![\"\"](\"http:\/\/184.173.194.236\/~worm64\/michaelwdean.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/Voice.gif\" "\\"Voice\\"")
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Check out these three samples. It’s all the same 75-second chunk of a recent Freedom Feens episode. It’s a part with both Neema and myself talking, and some music, and DJ talking. Test with headphones if you can. Give us your thoughts, especially if the 96k and 64K ones sound good enough for weekly listening. The file size is smaller, we may be moving in that direction if people are cool with it.<\/p>\n
128K-stereo.mp3<\/a> (NORMAL Feens encoding. File size: 1.2 megs.)<\/strong><\/pre>\n96K-stereo.mp3<\/a> (File size: 920 K, 2\/3 of NORMAL Feens encoding.)<\/strong><\/pre>\n64K-stereo.mp3<\/a> (File size: 615 K, 1\/2 of NORMAL Feens encoding.)<\/strong>\n\nI tried mono encoding, but for some reason, in both\nprograms I tried, it was the same size of stereo\nencoding at the same sample rate.<\/pre>\nWe’ve been thinking about a change for a while, but got this note today from Jimmald : “Michael & Neema: Your podcasts are great, but if I may offer some unbidden advice: stop worrying so much about ultra-high sound quality. Anybody who listens to FreedomFeens listens for the content, not for high-bandwidth sound. As long as I can hear what you’re saying, that’s great. Huge files take longer to download, are more pain to copy & store etc. It’s about the ideas, as well as the entertainment value, but c’mon, your voices are not such beautiful music that we need mega-fat bandwidth high quality audio.”
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\nI wrote Neema,<\/p>\nI’ve been thinking about this. Our file sizes ARE huge. NO other podcasts use 128 k stereo files (except Garrett because I trained him.) I found our archived Sunday live show VERY listenable, and it was 128 k mono.<\/p>\n
I’m thinking with all the care we use with mikeing and recording, maybe we don’t need to put out 100 meg files, and maybe we’d have even more listeners if the files were smaller. Also, if we started doing that now, if our audience doubled, we wouldn’t have to spend more on bandwidth. We’re spending like 70 bucks a month now.<\/p>\n
I think I’d rather put up 128 k mono files than 64 k stereo files, which would both be the same size, half the size we’re doing now. Or maybe 96 k stereo files, which would be 2\/3 the file size we’re using now.<\/p>\n
What are your thoughts? I’ll feen source it too.
\nMaybe I’ll do some encoding and listening tests on my end.
\nMWD<\/p>\n