source connect for long radio show?

[cubivore]

hi everyone,

i've got a buddy that occasionally does a fill-in radio show for a clear channel station in colorado. we're in texas, and rather than flying out all the time he was trying to get rates from local studios for ISDN and said it was too expensive. he typically does a 2-3 show. i don't know yet if they can even take a SC stream.

i've been trying to do some research for him and trying to find alternatives. reading up on source connect, it sounds great, but the threads are a couple years old. my biggest concern is having to have protools in record for several hours, and secondly, wondering if SC can keep a steady connection on a home or office cable modem connection under that duration.

does anyone have any advice or anecdotes? i think both of us investing in a SC setup is more feasible than him having to go to studios and book at over $150/hr, or getting an office ISDN line/gear/etc. he fills in too infrequently to make that sort of investment, but is usually too tied down to his regular job to fly out every week too.

thanks in advance

[mikevarela]

honestly, a phone patch is the most effective solution on a modest budget, but skype works wonders for most of these types of applications. I ran a podcast for a year and had three computer for skype access and it worked very well. There might be drops here and there, but usually it's quick to get it back online. Also, good to remember is to have him buy a usb headset with mic for the show, better audio and no feedback.

**Edit,

I just re-read your post. It sounds like they have him host the show there? In that case they should pay for the lines. But, it sounds expensive because guests will have to be routed back to your friends feed for him to reply. If this is a pre produced show, then have him create it at home using a mixer and skype and PT and then upload the show to the station.

[Dallas Taylor]

I'm a big fan of Source Connect, but it's disaster waiting to happen with a *live* radio show. Don't even consider it. You've gotta have ISDN lines for this. It's not Source Connect's fault. Internet speeds are waaaaaay too fickle to rely on.

If it's pre-produced, it's fine.

[cubivore]

yeah, it's always live and he occasionally takes callers (which is done by the local board-op). i don't think they'd want to hear him to a phone patch for several hours. i thought about skype, but unfortunately i'm not in contact with the station directly yet, and i'm getting all my info through him so i don't know all of what's possible. i wish there was a way to preproduce this, but i don't think it's an option with all the call ins. :P

thanks for the responses!

[MIKEROPHONICS]

SC works a charm. I have played an entire CD (for test purposes only) in stereo at 320kb with their marvellous codec to LA (Buzzys) and recorded it back as a round trip without a single glitch.

How good us your ISP? I have 50meg down and 1.6 up!

Cheers

[JKD99]

Seriously looking at Source Connect for ADR here, and looking at various options for internet. AT&T's DSL is a little too fickle (although RARELY not fast enough for SC's 300kbps minimum). AT&T also offers U-Verse for Business which quotes much faster (max) speeds, 24 down and 3 up.

T-1 is 1.5 down and up, and the only difference is that that speed is guaranteed 90+% of the time. For that guarantee, you pay 4-5x as much per month.

Even though I think AT&T sucks, we'll probably go for the U-Verse and see how it works out.

[Dallas Taylor]

Remember that you're just as dependent on the other side of the connection as yours. If you can occasionally handle a drop out or two, Source Connect is perfect! If you're in a situation where a drop out could cause mass panic (live radio), you'll need something more stable (ISDN).

I've had SC sessions that are rock solid for hours at a really high setting. I've also had SC sessions on low settings that drop every few minutes. My connection is great, but I often connect to not-so-great. Also, times of day make a huge difference. 9am traffic is much worse than afternoon/evening.

[JKD99]

Good points!
For us, a dropped take wouldn't be the end of the world (as presumably the take would be recorded on the other end anyway) but I can see how any dropouts in a live radio show as the OP is describing.....double-plus-bad.

[MIKEROPHONICS]

source Connect will replace any dropout at your local end where you are recording, and if you require, it will also connect to you once you have finished the session and replace your 320kb stereo with the wav file from the remote end and position it in your session too. Your assistant can therefore be making you and your clients coffee or tracklaying and not buggering around with ftp transfers.

Nice

The ability to have the audio coming in to you timed to within 8 samples whilst you control the remote end with out having to calculate any offsets is blinding - really impresses clients too.

ISDN? no thanks.

cheers

[Dallas Taylor]

Originally Posted by MIKEROPHONICS

source Connect will replace any dropout at your local end where you are recording, and if you require, it will also connect to you once you have finished the session and replace your 320kb stereo with the wav file from the remote end and position it in your session too. Your assistant can therefore be making you and your clients coffee or tracklaying and not buggering around with ftp transfers.

Nice

The ability to have the audio coming in to you timed to within 8 samples whilst you control the remote end with out having to calculate any offsets is blinding - really impresses clients too.

ISDN? no thanks.

cheers

Yes, you are correct. It's fantastic for POST. ..but, I think you are missing the original question here: Would you trust it LIVE to the world via Radio daily? No 2nd takes. The fact that it can replace a dropout is a moot point in this case. 1 single On-Air dropout could cause mass panic.