Portable Sound "room" Post? & Skype

jrazz wrote on 11/1/2007, 8:59 AM

A while back someone posted on a collapsible "sound room" that they use when they travel and need to do a quick podcast or something similar. I searched for the post but am apparently using the wrong search terms as I am getting nada.

Since I am asking about this, what would be a good microphone and headset for doing something like this? Any ideas would be nice. The broadcasts will be recorded in an RV all over the Southwest and sent back to a local radio station for broadcast.

And here is another question for those who are familiar with Skype: if a connection is made via a broadband wireless card through a phone carrier with the computer will he be able to communicate with the station reliably (understood it is dependent on the connection but I am speaking in reference to skype)?

Thanks for any input.

j razz

Comments

Coursedesign wrote on 11/1/2007, 10:15 AM

There have been postings here by Spot and others with instructions for how to make a flat-collapsible box out of Gator board or similar, with Auralex acoustic foam on the inside. I built one of those and used it for a long time.

I no longer use it after I found an alternative that weighs about one ounce, fits in my pocket, removes room sound even better, and makes my voice sound good (with a decent micpre).

It's a Countryman E6i earset mic that wraps around either ear. Retail is more than $500, but you can get it for less than $300 at this pro shop.

Love it, and no time spent on construction.

jrazz wrote on 11/1/2007, 12:17 PM

Course,

I don't think he will be able to carry along a preamp. They looked into getting some broadcast equipment but could not find any within their budget that he could reliably transmit while being live from places like the Mexican border.

He will have two laptops- a Mac and a PC. The Mac is a new powerbook and the laptop is a standard Dell with XP. He hopes to be able to record straight into the Mac and output as a mp3 which he can send via email or ftp to the station for them to implement in their broadcasts. If that is not an option, what are your thoughts about recording to something like the zoom h4 and then dropping that on the timeline to edit and upload?

Again, anybody have any experience with Skype for live radio interaction or would a mobile phone be just as good if either are options. The quality does not have to be great, just reliable.

Thanks,

j razz

Ethan Winer wrote on 11/1/2007, 2:17 PM

> ollapsible "sound room" that they use when they travel <

Forgive what I hope doesn't look like self-promotion, but my company's Portable Vocal Booth is highly regarded:

http://www.realtraps.com/p_pvb.htm

--Ethan

farss wrote on 11/1/2007, 2:39 PM

Local Audio Technology mag has an article on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation going bush with their AM program. ISDN circuits are one solution, you can buy ready made audio systems that work over these connections and sound like you were in the studio. Problem is you need a physical ISDN connection!
Other options thaey used are satellite broadband. Can be problematic if you're moving around a lot getting links through the satellite, mostly it worked for them. They also used CDMA ISDN, if there's CDMA phone coverage that's a pretty good option.

There's planty of good gear built for just this kind of work, like little mixers that have the encoders built into them. Specifically they used a Tieline mixer connected to a Nera World Communicator GAN Satphone using the G722 algorithm. Alternatively they were using Glensound GSCGC24A ISDN mixer/codec.
For the announcers Beyerdynamic DT290 headsets.

All this was for live interactive programs with scripts switching between the studio and the location 'booth'.

For simply filing audio where you don't need realtime then uploading mp3s via ftp would work. Most radio systems today seem to use mp3 based system, Nagra do a handheld mp3 recorder that's very popular with the radio guys (BBC). You just offload the file from flash memory or card and edit it or directly ftp it up to the station server. Of course it has to be logged into the server though so the guys at the other end know what it is so it can be cued through their automation system. If you've got someone in the host radio station who'll put in the time to mother hen this project then it all should be simple, if not then I suspect you've got to play by their rules and how their systems work.

Bob.

je@on wrote on 11/1/2007, 2:51 PM

In a pinch: Make 4 walls from grip blankets hung from c-stands. Sounds pretty good.

jrazz wrote on 11/1/2007, 2:52 PM

Guys,

Thanks for the information. Gives me a good starting point for this project.

Bob,

Do you have a link to that article or is it even online?

j razz

Coursedesign wrote on 11/1/2007, 2:57 PM

The Portable Vocal Booth is a very good product, very well designed (even though it "doesn't come with the Neumann microphone" :O).

It does weigh 11 lbs. + the microphone + the pizza delivery bag for portable use, vs. 1 oz. for the E6i.

If you get the XLR-version of the E6i, it will plug straight in to a Zoom H4 or any of a number of portable micpres that can feed into a MacBook Pro or a PC notebook.

If you're going to have your notebook there anyway, I'd be somewhat partial to recording directly to disk using Vegas or a special purpose app such as Boom Recorder for the Mac.

The latter is a great app for film & video production also, as it has the features professionals need. The 2-channel version is $20, if you ever find yourself needing 64 tracks you can upgrade for $240.

Formats: WAV (BWF) or CAF
16, 24 bit integer and 32 bit floating point.
Any sample rate that the audio interface supports, including: 44.1, 48, 88.2, 96, 192 kHz.
Up to 64 channels.
Metadata
Project, scene, slate, take, roll and timecode are stored in BWF files.
Channel layout is stored in the iXML-chunk.
Sound reports in HTML, print with Safari or Firefox.

LTC SMPTE/EBU timecode signal are decoded from any audio channel. Jam or continues sync. Start and stop on timecode availability.

Pre-record buffer.
Monitoring and simple playback.
Spectrum Analyser.
Full mixing and routing on inputs and outputs.

Astonishing for the price, and it's a long established product used on many major feature films.

jrazz wrote on 11/1/2007, 3:12 PM

I like the information on the Boom Recorder. I also like the idea of being able to be portable with a zoom h4 and e6i combo and I also like what Bob described above. I will have to run all of these ideas by them and see what they want to do. I am curious as to how to ingest the audio if the Mac or PC is used for recording? Would you recommend an mbox or something else or would the audio card built into the MAC be sufficient?

j razz

farss wrote on 11/1/2007, 3:32 PM

"Do you have a link to that article or is it even online?"

http://www.audiotechnology.com.au/current.html

But sorry, the mag is just out so not online and I doubt you'd find a copy in the USA.

Bob.

Coursedesign wrote on 11/1/2007, 5:34 PM

The built-in audio doesn't provide phantom power.

You need a decent Firewire-interface:

Apogee Duet is somewhat orgasmic, but Mac only and still $495 as it was just released and they haven't even been able to fulfill their huge amount of preorders yet(they have always been known to make good stuff).

Focusrite Saffire is a great deal at $299.

busterkeaton wrote on 11/1/2007, 6:25 PM

I think you might be thinking of Harlan Hogan's portabooth
http://digitalprosound.digitalmedianet.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=89503

xberk wrote on 11/1/2007, 8:05 PM

>>, anybody have any experience with Skype for live radio interaction<<

I've used Skype all around the world. Even out at sea. It's dependent on a good Internet connection so one never knows. I've never used it for live radio but it does work and can be very clear or not like any mobile phone connection. If the mobile phone call is too expensive, Skype is an option worth exploring, since Computer to Computer it is free! Just spoke to a friend in the UK last week on Skype. He could have been next door. Cost $0.00.

Coursedesign wrote on 11/1/2007, 8:48 PM

I use Skype for video chat, this works well even U.S. to Europe.

MacBook Pro's web cam is excellent (much better than a Dellcam). If you have to buy something separate, check out Logitech's Clear Vision with a 5-element Zeiss lens, abt $70 refurb on eBay.