180: Idiot Box

[LD]

the audio is fine for me and the iTunes level meter is on par with most other shows. I even played a sample of Photograph from Nickelback at the Itunes store and the levels were what you would expect in comparison to music.

You should start an audio thread in the help section.

"just let me do something with kids" - Chemda

A classic quote which I'm sure Michael Jackson will use on his next application.

[LD]

and just for comparison here's the levels for the BBC produced Chris Evans podcast with only discussion and no background music.

Seems to me that Curry has his levels too high and his background music too loud.

[DanClass]

sounded good to me

[ChitownMacTech]

Originally Posted by MichaelG

DON'T POINT OUT THE PROBLEM, PLEASE HELP Keet CORRECT THE PROBLEM.

Could it be the mics, could it be the compression, maybe the mic level are low?

Help will only help.

Alright, I'm looking at what it can be, but since I'm not there I can't see what they're doing.

I don't think it's the mics or anything they're doing while recording. They've mentioned that Chemda watches the levels while they record, I don't think it's that. I'm guessing it's what happens when they save the file as MP3.

I'll look for a solution, but all I know is, when KATG ends and the next Podcast begins the volume change is dramatic.

[MichaelG]

Originally Posted by ChitownMacTech

I'm guessing it's what happens when they save the file as MP3.

i agree, I think it is the way they compress the file at the end, and since the Song/comic was recorded at a different level it will not be at the same level as their voice. Maybe they could play the song through the recording and it might be at the same level as the show they recorded. and then compress them as one file, and not 2 files put together to make one.

Interviews are a different animal, because they are using a speaker on the cell phone, so that will always be low.

[teerts]

Originally Posted by Keith

"Good to talk to you before we all die."

very nicely done.

[ChitownMacTech]

Alright, I've screwed with show 180 for a couple hours now and this just isn't the way to do it. It sounds better if you ad +5db of gain. However how it gets this way is the problem and without seeing the setup I guess I can't offer any advice long distance.

I can't imagine at this point they would be recording without a compressor on the microphones, but from looking at the waveform in Audacity that might be the problem, which is exaggerated when they normalize the whole piece, there are some extreme pops in the audio and this would mess up the dynamic range.

Anyway, best I can say here is the "semi-pro" way to do this is to plug the mics into a compressor/limiter and then run the output from that into the computer's sound card and record that. Maybe one day they can get a sound engineer from Chemda's recording studio to come over a take a look at what they're doing.

I used Curry as an example cause I know he's using an outboard compressor/limiter (and he has a background in top 40 radio) which is why his voice sounds so booming and professional, the guy does NOT sound that way when he's interviewed, etc.

Anyway, I'll shut up in the meantime cause I can't fix it.

[phooey]

loved the interview!

[BrianA]

About the volume level stuff, turning on the Sound Check feature in iTunes might be helpful (Preferences > Playback). Sound Check will amplify quite files and de-amplify loud files. You can also turn on the feature on your iPod (in the settings).

Although maybe the episode is too quite for this to work well. I still haven't gotten 180, since libsyn is downloading at 3KB/s for me. I dunno if it's them or my fucking internet.

[EastTexas]

Great Interview.
I didn't know he was going to be a guest. It was a great surprise and excellent discussion.