uCurrent on "Ask an Engineer" - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 18, 2012, 07:41:41 am
content: (starts at ~34:10)

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 18, 2012, 07:55:19 am
content: Cool, thanks George!Dave.

author: dinoboy
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 09:05:46 am
content: Interesting stuff, thanks!!

author: Stephen Hill
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 09:35:20 am
content: I sometimes really like the adafruit videos, but I really wish they would sort their audio out. The crackling and hiss makes listening to the video really painful.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 11:32:07 pm
content: I have to agree. The video is pretty reasonable now, and for a company that is obviously growing pretty rapidly and turning over quite a lot of cash, I think they are still relying on the microphone in the webcam. Even really good mics like the Samson are <$100 and give studio quality sound. I think they possibly have one gain setting really low, and another gain quite high to compensate.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 30, 2012, 11:34:34 pm
content: It's interesting how people who are obviously quite technically savvy in some areas can have huge blind spots in other areas. It can be quite frustrating to observe.

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 12:16:54 am
content: Were always working to improve the show. It's not perfect - but dare I say 99% of the viewers have no problem with the audio.Thanks for the input. We'll keep that in mind.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 01:22:57 am
content: I don't want to make it sound too negative, it is usually the highlight of my weekend! Sad but true. I'm particularly looking forward to this week's show as Amanda Wozniak (no relation to Steve) is on.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 01:39:44 am
content: Quote from: george graves on July 01, 2012, 12:16:54 amI think you should always try to validate such assertions by asking your customers and not making hopeful assumptions. When I tried to watch that particular show one of my first impressions was "Ow! This audio is bad!". It discouraged me from watching all the way through, and made me less likely to watch other episodes. So I'm definitely not among your 99%. Do you honestly know whether I represent 1% or 50% of your viewers?

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 02:03:38 am
content: Yes, we take very careful stats.You're the 1%.It's also summer in NYC, so there is sometimes a fan going.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 07:30:38 am
content: Seriously, dude. Hire a sound engineer for a few hours, get some good mics and let the sound engineer set them up and explain the basics to you. The audio is bad, and people do get tired of the ghetto, produced in mom's basement, lots of street cred style.

author: David_AVD
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 08:11:25 am
content: I just had a listen to the linked video and didn't find the audio bad. Sure, it's not as clean as if they had of worn lapel mics, but it was far from unlistenable for me.

author: mightyzen
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 01:09:35 pm
content: I think the most annoying fact is that they do not look in the camera. It is just two people talking to each other, instead of addressing the viewer.

author: Stephen Hill
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 01, 2012, 04:52:25 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on July 01, 2012, 02:03:38 amThe poor sound isn't the result of an external noise. It sounds like either a poor quality microphone or over amplification. What microphone are you using?You should take a note from Dave's book. He uses a good quality mic which sounds very good, yet, he is designing a filter to remove the hardly audiable noice of the aircon.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 05:47:36 am
content: If you think that audio is bad, you should have heard some of the MIT 6.002X lecture videos! MIT don't even have the excuse that it is live and impromptu. I'm sure that when Adafruit move to new premises then they will be able to arrange better audio facilities.

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:52:03 pm
content: Quote from: Zad on July 03, 2012, 05:47:36 amIndeed, it was a little surprising! I understand from some discussions in the course forum that Dr. Agarwal recorded them at home (hence occasional contributions from his dog in the background...)

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2012, 12:53:26 pm
content: Quote from: David_AVD on July 01, 2012, 08:11:25 amI didn't find it too bad either, but there is clearly a poor quality tone to it, like it's 8 bits or low bit rate or something. At some points it does sound like it's clipping. Perhaps it's also trying to do some noise cancelling and performing poorly at it? Perhaps one of those dual insert noise cancelling notebook mics?Even fairly cheap webcams with their electret inserts give great results if you get the gain right.But a nice <$100 USB studio mic (e.g. Samson C01U) on a sock mount stand will give superb results and just knock any issues on the head.Dave.