|
RealProducer G2
This is the encoder.
Fill out the form. Download the encoder.
Again, it doesn't do everything the retail version
does, but it'll get you on the web.
Older encoder versions are also available here.
Sound Recorder/Editor for WAV files 
You can use the sound recorder that comes with your computer,
but I'd recommend GoldWave or CoolEdit. Both are shareware.
GoldWave is $30.00. CoolEdit is $50.00 for the standard version
and $399.00 for the CoolEdit Pro version. You can get either of
these in their shareware versions through TUCOWS, under the
"Multimedia Tools" and "Audio Applications" section. Personally,
I'm a fan of GoldWave and use it almost exclusively.
Step Two: Create your demo tape or other sound master in a studio. When I put a master to cassette for distribution, I EQ the upper and lower midranges to give it a boost, and I flatten out the high frequencies and bass to offset the poor quality inherent in a cassette tape. For an aircheck or a voice-over demo, you want your voice to stand out, not the background or music. If you can go directly from your master into your computer, do it. But, be able to EQ the master as it enters your computer to correct final output. This is the only place you will have such control. I need to go from a cassette to my computer, so I EQ a bit going to the cassette.
I put the cassette into the player that runs into my computer. I EQ it a bit more here, again boosting the midrange a bit. I find that in my particular system the RealAudio encoder/player makes things sound a bit flat, so through trial and error I have the EQ settings adjusted to give final playback off the web the sound quality I want. You'll have to adjust your settings for your individual system and taste.
Step Three: Run the sound editor/recorder and create a WAV file by recording the cassette into the computer. Record the file into your computer at the highest possible quality your computer and sound card can handle. That means a sampling rate of 44,100 or 48,000 and at 16 bits. If your computer can only handle 8-bit sound, use that. Don't record in stereo. It isn't worth it. By definition, a single voice is monaural. If your aim is to demo your voice, stereo isn't necessary. Additionally, if someone likes what they hear on the web, maybe they'll contact you for a tape, but don't count on it. Edit out and gaps and clean up the file to make it ready for encoding. Leave a quarter second of silence at the start and end to be sure nothing is clipped.
Adjust the recording level going into the computer by adjusting the output level of your master tape's playback device. If that volume is not adjustable, you can adjust the recording level by double-clicking on the speaker icon in the Windows 95/97 tool tray. The Volume Control Panel will appear. Click on Options in the upper left corner, then click Properties on the menu that appears. Click the circle to the left of Recording and click OK. The volume control panel will change to the Recording Control Panel. Select the input you are using and adjust the volume up or down. You may need to adjust both the input and the master volume controls. Some Recording Control Panels will have LED-type VU meters, but they will usually only light up while you are recording or in a special monitoring mode. Do your best to adjust the level as needed to record into your system using the software you have selected to use.
It's usually better to record at a bit lower than peak levels than to try to get a louder recording. You can adjust the file's volume later. Most good editors will even maximize the volume for you. Be sure you use the sound editor's DC Offset function, if it has one, to shift the sound up or down as is recommended by the RealAudio folks. Always adjust the DC Offset last, just before saving the file.
Step Four: You've got your tape into the computer, you've edited it to it's final version and you've saved the file to your hard drive. Close the sound editing software and start up the RealEncoder. Point it at the WAV file you created as the input, and provide a name for the output file. You need to make a few decisions here. Most people are still using 14.4 or 28.8 modems (my opinion). If you make your RealAudio file at such a high transmission rate that they'll get a lot of breakup during playback, they won't listen. I use the Recording Template for Audio 28.8 , Voice and, within that, the 16 Kbps Voice - Wideband or 16 Kbps Music - Medium Response. You'll have to try a few settings to decide what you want and what sounds best for the file you're encoding.
The 16 Kbps settings seem to work well whether the listener is using a 14.4 or faster modem, and the reproductive quality is still acceptable. Even with some net congestion, the files usually come through intact, or with very minor rebuffering delays. Don't use stereo unless you really, really, really need to. Even at 21 Kbps, you encode two channels and, at best, you'll send 12 Kbps, or less, to each channel. The quality will suffer. If you want to encode for stereo, then visit the various MP3 sites. Do stereo in high-quality MPEG format. If you absolutely, positively must have stereo, try MP3.COM or Scott Snailham's Internet Audio Page for MP3 information and encoding/playback software.
As you encode the files, watch the LED VU meter on the encoder. If it hits the first red bar occasionally, don't worry. If it stays in the first red bar and hits the second, you may have some difficulty. If you light up the clipping light, reload the WAV file into the sound editor and decrease the file's volume. If you have to do this, listen to the file afterward. If the quality has degraded, re-record from the original master tape at a lower recording level.
Don't forget to give your file information to the encoder. Give the file a title, put in your name and include the copyright information as needed. This stuff will show up as the file plays, or it will at least be available to the listener. The most important info is the file's title. It's displayed across the top of the RealAudio player. A nice trick is to put your name and phone number as the title. It will be in the main display at the top of the player when your file is listened to. Don't include your phone number if you want privacy, instead, put your e-mail address.
Step Five: Now that you've encoded the file, start the RealAudio player and listen to the newly created RM file. If it sounds the way you want it to, you can upload it to your website. If not, adjust the settings and try again.
Step Six: You still need to create another file and add a link to a webpage. Using a simple text editor, such as Windows Notepad, create a file that holds the address at which the RM file is stored. Don't use more advanced word processors, like Wordpad or Microsoft Word. The special file format they use is NOT compatible. The file information needs to be in standard old, plain ASCII text. Save it with the file extension RAM. If your RM file has been uploaded to
Click <A HREF="sound.ram">HERE</A> to listen.
|
> |
|
> |
|
