Audio and Video

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You can use audio and video on your web site to increase sales.

 

Audio:

 

Almost nobody is using tapes anymore. People still use minidisks. But the tendency is more and more to use mp3 players/recorders. Today's models range from $200 to $700 and can record directly into mp3 format. When recording speach into an MP3 file, use the following settings:

These settings compress one hour of recording into a 7 MB file. The quality is good enough. These setings are proven to work good when ripping audio CDs, and also are compatible with some online flash utilities which you may decide to use.

 

When searching for a recorder (whether minidisk or mp3) make sure that it has input(s) for external signal.

I really like Iriver IFP-390T (from www.iriver.com). It has a line-level input, so you can record from external sources, such as other players, cassette or CD players, etc. But if you want to record from an external microphone or a telephone pick-up - you many need a small preamplifier (with variable gain 10..100).

 

Pre-amplifiers:

Here are several simple software flash players which will play external mp3 files on the web page:

Video:

There are several ways to include video:

 

headphones & microphone top of the page - email

I listen to lots of education audio-s.

Here is what I use:

Here is what some other people use

Here are some other options:

Here is an option I tested and rejected - Konexx:

Konexx's "Phone 2 PC". The hardware/software combination for ~$180. The hardware consists of a splitter inserted between the handset and the phone base. The signal then is fed into a small AC-powered box with AGC circuit (Auto Gain Control) which adjusts the volume automatically so that both parties voices have approximately the same volume. The output is fed into the audio input of your recording device or your computer. The software allows to monitor and adjust volume - and to record into WAV files or highly compressed GSM files (one hour -> 7 MB).

I tested Konnexx device - and rejected it for several reasons.

First, the device is supposed to be connecting directly between your computer and your telephone. When you do this - you get a lot of noise in your recording (especially if you use a notebook computer). This is because connecting all the devices together creates a big electrical loop which works like an antenna. You need to de-couple the pieces to remove the noise. Unfortunately Konexx's device doesn't do this decoupling.

Second, the auto-gain control feature by itself is nothing special - it is a standard feature of all tapes recorders (including the Marantz I use).

Third - the software by itself doesn't do anything special. The CoolEdit Pro (Adobe Edition) is much more powerful.

Forth - the product is very overpriced ($180). They don't sell hardware separately (because then it should be ~ $30 to compete with RadioShack). In comparison, RadioShack ($25) + CoolEdit ($69) + any tape recorder (~$50).

Note: KONEXX also sells "Model 100" for $69. I bought it and looked inside - it is a simple passive splitter similar to a $12 RadioShack splitter.

 

Here are some more links:

Some techical links:

MAX4129, etc.

 

 

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