer in Charlotte last October, and introduced VoiceZam to many people there. He also spoke very highly of all the friends he made at the unconference. He’s an extremely affable, ex-advertising guy who is happily married, and living just outside of Milwaukee.

But VoiceZam predates FaffCon. Bob’s been developing the idea back into the early years of the new century. Then, when the technology made it possible, he refined the software, and marketed the concept to a VO audience finally maturing in its acceptance of his core argument: that the linear way VO demos are designed and heard is antiquated!

VoiceZam answers that deficiency. And more. Merkel takes a lot of pride in the product. When you need troubleshooting help, it’s Bob on the phone or answering emails. And he’s branched off the original landmark idea to offer a handsome presentation, metrics, and sharing power.

You’ll see VoiceZam’s player on the front page of this blog now (in the right-hand sidebar), and I have plans to add more of my demos, and the Zamtistics next. I’ve also added a VoiceZam link to all my email correspondences in the signature. Most all voice actors I know who use it, swear by it!

The whole package with Bob Merkel as the designer, administrator, troubleshooter, cheerleader, and apostle for Voicezam — along with it’s revolutionary demo player — makes it so worthy of your consideration.

Below, an interview I did just two days ago with Bob, where he discusses some of the finer points behind his product. Take a listen, and I bet you’ll be convinced.

Thanks, Bob!

VoiceZam from Dave Courvoisier on Vimeo.

CourVO

Filed Under: Demos, Technology, Web/Tech Tagged With: bob merkel, demo, Demos, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, voiceover talent, Voiceovers, voices, VoiceZam, voicezam.com, Zamtistics

Voicezam

February 15, 2013 By CourVO 3 Comments

One of the clear indicators of a product that’s dependable is its longevity in the marketplace. Trends in the business of voice-acting come and go, but proven products last over time.

January of 2009, I first mentioned Voicezam in this blog. Hard to believe it’s been more than 4 years ago. At the time, I didn’t have a lot of info on the site. But it’s creating buzz again (a few of us even discussed it in our VO MasterMind group call this week), and I see that the Voicezam site has been spiffed-up quite a bit.

Audio producer Bob Merkel runs the place. He’s devised a unique product with a lot of uses. Upload your demo to the Voicezam site…his process splits it into pieces which can be played individually in a virtual player that you can email, embed, send, post, and otherwise distribute just about anywhere!

In fact, it’s the usability factor that makes it so good for your business. See this page for a look at how the Voicezam player can be used.

I love the fact that you, as a member, have a lot of control over how the player looks, including the order of the segments, naming the individual segments, and even customizing the player.

Here’s a link to the Voicezam FAQ page, which will probably answer most of your questions.

You must be a working pro with 3 years under your belt, and the application process asks that you list your last 3 jobs. First month is free, then you have a basic membership that kicks in with some a la carte options that cost extra if you choose them (like metrics, and automatically adding your demos). Basic monthly service is $19.95.

Bob is excellent with returning answers to questions, and is very responsive with customer service.

What a great tool for your voice over business if the price is within your means.

CourVO

Filed Under: Technology, Web Resources Tagged With: bob merkel, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice actors, voice artist, voice artists, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, Voiceovers, voices, VoiceZam, voicezam.com

The Search for ISDN’s Successor

February 13, 2013 By CourVO 3 Comments

Broadband.

ISDN’s legacy technology will go away…eventually.

Lord knows how much longer the big TelCos will continue to support it.

Smart producers, voice actors, audio engineers, and others associated with the business of voice overs are searching RIGHT NOW for the next best thing. It’s pretty well universally accepted that ANY succeeding technology for hi-quality remote recording will be internet-based.

I’ve been hammering this message lately…introducing and continuing to support ideas that seem promising. It’s unknown if Skype will go that way, but it could. SoundStreak holds promise. SourceConnect seems to have the biggest jump on the competition, but I don’t see a lot of excitement over the product, now many years old.

The dark horse in the race, and a surprising contender is ConnectionOpen. Like the other possible solutions, ConnectionOpen offers a means to record remotely over broadband. Uniquely, ConnectionOpen holds and aggressively defends an innovative patent that underpins the service.

Better than me trying to explain it myself, I took the opportunity the other day to interview Lawrence Morrison, the developer and founder of ConnectionOpen. Lawrence openly answers questions about his software, explains why his patent makes a difference, and details the possible application of ConnectionOpen for voice actors…all in this 12-minute interview.

I think you’ll find it worth the time. Below, a brief mention of Morrison’s pricing structure.

ConnectionOpen from Dave Courvoisier on Vimeo.

Morrison adds the following points about pricing:

1.) Upfront cost is $0.
2.) Subscriptions will start at $25 per month. This will be a promotional price. It will go to $50 a month with a steep discount for a yearly subscription. We are still trying to figure out what that will be.
3.) At this point it is an all for one price deal. We do however plan to add more features, video, customizable interface, extremely secure remote storage and a personal newsletter service for self promotion.

Thanks, Larry!

CourVO

Filed Under: ISDN, Software, Technology Tagged With: ConnectionOpen, connectionopen.com, ISDN, lawrence morrison, SoundStreak, source connect, VO, voice, voice actiing, voice actor, voice over, voice talent, voiced artist, voiceover, voiceovoers, voices

The Slow Death of ISDN

February 1, 2013 By CourVO 8 Comments

The major telephone companies wish they’d never seen ISDN.

It’s a pain in the butt to provision, switch, maintain, uphold, and they’re not even sure why they do it.

The result is ever-increasing installation and monthly fees, especially in the fly-over states.

The evidence is everywhere and ever-increasing.

Two threads on VO Facebook groups this week were testament.

In one, Melanie Haynes stated: ”…”Having my battle with them again…..Thought we’d settled it last year when I signed a 2 year contract with a lowered rate. Guess what? It will be only 1 year in Feb and my latest bill jumped the rate by $25..”

Others chimed in to say they’re paying more than $300/mo for their ISDN service.

Voice actor AJ McKay noted with frustration: ”I’ve had mine for a little over a year. It went from 165 to 194 and now is $235. It really is ridiculous because they don’t train people anymore to service ISDN (according to the guy who just came to my house last month). I knew more jargon and about ISDN than he did.”

Still more voice-actors say they can’t even get an ISDN install in their town/city. It’s not even available.

Much of this conversation was sparked by a blog my friend Bobbin Beam wrote on ISDN. Bobbin just moved from San Diego, back to the Midwest, and is having a nightmare of a time getting her ISDN established again. $50/mo in San Diego, now $214/mo in Milwaukee for a business account…personal accounts no longer available. See: The Unlevel Playing Field.

About this time, seasoned pros in NYC and LA will chime in and say “ISDN is never going away…the studios like it too much…you all are overreacting…too many people have preached its demise for too long, and it’s still here…” and more like that. All of which bears some truth.

But the mounting evidence can no longer be ignored. The owner of studio here in Las Vegas was lamenting how it’s getting harder and harder to find a decent long distance service for his ISDN connection. If the studios are getting squeezed out of the market…there’s little hope ISDN will last.

It may be a couple of years, but now is the time to start looking. There are several candidates:
(in order of likelihood)

1) Source-Connect

From Source-Elements, Source-Connect already has pretty good name recognition and acceptance among studios and talent. For some reason, it has never really taken-off…but with the slow demise of ISDN…maybe it can come forward and shine. Configuration and set-up problems are well-known, though, and there remains occasional drop-out in the signal.

2) SoundStreak

Dan Caligor’s team is hot on the trail of a very sweet IP solution to remote recording. It’s a service more than software, and now with it’s Windows Beta release and other big developments, Soundstreak has a real chance. Read my recent blog about SS.

3) Skype

Yeah. Skype. After bouncing around under different corporations (Ebay?) Skype now falls under Microsoft’s umbrella. Some lament this fact. I rejoice in it. I think MS will make some hay out of this product. Many a Podcast and Phone Patch are successfully completed using Skype… can top quality studio sound over this IP service be very far?

4) Luci Live App

This $400 iOS app delivers the connectivity goods…but then you’re at the mercy of the inferior audio electronics of an iPad or iPhone. It’s not terrible, but good enough for network promos? I doubt it.

HONORABLE MENTION: ConnectionOpen This is a simple, easy-to-use interface designed for recording remote collaborative music sessions, but there’s no reason why it wouldn’t work for VO sessions. See my blog of Mar 2012 on this.

CourVO

Filed Under: ISDN, Technology, VO Community, Web Resources Tagged With: ISDN, Luci Live, SKYPE, SoundStreak, source connect, Source-Elements, VO, voice, voice acting, voice actor, voice artist, voice over, voice overs, voice talent, voiceover, Voiceovers, voices

Coming Review: SoundStreak for Windows

January 24, 2013 By CourVO Leave a Comment

win-miccombo This morning, Friday, January 25, 2013, I’ll be doing a run-through of the new Beta of SoundStreak for Windows OS.

Their chief product officer is guiding me every step of the way …so I’m certainly in capable hands.

Less than a week ago, I did a one-on-one interview with SoundStreak’s CEO, Dan Caligor, and also have some very exciting news about developments at SoundStreak…both Mac and Win7.

I’m telling you all this as a heads-up of coming attractions for next week’s blog.

I wrote about SoundStreak’s Beta release just a couple of weeks ago. SOUNDSTREAK FOR WINDOWS IS NEAR . THAT article also has links to a very thorough blog about SoundStreak from last year, that explains much of the concept behind this unique remote-recording solution.

CourVO