Posts Tagged ‘ISDN interviews’

Bye bye ISDN… Hello Source Connect

Posted on:

AudioTXDvoicebox had an ISDN line for remote recording sessions from 2004.  It was very useful for my own VO work plus for many years we benefitted from being the only studio near Stratford upon Avon with ISDN.

The result was that for quite a number of years the dVoiceBox studio saw a succession of actors based at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford dropping in to do an ISDN voice over session linking up with a London studio for TV ads, radio ads and corporate narrations.  It was much more convenient than them having to travel down to London.

In the last couple of years before Covid  these sessions were becoming fewer in number as online services became more readily available and other studios located in Stratford were able to offer online instead of ISDN connections to London for thesps at the RST.

source connectIn 2021 – despite much more remote recording taking place during the pandemic I realised that the ISDN line was no longer paying for itself even with my own voice over work.  So I ended the contract and a short while ago we got set up with Source Connect.

It is well established and widely used throughout the industry. In addition for engineer and voice talent it operates in a way that is similar to traditional ISDN so feels familiar  and – even better – it costs rather less for better quality!

The quality over the internet should be fine but I do still take a safety recording for each session as I always did for ISDN (as it could be temperamental) – old habits die hard.

If you need a studio quality remote directed recording session email studio@dvoicebox.com or call 01926 431535 or 07866 784925  and we’ll get it set up.

 

Chris Radley

dVoiceBox

ISDN radio session

Posted on:

I’ve just been providing ISDN radio interview services for Markettiers4DC.  Children’s writer and illustrator Alex T Smith was in the dVoiceBox booth where he was joined by Melanie Goodchild, spokesperson for toy manufacturer Chad Valley.

They were lined up for a dozen radio interviews to talk about new research commissioned by Chad Valley that looked at the time of peak creativity in your life – plus the things that make adults reluctant to read or play with their children.  Apparently peak imaginative creativity is at around age 4!  Also adults are often reluctant to play with children, or even read stories complete with silly voices, because they feel self conscious or worry that they aren’t “doing it right”.

It was an interesting, varied and enjoyable session – with the usual chops and changes – one radio station pulled out at the last minute, another station took the interview live on-air but the presenter sounded woefully under prepared, while others were well prepared, asked good questions and got great interaction with the guests.

This kind of ISDN  radio session often gives me a slight pang of nostalgia – in all my years of working as a radio presenter I did loads of ISDN interviews. Many times in the past I was like the presenters I heard in this session – checking levels, struggling with the weird echo effect you get on ISDN lines, explaining about the pre-recorded or live nature of the interview, asking the questions. Now I find it’s interesting to be at the other end of that process.

However, unlike when I was the radio interviewer, these days I certainly have much more of an appreciation of how hard it is for the interviewees: constantly answering the same questions in each interview while trying to make it sound like they’re saying it for the first time. Both Alex and Melanie did a great job.