Do you want these hands representing your brand?

AI automated transcription services are popular with podcasters in the entertainment field, but can you afford to use them for your business podcast? Here is why you should never use ai automated transcription services for a business podcast.

Why AI Automated Transcripts are Popular

Podcasts dedicated to entertainment or just chewing the fat may benefit from using automated transcription services.  They are downright affordable and the transcript can be generated very quickly.  Many of these podcasts use a quick and dirty automated podcast transcript to create show notes. But as a business person, with the pressure to save money in today’s economy, should you take advantage of these services–for your podcast production, interview, new product roll-out, or training session?  The answer: No, run the other way!  Serious Damage to Your Brand Could Occur!

Why Almost No One Should Use AI Automatic Transcripts

AI-generated automated transcripts are inaccurate, to say the least. Are you willing to put inaccurate information on your website? Will the automated algorithm spell your company name correctly, your officers, or even your products and services? Likely not. Stay tuned to the end of this post and we will share a link that emphasizes this point.

In James Cridland’s post on podnews.net, he suggests that podcasters should want total control over their content. He says, “…automated transcripts are mostly correct but partially wrong – and they’re not ideal to publish on a website in some cases. For complex legal reporting, having an incorrect transcript on a website could open the podcaster to legal trouble.” I would agree, but also believe that smaller less obvious mistakes make you look sloppy and unprofessional. Is that an image you want to project to your listeners?

Manual Transcription is Better for Business Podcasts

For the cost of a good dinner, an average 30-minute podcast can be transcribed with almost 100% accuracy. We provide such a transcript, labored over by a native English-speaking professional. We manually look up all industry-specific keywords, officers’ names, and how your company spells your branded products and solutions. Our transcription services will make your company look professional and you will gain loyal customers–quite the alternative to automating your transcript.

Skeptical?  Click on this link to go to WAAF’s The Hill-Man Morning Show. [Editor’s note: this legacy link is no longer active].  You can pick virtually any show, but be sure to expand the “Transcript” under the video to view the “Not For Consumer Use” transcript.  It’s right next to the note, “Robot Overlords Only; Will not be 100% accurate”.  Click “play” and prepare to be entertained; yes, both from the show and the text!  I think this will erase any doubts you might have.

The post Never Use AI Automated Transcription Services for a Business Podcast appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Recording a live webinar by GoToMeeting, Zoom, or TEAMS can be a daunting task to someone who doesn’t know the ins and outs of video frame rates, resolutions, and codecs.  We developed our webinar recording service for businesses and podcasters that either don’t have the technical expertise or don’t have the time to learn.

Why Hire a Professional to Record a Webinar?

We’ve done extensive testing to find the best method to record webinars.  Here are the highlights.

1. We capture the entire screen with the best video codec.
2. We record PowerPoint animations, cursor movements and desktop sharing.
3. All elements are in high definition.
4. Audio editing and video editing are available.
5. Output is typically .mp4, .wmv, or almost any audio/video format available.

We produce the best, highest-quality, highest-resolution webinar recordings possible.

If you don’t already have a web conferencing service, we can help with that too.

Give us a try today.

The post Recording Webinars by GoToMeeting, Zoom, TEAMS and More appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Centrance MicPort Pro 2 for Podcasting

The new Centrance MicPort Pro 2 USB microphone preamp is something that all podcasters should consider. It will take the best broadcast condenser or dynamic microphones and make them instantly accessible to podcasters. In podcasting, no longer are you limited to using a USB microphone. This device effectively takes all microphones with an XLR output and converts them for use with a computer, tablet, or phone.

We’ve already discussed in this blog how to choose the best USB microphone for podcasting. But what if you want to go one step further and use a tried-and-true broadcast microphone for your podcast? The MicPort Pro 2 is the way to do that. Just plug your XLR microphone into the top of the unit, choose whether to add 48v of phantom power (if your mic requires it), and add the right amount of gain.

MicPort Pro 2 Features

It has a built-in, rechargeable battery that is purported to last longer than the competitors. It charges from any standard USB charger or a laptop.

This is an upgrade from the original MicPort Pro Classic that didn’t work with a phone. Centrance has added that feature to the MicPort Pro 2.

Per Centrance, the MicPort Pro 2 has been successfully tested with the following apps. But keep in mind that these apps are from third parties and may require their support.

• Audio Evolution (iOS/Android)
• Auria Pro (iOS)
• BandLab (iOS/Android)
• BeatMaker 3 (iOS)
• Cubasis (iOS)
• Field Recorder (Android)
• FL Studio Mobile (iOS)
• Garage Band (iOS)
• N-Track (iOS/Android)
• Twisted Wave (iOS)

The input to the MicPort Pro 2 is a Neutrik combo XLR jack and will accept mic, line or instrument sources. There is a headphone amp for monitoring.

Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac are all supported, and there is a high pass filter to cut wind noise or other low frequencies when recording.

Versions

Lastly, the Centrance MicPort Pro 2 comes in two versions. The upgraded version has a soft-knee limiter and clipping protection for an additional $30. For the non-pro and professional alike, I recommend springing for the upgrade as the extra features can save some time later during editing, and just might save an entire podcast from unwanted distortion and clipping.

The standard version is currently $249.99, while the upgraded version is $279.99. Go to the Centrance website for more info.

The post Centrance MicPort Pro 2 USB Microphone Preamp for Podcasting appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

So how do you start a business podcast on YouTube?

Many people think that starting a business podcast is difficult and expensive.  But with the free services that are available today, cost can be whittled down substantially.  After the podcast production itself, using these services to host and distribute your company’s content can be absolutely free, assuming you don’t mind 3rd party branding and/or a little extra work on your part.  One caveat, this method produces a non-downloadable, non-syndicated podcast which many argue is not technically a “podcast” at all (but let’s not get picky).  An example from our friends at Omega ATC is shown above.  I will be referring to it as we go along.

Let’s start with the part that is not free, but is the most important aspect of any business podcast.

Use a Conference Call or Webinar for Content

The production can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be.  You can go crazy and produce a full-fledged video talk show, or you can re-purpose existing content—like a conference call or webinar—and call it a day.  While we at AudioFile Solutions always suggest you put your best foot forward and produce a completely professional event, many businesses find that extending the life of content that has already been produced can also yield marketing fruit.  For the rest of this article, we’ll assume that you already have an event—like a webinar recording—that you want to use to start your podcast (in this case, a video podcast).  Our conference call recording service and high definition web conference recording service can both be used for this application.

After the webinar has been recorded, you’ll need a 3rd party to host the video file.

How to Start a Business Podcast on YouTube

Many small businesses do not want to host the podcast files themselves because of the cost involved in storing large audio or video files on their server.  In our example, a typical webinar can yield a 30-80MB video file.  Add up several months or years of recordings, and your storage requirements will be substantial.

To start a podcast on YouTube—and let them host your video for free—open an account and click “Upload”.  It’s that easy.  For a webinar recording, it is important to use a high definition video as your source to keep the text and images crystal clear.  Using a low resolution video file means that large text will be blurry and small text will be unreadable.

After uploading, YouTube will create several different versions of the video.  You can access them individually by clicking the three digit number followed by the letter “p” in the lower right-hand corner of the player.  Choose “720p” or “1080p” to view the high definition file.  Immediately to the right are four arrows arranged in a square.  Click this to make the video full screen.  Using a high-def video from AudioFile Solutions as your source, you should have no trouble clearly seeing all the text on a typical webinar.

Note: View the embedded video above at 30:00 to see a good example of small text.  In full screen mode, at 360p, the text is extremely blurry.  Toggle the video to 720p to see the sharpest text.

Now that your video is live on YouTube, you can embed the video directly on your blog (as we did at the top of this article) by going to the YouTube page containing the video.  From there, click “share” and copy & paste the embed code directly to your blog.  If you don’t already have a blog, there are many free blogs to choose from.  WordPress.com, Blogspot.com and WordPress.org are all good places to start.  Or see Mashable’s article 40+ Free Blog Hosts.

Note: Keep in mind that YouTube can change this process at any time, so you may have to use some common sense when using future versions of YouTube.

With the video now embedded on your blog, and because your blog is syndicated (check with your blog host if it is not), you now have a low-cost non-downloadable podcast.

A final thought, but no less important, don’t forget to have your new YouTube podcast transcribed.  This will allow you to place the entire text of the podcast on the same page as the audio or video.  Not only is this great news for the hearing impaired, it is a necessity to receive SEO (Search Engine Optimization) credit.  SEO is beyond the scope of this article, but suffice it to say, search engines like Google must have on-page text in order to index your blog post, and a word-for-word transcript is the best way to do this.  Our transcribers are all native English-speakers, and our transcripts are done by hand using no automation, ever!

Ready to get started podcasting on YouTube? Contact us today to learn more about what we can do for you.

Happy podcasting!

The post How to Start a Business Podcast on YouTube appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Podcast Editing Tips:

Before this podcast editing tip, a bit of background. Our podcast editing service has been going strong for over two decades.  During that time, I have tried to listen to as many podcasts as possible to see how others are editing their productions.  One thing I have noticed is that a lot of podcast editors don’t like to remove unnecessary conversations or banter at the beginning of a paragraph.  For example:

Interviewer:  What’s the biggest thing that companies need to do when it comes to security?

Interviewee:  Yes, well, thank you for having me on.  I appreciate the question.  You always ask great questions by the way. {Long Pause}. You know, this is something I spend a lot of my time thinking about in my day job.  It is a really hard problem because it’s not going to be the same solution for each business.

You can see that there are several sentences at the beginning of this answer that are fluff, gratuitous, whatever you want to call them.  If you leave too much of this type of thing in a podcast, the listener will get tired or frustrated listening to it and might even hit the stop button.  There is no one correct way to edit this example, but consider the following and see if it is a bit cleaner and more to the point.  Everything to be removed is in CAPS.

Interviewer:  What’s the biggest thing that companies need to do when it comes to security?

Interviewee:  YES, WELL, thank you for having me on.  I APPRECIATE THE QUESTION.  YOU ALWAYS ASK GREAT QUESTIONS BY THE WAY.  {LONG PAUSE}. You know, this is something I spend a lot of my time thinking about in my day job.  It is a really hard problem because it’s not going to be the same solution for each business.

Again, this is just one possible edit of this section.  You could leave a bit more IN, or you could take a little bit more OUT.  My overall suggestion is to remove as much of the unnecessary banter as possible without making your podcast sound unnatural or robotic.  Think of your listener and whether they really want to hear this type of fluff, then hit the cut/delete key.  You will usually be better off.

To read other tips about podcast editing, check out this article on The New Media Revolution website: How to Edit Your Podcast Like a Pro. (Editors note: this legacy link is no longer active)

The post Podcast Editing Tip: Removing Unnecessary Content appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Rode has introduced the new iXY Stereo Mic for iPad and iPhone with a 30-pin connector that allows high quality recording at sampling rates up to 24-bit/96kHz.  It will be available soon, somewhere between January and March of 2013 at B&H by clicking here.

Podcasting does not always mean recording your own voice on a special mic in your home studio.  Sometimes, you may want to record an interview in the field, capture some ambience at a soccer game, or record your children singing in the bathroom.  This is where the Rode iXY will be best suited.

The “XY” in iXY means a coincident pair of directional microphones typically placed at a 90 degree angle to one another.  This technique records stereo sources nicely and generally means less hassle for the podcaster.  I won’t go into the other methods of recording stereo here, so you’ll have to trust me on this one.

A foam windscreen is provided for reducing wind in outdoor recordings, as well as a zip pocket for transport.

From the Rode website:

“I’m more excited about iXY than any other product in RØDE’s twenty year history,” commented Peter Freedman, RØDE’s Founder and President. “The audio quality of the iXY is breathtaking and really affirms RØDE’s commitment to providing the very best audio products available at a price that’s accessible to the general public.”

Released in conjunction with the iXY is RØDE Rec, an app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch designed to be the ultimate companion to RØDE’s new microphone. When used together the iXY and RØDE Rec transform an iOS device into a fully featured field recorder.

RØDE Rec allows for complete control of the iXY’s continuously adjustable input levels for recording in loud and quiet environments, as well as the high pass filter to cut out low frequency rumbling such as air conditioning or outdoor traffic noises.

The RØDE Rec App is available for purchase from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore. The app provides a full suite of features including multiple sampling rates up to 96kHz, equalization effects (compressor/expander, high-pass filter, low pass filter, parametric EQ), non-linear editing, geo and photo tagging, and one-touch publishing to SoundCloud, Dropbox, email, FTP and iTunes.

The post Podcasting Equipment: Rode iXY Stereo Mic for iPad & iPhone appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Begin Press Release
————————-

Adobe Announces Adobe Connect 9

Product Delivers Innovations for Comprehensive Webinars, Mobile Collaboration and Mobile Learning

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Connect™ 9, the latest version of the company’s Web conferencing software for enterprises and government agencies worldwide. Adobe Connect 9 delivers an all-in-one solution for producing webinars, as well as innovations in mobile-to-mobile collaboration and mobile learning.

Adobe Connect 9 for webinars helps marketers reduce costs and dependency on IT when creating richly formatted, branded registration landing pages, and optimize event promotion through analytics capabilities. Powered by Adobe CQ Web content management and Adobe SiteCatalyst® online analytics, Adobe Connect 9 enables the development of customized event microsites and emails, the delivery of interactive events for up to 1,500 participants, and the measurement of campaign and speaker effectiveness.

Along with the new Adobe Connect Mobile 2.0, Adobe Connect 9 also enables organizations to take their enterprise mobility strategy to the next level with mobile-to-mobile collaboration for tablets and smartphones. Users on Apple iOS, Android and BlackBerry PlayBook devices now have the flexibility and power to host and collaborate in online meetings just as they would on a desktop computer.

Additionally, Adobe Connect 9 for eLearning delivers greater mobile learning capabilities, enabling instructors to deliver virtual classes directly from devices and learners to participate from a tablet or smartphone. The latest version supports HTML5 content, such as that generated with Adobe Creative Suite® software, as well as SCORM 1.2 and 2004 content, widely used for Web-based learning.

Top new capabilities include:

• Customizable Event Landing Pages and Catalogs – Templates enable quick creation of landing pages, speaker information, registration pages and login pages. Templates can be customized using rich components, including images, tables, charts and carousels.
• Template-based Email Content and Triggers – Either standard or custom, email templates can be developed quickly and easily using new drag-and-drop capabilities. Email triggers can be created for specified registration groups at predefined times.
• Engagement Dashboard – Monitor event engagement in real time. A color-coded meter helps event hosts track message effectiveness. Critical information can be tracked to improve future events.
• Online Analytics – Event organizers can analyze participant engagement and identify the most effective meeting elements and topics. Dynamic analytics capabilities provide real-time insight into the performance of individual marketing promotions and programs as a whole.
• Advanced Mobile Support for Meetings and Training – Meeting hosts enjoy greater flexibility presenting from mobile devices, leveraging whiteboard and annotation tools and the ability to share documents from tablets, as well as the cloud. Instructors can manage virtual classrooms from devices with the same presenter and sharing options, as well as breakout room controls.

Quotes

Arun Anantharaman, vice president and general manager, Adobe

• “Web conferencing is now mainstream and mission-critical across enterprises and government agencies, with organizations counting on it for training, employee collaboration and citizen engagement. In parallel, the ability to collaborate from mobile devices is becoming an imperative. Adobe Connect 9 supports forward-looking organizations by offering a unified solution for rich webinars, eLearning, and Web meetings anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Melissa Webster, program vice president, Content & Digital Media Technologies, IDC

• “With the rise of mobile and expectation to go beyond simple screen sharing, Web conferencing requirements have evolved notably for enterprises today. Adobe Connect has been used by organizations to improve communication and collaboration among employees, customers and constituents for several years. It is good to see Adobe respond to this ongoing evolution with the latest version, including through updates to its webinar solution.”

Jana Kodel, development project manager, Mrs. Fields Famous Brands

• “Adobe Connect 9 will save money and time when creating customized webinar landing pages with its rich, built-in microsite creation tools. In addition, the new templates in Adobe Connect will enable my in-house team to create engaging, branded content for each event. This is a big benefit because it improves recruitment and the overall experience for our attendees.”

Brian McFadden, general manager, Technology Services, MedPoint Communications

• “The advanced analytics in Adobe Connect 9 enable us to get actionable information in real-time. It is so important to customize reporting, especially when measuring webinar effectiveness. With Adobe Connect we can track from invitation to registration through attendance. With this information, we can easily improve participation, quality of sessions and lead management.”

…more.

The post Web Conferencing News: Adobe Announces Adobe Connect 9 Web Conferencing Solution appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

If you have a consumer or business podcast on iTunes or any other distribution website, you should definitely consider embedding ID3 tags into your final MP3 file.  MP3 metadata is the most important element in producing a high quality, professional podcast; second only to your great content and quality audio production.

Even if you don’t use a 3rd party distribution channel, embedding metadata into your MP3 is essential.  First, let’s talk more about podcast metadata and what it is.

What is Podcast Metadata?

Podcast production requires a lot of time and effort gathering your facts, preparing the script and carefully recording and editing all the elements together.  But it doesn’t end there.  Today, the vast majority of podcasts are being distributed as MP3 audio files.  These files use an ID3 metadata container to store information such as artist, album, title, track number and even an image file (cover art).

All current music distribution services that sell MP3 files use the ID3 tag.  If you’ve ever purchased a song from iTunes.com or other music download site, you’ve most likely noticed the artist, album, and title information being displayed in the iTunes player on your PC or MAC.  But even more interesting than that, you’ll hopefully notice the gorgeous digital artwork that is the modern manifestation of the album cover.  If you’re like me, a visual component in what is supposed to be an audio-only format is exhilarating!  More about that in a minute.

ID3 tags are not just for the podcasts that aim to entertain. If you are a business person, consider the millions of people who have downloaded music and have seen these elements.  What happens when these same people download your business podcast and these things are missing?  Trust me, your brand will suffer.  The perception may be that you are subpar, or worse yet, incompetent in your field.

Which ID3 Tags Do I Use?

Let’s quickly breakdown the main tags that iTunes and other podcast distribution sites want you to include in your MP3 file.  The title, artist and album tags are pretty self-explanatory.  The title of your podcast will be obvious, and you most likely will have already chosen one before you even start production.  The artist tag is usually your brand name if you are a company, or your personal name if you are an individual.  But the album name sometimes gives people trouble.  Think of this as a category, or several podcasts grouped together under one name.  Consider what categories best fit your podcasts?   For example, if you are a Public Relations company, a good choice for an album may be the name of your client.  So you’d have an album named Pepsi, another named Nike and yet another named Walmart.  If you have a sports podcast, maybe you’d categorize them by sport: football, baseball, hockey, etc.

Next, I also recommend filling out the year, the genre, and the comments tag.  The year tag is normally the year you are releasing the episode.  The genre can be virtually anything so feel free to experiment in this field.  We at AudioFile Solutions have some clients that even use custom names here such as Medical Education or Best Podcast Ever.  In the comments tag, we suggest explaining in more detail what your episode is all about.

But, by far, the image tag is my favorite ID3 tag.  I love seeing a visual component in podcasts, especially when I’m not expecting it.  Not only will this image show up on most media playback software on a PC or MAC, it will also carry over to your Apple i-device, Android smartphone, you name it.  As long as the playback software supports the ID3 tag, your device should display the image you’ve embedded into the metadata.  Keep in mind that there are always exceptions to this rule and every manufacturer handles the image tag a little differently.

While this is by no means an exhaustive discussion of the topic, it is hopefully enough to convince you to start using MP3 tags for your consumer or business podcast.

For our existing clients, if you don’t have anything suitable for your image file, contact us and we will create one for you at no extra charge.  To create one yourself, make your graphic 1400 x 1400 pixels, keep it to only a few hundred KB, and format as a JPEG.  Forward the art to us along with the title, artist, album, genre, year and comments and we will take care of the rest.

Happy podcasting!

The post Podcast Metadata: Should I Use MP3 ID3 Tags for My Podcast? appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

Ryan Dube from MakeUseOf.com recently wrote a great tutorial on how to use voice-to-text functionality within Express Scribe transcribing software.  This is a great solution for recording yourself (dictation) and getting a very quick and accurate result; however, be aware that this is not a solution for transcribing voice audio files.   Why?  Voice recognition software must first learn your voice.   Other voices will tend to confuse it and produce what Ryan calls “garbage”.   Interviews, group discussions, or any recording that is in a less-than-ideal environment will also not transcribe well.  The noise and/or lack of clarity in these environments will create more “garbage” from your voice-to-text software.  Want to see an example?  I recently wrote a blog post that links to a radio station’s use of automated transcription software.

Also, keep in mind that the best transcripts not only include the correct spelling of words, but also the correct punctuation, formatting and so much more.  A relatively simple thing like the correct handling of homonyms may never be a realistic goal of voice-to-text programs.  Also, professional transcriptionists will hear discrepancies because their ears have been trained to hear and comprehend the details.  If something said later in the transcript does not jibe with what was said earlier, your professional transcriptionist will bring this to your attention.  Voice-to-text software will never be able to do this.

Lastly, terminology research is key to a great transcript.  Here at AudioFile Solutions, it is not uncommon for us to verify 40 or 50 terms in a typical interview.

For these reasons, the automatic transcription of audio files is clearly not ready for prime time and, in my opinion, should be left to a professional.

Read Ryan’s complete article below.

Begin Article
——————–

When you do a lot of phone interviews that get published in text format on the web, transcribing audio files becomes a big part of one’s life. There are a lot of people that have the need to transcribe voice to text, such as doctor’s that record a log of office visits, journalists that conduct audio interviews, or even students that record class lectures.

For years, I’ve been looking for a high-quality free voice to text software solution that will automatically take an audio recording and transcribe it to text. Such an application will put a lot of transcription companies out of work, but it’s a dream that I believe will come true some day. Recently, I conducted another hour-long interview… (continue reading the full article here: How to Use Voice-to-Text Dictation on Express Scribe.)

The post How to Use Voice-To-Text Dictation in Express Scribe appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.

It is easy to get confused about the differences between web conferencing and webcasting.  At AudioFile Solutions, we record, edit and produce business presentations which can cross the boundaries of both technologies.

I think of web conferencing as a collaboration between many individuals; hands-on training is a good example.  Let’s say your company has developed new software and you want your sales force to learn it before they sell it to others.  A web conference is a great way to demonstrate the software and then allow participants to take control over that software and give it a test drive.

Webcasting, on the other hand, is more of an event broadcast.  It is well suited in the education market—to name just one—which commonly uses it to capture lectures for both live streaming and on-demand playback.  There is no collaboration with webcasting.

At the Audio Video Expo in Denver this year, Terri Douglas and Guy Murrel from Catapult PR-IR discussed these differences in more detail.  Their focus, however, was on webcasting.

According to Terri and Guy, an overarching strong point of webcasting is that it is easy to use.  Companies that sell the hardware (Sonic Foundry, Accordant) supply it as a self-contained briefcase—similar to the nuclear football carried by the U.S. President.

Other key points:

1. High quality
2. Automated production
3. Reasonably priced

Why do customers like webcasting?

1. Enhanced communications with video
2. Reach a wider audience
3. Branded events—logos, colors, and messages
4. Offers a proven ROI

You can get started webcasting by contacting a vendor/service provider like Sonic Foundry, Accordant, BxVideo, Catapult, or OnStream.

The post AVX Denver 2011: Video Webcasting for Corporate Communications appeared first on AudioFile Solutions.