I finally had to do it; I installed an ISDN service. It was with much reluctance that I finally bit the bullet for a number of reasons. First of all, I was starting to look like a hack not having the service. Secondly, it was becoming more and more obvious that I was missing out on a lot of voice overs and thirdly, I wanted to improve my studio service offerings.
I wanted to look for alternatives to the $5000.00 box to handle the codecs and I was lucky to come across AudioTX. AudioTX not only handles most ISDN codecs, it also features Network/IP Streaming technology so you can stream your audio real-time (1/4 second delay) to a maximum of 320kbps Stereo Mp3....!
"Todd, did you say 320kbps Stereo Mp3?"
Yes! Using your broadband connection. Not ISDN. No technical problems, no expensive phone bills and best of all, a better quality recording, everytime. Another alternative is using Real Audio servers to stream the audio which is has also proven better quality than ISDN, but you've got to deal with about a 3 second delay. You will need to install and use RealProducer Basic and Helix Server Basic; you can download the free software here.
Believe it or not, you can also use Windows Media Player to stream at 256 kbps mp3, using the "Open URL" feature on the program. However, for talkback, you need to have an analog phone line connection to give the voice artist direction, which is problematic. There's also a 6-9 second delay, which can really confuse things. However, it is another "free" method of streaming high-quality audio and therefore bears consideration.
The bonus to all these alternatives is NO expensive phone bills!
While I do use the service, it's my feeling that ISDN is on the way out and I couldn't be happier. Once producers, engineers and studios realize that not only is the audio better, but they can save money as well....ISDN will quickly become the format of the past, much like the demise of the vinyl record and the cassette tape....
