Quote:
Originally Posted by I_Like_Ham
So did they not use Skype, not compress the audio, and get better microphones or were you talking out of your ass/making excuses in your earlier post?
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Hmmm... one at a time:
1.
They did use Skype. Or at least a couple of them did in that episode (Michalski sounded like he was talking on a cell phone).
2.
They didn't compress the panel's audio, Skype does that for them. 'Tis the nature of the beast when transmitting sound across the internet. Skype uses its own audio codec called SILK, which has a sample frequency of 24 kHz and a bit rate of 40kbps. Pretty damn good compared to almost any other phone or internet transmission, but it's still very compressed. As a result, the audio via Skype will be louder than the audio in the Bluff studio at the same peak volumes.
3. I can't speak about what microphones the panelists use, but
Huff's mic is the same one he (and others) have used during Big Poker Sundays, Two Jacks, Poker Beat and specific PokerRoad episodes. The sound quality is fine, although the volume was a little softer than that of his guests. It's a professional studio -- Huff is not using a $14 Radio Shack microphone or a "Fisher Price" model that "third graders use for a class project."
Again, I don't know what microphones Welman, Nemeth or Wise use on their end of the Skype calls. For all I know, they ARE using Fisher Price specials. But I'll take whatever they're using -- it beats the cellphones from previous episodes. Even if they each hooked up low-impedance mics to an equalizer and noise gate, their sound would still be subject to the limitations of Skype. This said, it appears that Huff took extra care to adjust for these differences this week.
4.
I wasn't "talking out of my ass." My profession is media relations, and I do a fair amount of work with a) broadcasting and b) professional audio. In both fields, a common issue is dealing with lossy formats (e.g. MP3). Too often, I battle with sound files -- music, voiceover, interviews -- that perform okay on small desktop speakers, or studio headphones, but reveal severe limitations when played on sound systems found in stadiums, arenas or large auditoriums.
I must admit my experience on the broadcasting side is more limited. Our station uses a Comrex Matrix, although I don't know much about that device's audio coding. My understanding is that it delivers an FM-quality range even across a POTS, but it would still be forced to compress it to 24 kbps to make this happen. Thus, we provide our station with two ISDN lines at our home stadium so they can at least transmit at a higher rate for home games.
5.
I wasn't making excuses, so much as I was explaining a few nuances that exacerbated some of the problems. Believe me, the sound in that episode was very frustrating to me, too (and, as we found, to Huff himself), especially given the nature of that show's content. However, I try to take a more constructive approach of helping PokerRoad improve its product rather than spewing insulting rants about something PokerRoad provides free of charge and with relatively limited resources. Perhaps Huff thinks I'm being ironic or facetious when I say this, but I absolutely appreciate his efforts and his tenacity when it comes to all things PokerRoad.
Anyway, I hope this response is satisfactory to you. To be honest, I was surprised that my posts in this thread were singled out as somehow being disingenuous. I am confident that many others in these forums will vouch for me as a member in good standing. So anything I might say that is displeasing to you (or any other reader) was certainly not done in malice.
I was gonna ask about the volume too
ITT.
THAT IS ALL.......
Linear Mode
