Other Articles in Make
Podcasting Blog
Voice Over Training
5/10/2008
One of the obvious aspects of podcasting is using your voice. And using it properly. If you’re looking for some more information about how to improve your voice technique in your podcast, I’d suggest checking out the Voice Over Experts Podcast from Voices.com.
Audacity Updated
5/09/2008
The very popular among podcasters audio recording application, Audacity has received an update. Podcasting News has a full rundown of the changes, including many bug fixes. It is nice to see some interface fixes, too, as I’ve felt Audacity has always suffered on the UI side.
Got a Podcaster Birthday Coming Up?
2/14/2008
Don’t forget that I’ve put together the finest collection of gifts for your favorite podcasting friend, family member, neighbor, or stranger! This isn’t just a list for holiday gifts, but great to find something to buy for a birthday gift or something for yourself, too. Filled with books, hardware and more, the store is broken out into … Continue reading »
Hardware Recommendations
- Kustom KM4 Mic with Cable
- Behringer XM8500 Microphone
- Shure SM58 Mic
- MXL MXL V63MBP Computer Desktop Recording Kit
Masthead
Contact
Ryan Irelan, Editor - listen@podcastfreeamerica.com
Podcast Audio Quality sampling - ABC of Podcasting - Q
Q is for QUALITY (of mp3s)
Most people distribute their podcast audio files in mp3 format. For more details on exactly what the mp3 format is, where it came from and other technical details, Wikipedia has a great entry for your perusal.
Depending on how you compress your audio file into an mp3 will make a big difference in how it sounds and the size of the file. If you are interested in this level of detail in creating your podcast, you’ll find the following information of interest. Below is the same recording (my GarageBand Podcast studio test file) compressed using different bitrates and the last one is in mono. With each file, I’ve noted the size of the file and the bitrate. Click on the player for each one and listen closely to see if you can tell the difference between them. This will be easier to distinguish using a decent pair of headphones.
Oh Yeah - 192 kbps - Stereo - 3:59 - 5.5 MB
[audio:http://www.podcastfreeamerica.com/audio/ohyeah_192_kbps.mp3]
Oh Yeah - 128 kbps - Stereo - 3:59 - 3.7 MB
[audio:http://www.podcastfreeamerica.com/audio/ohyeah_128_kbps.mp3]
Oh Yeah - 64 kbps - Stereo - 3:59 - 1.9 MB
[audio:http://www.podcastfreeamerica.com/audio/ohyeah_64_kbps.mp3]
Oh Yeah - 64 kbps - Mono - 3:59 - 937.5 KB
[audio:http://www.podcastfreeamerica.com/audio/ohyeah_64_kbps_mono.mp3]
Did you hear the difference? You’ll have to make the decision for your podcast which is the best bitrate to use and if you should compress to mono or stereo. Generally, a podcast with music should be compressed to stereo, but not necessarily. I’d suggest you refer to the File Size Chart from Libsyn to get recommendations for file size and bitrates.
Discuss
Lend your opinion and thoughts on this article. Join the discussion »
If you find this content useful, won't you consider subscribing to get regular updates? (It's free!)