Tech Talk

Verizon Dropping ISDN in Some States

March 28, 2013 by George Leave a Comment

See on Scoop.it – voiceover and voice acting

Can the other major TelCo’s be far behind? For so long, established studios have pooh-pooh’d early predictions of ISDN’s demise. But now, the writing is on the wall. I think it’s time to call the undertaker and buy the burial plot.

George Washington III – voevolution.com‘s insight:

Dave is on point as usual. We have been discussing this eventuality for a long time, and that the only way ISDN was going to fall out of the cold, dead fingers of studios was when the telcos decided it was no longer in their best interests to support it. And though this may not be an immediate collapse, this is the snowflake that starts the avalanche. Source Elements, SoundStreak, and the like will use this to take their marketing to studios to another level, and adoption of alternative solutions will probably begin in earnest in the next few years. The king is dying, folks….

See on www.courvo.biz

Punch and Roll Edits for Sound Forge 10

December 19, 2012 by George 7 Comments

Having just completed two audiobooks (more on those adventures to come), I found that the most tedious portion of the process was without doubt the editing of each chapter. During the recording phase, I used the “finger snap” method of marking out my errors; any time I made a mistake, I would snap my fingers near the microphone in order to create a spiked Sound Forge 10 with Waveform Showinfg Snapped Fingers waveform that I could find more easily while scrolling through the file. As you can see in the screen grab, there are sharp peaks in the wavefrom. As I scroll and scrub through, I see the mistakes, delete the area immediately before it, and smooth out the transition between the sections. Tedious, but necessary work.

After all of this work, I thought I would look into a better way of doing it. My friend Corey Snow, an experienced audiobook narrator, was working on a way to use what is called the “punch and roll ” method with Adobe Audition. Punch and roll is a method that is more easily found in Pro Tools, but doesn’t appear to be a common function in any of the next tier down DAWs that are common in the voiceover world. It allows the user to select where they want to pick up, automatically delete the error, roll back a few seconds so they can hear where they were, and start reading again immediately after that, eliminating the need for post production editing of the type I was doing before.

While researching the issue, I found an article on the indispensable Voice Over Xtra by Adam Verner outlining how to do this for Adobe Audition using the free AutoHotKey tool for Windows. AutoHotKey is a very powerful scripting tool that can take control of applications, your desktop, anything, and automating tasks. In my first reading of the article, I thought he was speaking of scripting available inside of Audition. Since my weapon of choice is Sony Sound Forge 10, I thought I would inquire with one of the masters of the product, Jeffery P. Fisher. He wrote co-wrote one of my favorite voiceover books, The Voice Artists Guide to Recording at Home and on the Road with Harlan Hogan. I got a simple and succinct answer: “No punch and roll in Forge. You can punch in to a section, you can punch in and continue to roll … but not as you describe.”

That felt like a pretty solid setback, especially since trying to get through the Sound Forge scripting language looked like me trying to program in C: that is, impossible (I spent 20 years in IT, but I couldn’t program my way out of a wet paper bag). Then I realized what Adam had done; he used AutoHotKey to do automation that wasn’t available in Audition itself.

So armed with his Audition script, I started plugging away at a Sound Forge 10 script to make punch and roll possible. During the process, I ran into a few issues that Sound Forge presented with its interface.

Sound Forge does not have preroll built in – Audition 3.0 has a built in preroll setting, where Sound Forge only offers it for the preview function when opening a file. I was able to overcome this by forcing Sound Forge to seek to a specific point in the audio file 3 seconds before the cut.
The playback function returns the cursor to where it started – This causes the system to start recording over existing audio…yes, that IS a problem.
Starting the “Record” option automatically launches a new window when done programmatically – When attempting to start the recording function again after the cut and playback, Sound Forge would consistently open a new file, rather than add to the existing file. Ultimately I had to start the recording an another fashion.

Here is the script, complete with documentation. Download and install AutoHotKey first

#IfWinActive ahk_class Forge10MDIClass /* Looks for Sound Forge 10 running */
; Punch ‘n Roll Mimic
^P:: /* Defins the needed keystroke as CTRL-P*/
Send {Shift down}{End}{Shift up}{Delete}{f} / *Selects wavefrom from point of cursor to end and deletes it */
Send ^g{DOWN 30} /* opens ‘Edit -> Go To” and presses down arrow 30 times, moving cursor back 3 seconds */
Send {TAB 2} /* presses TAB key twice to move focus to OK button */
Send {Enter} /* presses OK */
Send {SPACE} /* Starts playback */
sleep, 3050 /* Pauses script while 3 seconds of playback occurs */
Send {Enter} /* Pauses playback */
Send !{0} /* Sets focus to this waveform window so record function will happen here */
Click 28, 92 /* Mouse click on “Record” button */
Sleep, 100 /* Waits one tenth of a second */
Click 204, 210 /* Clicks “Go To End” button in record window to force record to start at end of edit */
Click 70, 211 /* Clicks “Record” button in record window to start recording */
return /* Ends Script */

You can download the undocumented script here. You can place it in any folder on your computer, then double click the file to activate the script when you are running AutoHotKey.

I have run this on both my studio computer running Windows XP and my laptop running Windows 7 successfully. The only restriction is that your Transport Bar (where the Record/Play/FF buttons are) is in the top left corner under the main menu bar. This is necessary because I am pressing the buttons here as though a mouse were clicking them, instead of using keystrokes (which causes Sound Forge to open a new file instead of recording in the same file). The script is looking for these buttons in a very specific location relative to the Sound Forge window.

Here’s a sample of the punch in. The punch in happens at 18.617 seconds.

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/71837468″ params=”auto_play=false&show_artwork=false&color=005eff” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

I have only started using it, but it will make a tremendous difference in longform reads and audiobooks. My thanks to Adam for coming up with this great way to use the tools at hand to get what you need!

A Source Connect/ISDN Experience

November 16, 2012 by George 7 Comments

For years, voice actors and broadcasters have been concerned with the stability/availability/ultimate demise of ISDN, the core technology for transmitting high quality video and audio between studios. I have friends who have been unable to get it in their area; friends who find that when they move from one part of the country to another, their monthly cost more than quadruples; friends who have had difficulty finding a technician who even knows what to do when they have a problem; and folks who balk at the high initial cost, monthly and per minute charges.

Various technologies have sprung up to fill the void that use the public Internet to move the data (and in all digital technologies, sound IS data) between two locations and provide lower cost alternatives for the solo voice artist. The preeminent alternative has become Source Elements Source Connect. The two versions (Standard and Pro) will run you $650/$1450, with the primary difference being the higher bitrate available in the Pro version among other things. You can compare the two products here. I purchased the Standard version for use in my Windows based studio earlier this year, but I waited until recently to implement it so I could resolve my wifi-only connection for my studio computer. I ultimately chose a NetGear Powerline Nano 500 kit so I could connect without doing wiring damage to the house. Once that was set up, I worked with Source Elements to set up Source Connect.

A word about the Source Connect setup: it requires that you have access to your router, and the confidence to edit an area you may never have seen before. Basically, Source Connect uses UDP (User Datagram Protocol) to transmit the audio in digital form back and forth between the connected studios. To enable this, your router needs to know what computer to send the UDP data to, so you have to give the computer that runs Source Connect a fixed IP address (not the one it is handed automatically by the router) and define the UDP ports that will send the data to that machine. Thankfully, Source Elements provides a video on their support site that shows you step by step how to do all of this (even if it is Mac-centric; the program began on the Mac platform, and the version for Windows is 3.1, versus 3.7 for Mac. Updates are coming).

Support for Source Connect can add up; a 15 minute support call when you are out of your support window is $25, and a combined support/license protection contract is $75 per quarter. The license protection is there to cover the user if they lose the iLok dongle that the software license is stored on. Support can be contacted by phone and Skype, with support people scattered around the world. They can even remote control your computer via TeamViewer in order to make settings changes. My experience with them was good all the way around.

Once I was fully configured (and swapped out an old wireless keyboard/mouse compbo for a new one that wasn’t completely overwhelmed by the amount of processing required for Source Connect, causing an unresponsive mouse), I was ready to go. I tested SC to SC connections with Source Elements, Fran McClellan, and SunSpots Productions, and all seemed well, despite what I thought (and still believe is) a low quality upstream link. Once I was confident these connections were good, I looked into Source Connect/ISDN bridging.

Not everyone is on the Source Connect train, and understandably so. The upstream connection is not always within your control because the data is traveling across the public Internet. Prioritization of your data is not guaranteed, and though Source Connect does an excellent job of making things work virtually seamlessly, I see where the trepidation can come in. One of my local studios, Charles Holloman Productions, swears by Source Connect, and uses it for long ADR sessions with talent and/or producers in Los Angeles, so as always, your mileage may vary. My intent was not only to cut out the entire expense of the long distance, high quality connection, but also reduce my commuting; a round trip to and from any of my local ISDN equipped studios is generally a 40-50 minute affair. That’s not terrible compared to some, but it is time spent driving that could be spent with the kids, marketing, or any number of other things.

There are a a number of companies that can provide the SourceConnect/ISDN bridge I was looking for. Digifon, Ednet, and Out of Hear are out there. I chose ISDNBridge out of Chicago. Their availability calendar is right there on their website, and connections booked in advance are $35/hour, payable by PayPal. Once you pay the fee, you choose your time and receive email confirmation. Two days ago, I got to put the system to the test with a real client.

I gave them the ISDN Bridge dialups, and I connected to the ISDNBridge Source Connect ID using the Source Connect standalone client (ProTools users can use the RTAS plugin; there is also a VST plugin that can work with other DAWs). I also recorded the session on my end through the standalone client. Our session lasted just over 15 minutes, and I asked the engineer afterwards what he heard and felt about it. He told me that there were two small glitches during the session that we quickly did retakes on, but aside from that, the only thing that sounded different from an ISDN session was the talkback delay being longer. That was it. No drama, no problems, and a happy client.

It is going to be a long time before ISDN is overthrown as the king of remote recording. The quality and stability it provides are a known quantity, and the investment in the infrastructure is well established. But many people can tell you horror stories of being unable to get it, or unable to get it serviced. Source Connect and others like it are well positioned to fill in the gap, and with service providers like ISDNBridge, you are still in touch with the existing base. If you are wondering if Source Connect can help you reach out and be accessible to more studios and clients, my experience says YES.

Your Backup Plan

July 28, 2011 by George Leave a Comment

Via Scoop.it – voiceover and voice acting

My friend, voice artist and engineering rock star Dan Friedman has posted a short and sweet article on the Sound4VO blog about having a backup plan for home studios. As I am not ISDN equipped at home, I know that my backup plans are not complex, but it reminds me that I should have one. Technical difficulties are a part of the business, and you have to be prepared to find another way. Maybe it involves having a fully loaded laptop ready to go in the event of a main studio computer meltdown, a standing agreement with another talent or local studio to duck in when all else fails, things like that.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a backup to do…
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An Open Letter to Skype and How it Might Happen

May 11, 2011 by George 3 Comments

Via Scoop.it – voiceover and voice acting

There is a Twitter fellow you should be following: @SomeAudioGuy. He is an audio engineer that works heavily in the voiceover field, and his daily observations about what actually goes on in some pretty high profile sessions are invaluable to the beginner in pointing out what kind of preparation you should have going into a session and the etiquette you should follow if you ever want to come back. He also blogs at his site.

Back in March of last year, he wrote “An Open Letter to Skype on Behalf of Audio Engineers,” in which he asks Skype to do something that doesn’t seem that far fetched anymore:

“See, if you’re capable of linking our computers to engage in real time 720p video calling at 30 frames per second, SURELY you’d be capable of granting us a 256kbps or higher audio only connection.”

He proposes this as a way to get past the cost and technical difficulties of ISDN, and even as a competitor to the growing Source:Connect platform. I have used Skype in place of a phone patch in the past, and will likely do so again. but if Skype were to offer such a thing, this would be revolutionary.

Enter Microsoft.

On Monday, the Redmond software giant entered into an agreement to purchase Skype for over $8 billion dollars. Considering the company was valued at $2.7 billion during the worst of times at the end of it’s ill fated time as part of eBay, this is a huge jump.

Skype as a company has bounced around over the last few yearrs. They started as an independent company, were inexplicably purchased by eBay in 2005, spun off again in 2010, and now this. Over this time, they have introduced and discontinued many features, but the core functionality has remained and been improved. Now Microsoft steps in with its $55 billion dollar warchest and takes on a company currently provides about 13% of the international call market share.

Microsoft has the money and incentive to make Skype a viable rival to any number of telephony solutions. Skype on its own probably did not have the funding to go this route. This opens the door for Skype to provide exactly the level of quality that SomeAudioGuy asked for back in March of 2010. He said:

“You would become the hero of studios nation and world wide. You could single-handedly lift the entire recording industry out of the data dark ages. And We would gladly pay for a stable service.”

I think more than just the audio engineers would rejoice. Love them or hate them, Microsoft has this power. I say keep your fingers crossed for developments in this area to end the “tyranny” of ISDN.

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