Rick Sez:

Excerpts from Podcast Station’s
Chief Troubleshooter’s Emails

Basics

You can use PodcastStation to record your event, and you may use it to create a compressed file (MP3), and then you can upload that file to your website.  Depending on how your website is hosted and configured, you may also use other means to get your content up there.   In PodcastStation, the File/Publish menu will get you started with the compression/upload process after you’ve recorded and edited your event.

PodcastStation is used to create a podcast for uploading to a podcast

website -- it is the recording and editing tool you would use to create a

polished and produced audio file (an MP3

You may import virtually any audio file into PodcastStation and then do what

you will with it -- edit, layer, manipulate, or simply play it back.

Recording and editing are the main functions of PodcastStation.  The upload

feature is convenient but incidental -- there are many ways to upload files,

and you don't need any special software to do it.

PodcastStation uses your computer's audio hardware (internal or external

soundcard or audio interface) to record and playback.  You'll need a

microphone -- there are many different kinds for all budgets, and there are

even USB mics that plug directly into the computer, so no additional

interfaces needed.  Recording is a huge topic, so I would recommend doing

some research.  The microphone and the audio interface (soundcard) are the

two most critical components in the recording process in terms of the

quality (fidelity) of the recording.

PodcastStation is "internet neutral" -- it doesn't care about any internet

languages or scripts because it doesn't communicate with web sites.  PCS

runs on Windows desktops, not in a browser.  It does know about FTP because

it uses that to upload files, and it knows about MP3 because it is able to

export to that format.

Podcast Station and Vista

(Note new version of Podcast Station released June, 2008)

Please be advised that we are still researching "issues" with Vista -- in

general everything works but the Settings/AudioDevices and

Settings/MixerConfiguration screens are essentially meaningless under Vista.

This version has a clean separation between the software and your audio devices -- it doesn't try to change any mixer settings or levels or anything like that, so it works exactly like a tape recorder.  I'm still a bit mystified but I hope this will fix your problem.  Otherwise we'll need to resort to drastic measure like you sending me a photograph of your setup so I can see how everything is actually wired.

In Vista, DMO effects are no longer supported.

We’re in the process of trying to understand how Vista affects the entire audio interface.  I don’t know yet if the DMOs will ever be supported.  At the moment we’re concentrating more on how Vista deals with audio devices.

On XP there is a parametric EQ in the Advanced Effects menu.  With a little

experimentation it might get [the equalization results]  you need.

Every single time you launch PCS you’ll be prompted with a window asking if you really mean to be running this program.  That’s Vista…

You must run PodcastStation with admin privileges on Vista. 

There are a number of changes that Vista has forced on software vendors that we are still trying to understand.  We will post information and instructions on our website once there is a clear resolution.

In the meantime, you can permanently set the so-called "compatibility mode" via the Properties context menu for the Podster executable.  (Locate Podster.exe on your hard-drive and right-click on it.) If you select the Compatibility tab you'll see a check-box for the privilege level. The drawback to this is that Vista will always ask if you really want to run the program every time you launch it.

This new version of PodcastStation [June, 2008] that we are giving to Vista users

who are having problems of one sort or another, you may download from

this page:

http://www.podcaststation.com/beta/Default.asp

You should be aware that Microsoft has issued reports that Vista SP1 is

causing problems for certain on-board audio devices. In general, Vista has

been problematic for vendors of audio devices and drivers.

If you do decide to install the new version of PCS on your Vista machine, I

have two suggestions: 1) make sure you uninstall the current version first,

and 2) run it the very first time (and when you register it) as the

Administrator (right-click the desktop icon, choose "Run as administrator"

from the pop-up menu).  If you do try it, please let me know what kinds of

problems you encounter with it, if any.

The current official version of PodcastStation is always available here:

http://www.podcaststation.com/product_info/free_trial_download.asp


We also have a new beta version available if you would like to try it:

http://www.podcaststation.com/beta/Default.asp


You may obtain a new registration key at this location:

https://www.podcaststation.com/reregister/Default.asp

Sound Cards, ASIO Drivers and Vista

At the moment we are not recommending any soundcards.  In most cases the on-board audio device should work fine.  We are still researching the problem and trying to get a handle on it – along with every other software and hardware vendor…

 ……. but we have no immediate plans to support ASIO drivers………….

You can read a quick definition of ASIO here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Stream_Input/Output

Despite what the article says, I have had decidedly mixed results using ASIO drivers with several other professional software packages.

Audio interfaces

PodcastStation is a two-channel recorder/editor, and you'll be recording the

two-channel mix from your audio interface.  It doesn't matter what is going

into the mixer because it's the output that gets recorded.  You'll need to

confirm that your audio interface fully supports WDM/DirectSound.  ASIO

drivers are NOT supported by PodcastStation.

Exporting to MP3

The MP3 export function runs as a background process.  It sounds like something on your computer is interfering with the thread priority of background processes.  There is an obscure setting in XP that you might want to experiment with:  if you open the system Control Panel, select the System tool, select the Advanced tab, click the top Settings button (for Performance), then the Advanced tab in the new Performance Options window, there’s an option at the top to adjust performance to favor programs or background processes.  Select the latter and see if it fixes the issue for you.

Are you exporting MP3’s to an external drive?  Or to a networked drive?  The MP3 compression process is slow, and compressing to a low bitrate (and smaller file) is slower than compressing to a higher bitrate (larger file).  PCS uses the LAME encoder/decoder, generally considered to be the best royalty-free MP3 encoder available. 

MP3 and Sound Quality
My best guess about your wow and flutter is that it is related to both aspects of your target format.  Any time you take a 2-channel signal and mix it to mono you incur the risk of clipping the output signal unless you attenuate both input channels by 6dB first (this is an option in the mono mix export).  Added to this is that fact that 48kbps is a very low bitrate and therefore of quite limited fidelity.

Compression to MP3 is something of an art and takes some experimentation to achieve best results.  PodcastStation uses the LAME MP3 encoder, which is widely used in the audio community.   You can find all kinds of documentation for it on line and you can use it as a standalone application as well.

Normalization

Normalization is a two-pass operation.  First it scans your file to determine the peak amplitude, then it scales the entire file such that the peak is at -1dB below full scale.  So the amount of actual scaling and its direction (up or down) depend on the file itself.  Applying normalization to a file that has already been normalized does nothing.  If you normalize a section of a file (rather than the entire file), then you are normalizing relative to the peak amplitude in that section, not the entire file (therefore be careful, because you can introduce audible discontinuities, i.e. clicks).   You can also normalize just one or the other channel.  Normalizing both is a combined operation that scales according to the peak amplitude of either the right or left channel (whichever is highest).

Books on Audio for the new podcaster

There are two excellent books which may interest you, both from Intel Press.  High Definition Audio for the Digital Home, by Roach, Janus and Jones; and Audio in the 21st Century, by Scott Janus.

The main problem here is that audio engineering and signal processing is actually extremely complex, and Podcast Station has only a limited ability to hide this complexity from the layman.  In some ways I feel that programs like Adobe Audition are therefore perhaps a bit more honest, because they hammer you on the head with the true complexity of the task right out of the gate.

Miscellaneous troubleshooting

But I’m surprised you are getting hiccups during recording as well.  What kind of soundcard are you using?  Recording should only take about 2 or 3% of the CPU load – is it possible that the machine is intermittently quite busy with some other process?  (Is other software running on the machine at the same time?)

RSS

RSS is a fairly loose spec, as specs go, and you can put just about anything in them,

but they are at base just XML files (they follow rules of XML).  They

contain no media themselves, they just point to files which do.  The purpose

of the RSS file is to inform whatever podcast subscription/management

software you use about the location and availability of the actual media

files (be they MP3s, WMVs, MP4s, etc) that comprise the various episodes of

the podcast. 

The point of PodcastStation is to provide you with the means to

record/edit/produce an audio file.  As a bonus, it will go so far as to

create and manage a basic RSS file for you, and even upload your media,

image and RSS files to your web site, but it will not create the website for

you.  There are far more sophisticated tools available for creating and

managing RSS files than what we have included in PodcastStation.

PodcastStation is audio only, and you can export your files in MP3, WMA, WAV

and AIF formats.  PodcastStation has no video capabilities. 

RSS Files

The next time you run through the wizard your last RSS file will be up and a number of the fields (e.g. the RSS channel) will already be filled in.  You’ll be adding a new “item” (episode) and overwriting the original RSS file with an updated version.

If you want to create an entirely new “show” (a different podcast on a different RSS channel) then you create a new RSS file for that.

Q: If we already have a podcast that we've been doing for a couple of months and want to use your software for uploading and begin uploading to a different hosting site, how do we set it up so that it is the same show and same feed to itunes so we don't have to have a new one?

A: No problem: You’ll need to copy your RSS file to your local machine.  When you open the Publication Wizard in PCS, on the first page select “full control” and then on the second page, under Channel Title, you’ll see a button labeled “import an existing RSS file”.  Also, since you are using iTunes tags, on the fourth page of the wizard (“Podcast Channel Redux”) you’ll need to make sure the “include iTunes tags for this channel” option is checked.

RSS again

So you've discovered that in PodcastStation (PCS) you normally need a file

in the edit window in order to construct an RSS file for it. (In the most

advanced mode you can bypass this restriction and import an existing RSS

file -- of course, that assumes you have an existing RSS file.)  This is

necessary because PCS requires certain information from the file in order to

construct the RSS file.

If you are using Audition to create your podcast and you still have a need

to work with the file in PCS, I would suggest using the WAV format to go

between the two (i.e. export from Audition, import into PCS) because the

quality will remain undiminished.  Compression to/from MP3 will add

distortion as you continue over successive generations.

The protocol that PCS uses to upload files to your web site is FTP, which

you can also run directly from InternetExplorer (IE is an FTP client).

Podcast Station is "internet neutral”

PodcastStation is "internet neutral" -- it doesn't care about any internet

languages or scripts because it doesn't communicate with web sites.  PCS

runs on Windows desktops, not in a browser.  It does know about FTP because

it uses that to upload files, and it knows about MP3 because it is able to

export to that format.

Recording: XP, Vista, VoIP and Multiple Sources

If you are running Windows XP, then you will want to select your

"microphone" input (record source) in the Settings/MixerConfiguration

window, and you'll want to select mic or line as appropriate.  On Windows

Vista we have noticed problems with this area that we are still researching.

Recording from any VoIP service is tricky.  To record from Skype, we

recommend using the Skype Answering Machine (SAM), available from

www.kishkish.com.  The Gold and Platinum editions allow you to record any

Skype call and then easily export that recording to PodcastStation for

further editing.

Recording phone conversations can be tricky.  There is a cheap "phone

coupler" available from places like Tiger Direct which allows you to record

both sides of the conversation, but they are on the same wire so they are

recorded on the same channel.  Radio stations invest in expensive "phone

hybrid" machines from Telos or Getner which separate jock and caller onto

different channels so that they can be independently processed.  These start

at around $600.

If you use Skype then you can also record Skype calls using Skype Answering

Machine (SAM) from kishkish.com.  The Gold and Platinum editions of SAM

interface with PodcastStation, making it easy to transfer files from SAM to

PCS.  Otherwise it is tricky to record Skype calls directly, and requires

certain soundcards that have the ability to record their own output ("stereo

mix" or "what-u-hear").

_______________

Recording VoIP is in general a challenge on the Windows OS.  We have had

good results with Skype using the Skype Answering Machine (SAM) from

www.kishkish.com.  The Gold and Platinum versions contain code which

makes it easy to integrate them with PodcastStation -- once you record a

call, you can easily export it to PCS, and from PCS you may easily import

files from SAM.

Aside from that, the answer to your question depends very much on the kind

of audio hardware you have at your disposal and how it is configured.  For

example, you may find yourself having to use two different soundcards,

playing back from one and recording into the other.

The bottom line is that PodcastStation is able to record from only one

source at a time.  For multiple sources that must be synchronized you will

need true multitrack software, such as Audition or Audacity.  However, if

you are able to run all of your sources through an external mixer, then you

should be able to record the stereo output of that mixer in PCS.

Multiple record sources, USB mics

Yes, this is one of the problems with USB mics.  Each mic is a separate

audio device, and PodcastStation can only record from one device at a time.

(Q: Also i can not get playback in headphones when recording into the mic. The mic will record but I can not hear the playback in the headphones?)
Also, the mic is a completely separate device from the device you are using

for playback, meaning the signal does not get routed from your input back to

the output.  You'll be better off with one audio device that handles both

input and output, and then an external mixer for monitoring and mixing your

various inputs.

Overdubbing, music beds

If you want to prerecord the voice track, do that first, then load that

track into a cart or deck button.  Load your music bed into another button,

then start a new recording.  Trigger the voice button for that track,

trigger the music button for that one.  So you see it happens in realtime.

The idea is to pre-load all of the elements of your show and then do your

final mix where you are just triggering buttons. 

Recording, noise reduction

Your CD-ROM drive should have come with a CD-burning program.  Most machines

today are shipped with Nero or something equivalent.  You might also try

iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Removing background noise is one of the most difficult things you can do.

The best way to get rid of it is to not record it in the first place --

that's the whole point of recording studios and soundproof rooms.  PCS comes

with a noise reduction effect, but it is meant to take out steady-state

background noise, like hiss and hum from machinery.  Transient background

noises like planes are trucks are the worst possible thing to remove, and

has created a market for very expensive software such as sold by Sonic

Solutions.  You might try using a dynamic voice mic such as the classic SM57

which requires you to be right on top of it, so it won't pick up other

sounds further afield.  But that creates a very different sound.

Basic audio formats, connections, etc.

Podcast Station simply records whatever signal goes into your soundcard's mic

or line inputs (on some computers these are the same, on some they are two

different inputs).  There are thousands of different devices which that can

provide this input, and of those, several hundred different wireless mics.

The output of the microphone receiver will be either line level or mic

level, and your computer can accept either.  The input to your on-board

soundcard is a mini-phone plug (1/8-inch), but the outputs from your mic

receiver/preamp will be either XML or 1/4 inch phone, so you'll need an

adaptor.  It's also quite likely that there is a wireless mic product out

there that is specifically made for your application, and therefore has a

convenient 1/8-inch mini-phone jack for the output. 

Podcast Station and iPods

I can see two potential difficulties getting the audio files from the iPod into Podcast Station (PCS).  One is that the iPod's format (AAC/MP4) is still unsupported on most Windows machines without special software installed (and PCS is NOT that special software).  So unless you have some means to dump the data from the iPod as a standard WAV or MP3 file, then the only other avenue left is to playback the lectures from the iPod and record in realtime into PCS (i.e. 3 hours per lecture).

If that is acceptable then you can certainly edit the files in PCS, and you can create a Podcast (i.e. an RSS file describing your "show").  You can also simply export your edited files as MP3s without going through the process of creating an RSS file.

As far as uploading, I'm not intimately familiar with WebCT.  If it has an FTP server then you can use PCS as an FTP client to upload your files. (There are many other programs which can act as an FTP client, among them InternetExplorer).  WebCT might have its own methods for actively pulling your files up -- you would know this better than I.

(Moderator note: Iriver and Sansa MP3 players are noted for their voice recording and put out a quality WAV file. – Bob Rowen)

Podcast Hosting

There are hundreds of podcast hosting sites on the internet that would be

happy to host your show.  PodcastStation does not provide any hosting

capabilities at all -- it is strictly a production tool.  There is only one

problem we've encountered: files uploaded to Podbean.com do not seem to play

back at the correct speed.  Otherwise I would recommend that you Google

podcast hosting sites and pick something that looks good to you. 

Recording - echo

Bob asked, “When I play back a recording that I just made,   there is an

echo....it sounds like the right channell is playing back slightly slower

than the left.”  Rick sez: This could be the result of any number of things, all of which depend on your specific audio configuration.

You might have a soundcard that allows you to record from "stereo mix" or

"what-u-hear".  This is usually not a good idea -- you want to be recording

from the mic or line input instead.  Some cards allow you to record simultaneously from more than one source, which in some circumstances could produce this effect.

It might also be a playback issue -- the recording might be fine but you may

be looping the output back into the input (internally in the soundcard).

There are several ways to get this effect using outboard analog equipment as

well, so if that is the case with you, you will want to check the signal

paths very carefully, to make sure you understand exactly where the signal

is flowing at any given point in your signal chain.

In the final analysis, though, PodcastStation is not capable of producing

the echo you describe (excepting through a deliberate application of the

Echo effect, which I assume you are not using), which means it is a

soundcard setting or other signal flow issue. 

Recording, editing, mixing

We have no plans to change the number of devices PCS can record from, as that complicates the program tremendously.  If that kind of thing interests you, you’ll need to use a true multitrack recording system like Audition, Audacity or Cubase.

 If you want to use PCS to record multiple mics, you’ll need an external mixer with conventional, analog mics.  You mix all the inputs into one stereo stream and that’s what you record.

Sorry, there is no way to use the crossfade controls simply as fade-outs (that is, without cueing the next deck).  But you can have many more decks by expanding the size of the window.

The screen tour unfortunately depicts a slightly earlier version of the program.  We missed that one.  Sorry for the confusion.

Audio interfaces

PodcastStation is a two-channel recorder/editor, and you'll be recording the

two-channel mix from your audio interface.  It doesn't matter what is going

into the mixer because it's the output that gets recorded.  You'll need to

confirm that your audio interface fully supports WDM/DirectSound.  ASIO

drivers are NOT supported by PodcastStation.

PodcastStation records from only one source at a time.  If you want to use

multiple mics then you will need an external mixer.  If you want to keep

your individual mics on separate tracks then you will need true multitrack

recording software (e.g. Audition or Audacity), and you may need a

multichannel soundcard or audio interface as well, depending on what you're

trying to do.

Export formats

You may export files in all MP3 bitrates, as well as Windows Media Audio

(WMA), WAV, and AIFF.

Markers and editing

….there is no feature that allows you to see an overview of the entire

file all at once.  However, you might be able to insert markers during the

recording or editing that would help you later in locating critical places,

like cuts and jumps.  While recording (or playing), you may type 'm' at any

time to create a marker.  You may label the marker, or you can leave the

marker-label window alone and it will disappear after a few seconds.  The

markers will not appear on the timeline until you stop and save the

recording.

File Locations: Library vs Export

Q: So if I go into My Documents and move the entire Podcast Station Folder to

my external drive it should move everything I need, correct? 

A: After you move it, use the File Locations menu command in PodcastStation to tell PodcastStation where you've moved it.

Follow up Q: I went to "Settings"  "File Locations" and then it said "If you change the

location, none of the data stored in the current location will be moved or

copied to the new location."

May I read this wrong.  Maybe if I change the file everything will be moved

since I do not have created any thing as of yet.  What I really want to do

is once I create something and "Name" it, is to have it automatically go to

my external drive

.

Followup A: The File Locations command is to reset the location where all your

recordings (library) and configurations and podcasts live.  All it's saying

is that if you change the path then you are responsible for actually moving

your library files to the new place.

But it sounds to me like what you are trying to do is Export a file, which

you do from File/Export.  The file can be written to anyplace.

Or maybe you really do want to move the location of your library.  That's

fine.  It will leave your current files where they are, so if you have

anything important you'll need to move that to the new place (your external

drive).

Recording, mixing

PodcastStation is not a true multitrack editor, so anytime you want to add

an additional layer of sound the only way to do it is while recording.  This

means that you need to load your "show" (the voice part) into one of the

cart/deck buttons (along with your cow and other sound effects, all in their

own buttons), and then you re-record the entire thing again.  Start your

cart button that has the voice part, then add your other sound effects as

they happen.  At the end you stop recording and now you've got a new version

in your edit window. 

iTunes

This frustrates many people.  The iTunes file format is proprietary, and is

not supported by PodcastStation or any other Windows software that we know

of.  You might be able to find some freeware which will allow you to convert

it to a common format such as WAV or MP3.  Or you have to re-record it --

play it with iTunes and record with PodcastStation (might require physical

or virtual repatch of your soundcard I/O, depending on what hardware you

have).

Recording technique

A couple of things might help you with all this.  First of all there is a mono-mix record option in the Settings menu that you can use to force a monophonic input to record to both channels.  In the Effects menu there are two tools – Adjust Volume and Normalize – that operate on the highlighted portion of audio (select the entire file to apply it to the entire file).   Also, both of these effects can be applied to either channel or both channels.  If you are exporting to a mono mix, then you have to be careful not to clip the output – in a mono mix you are combining the signals from both channels, meaning that you risk peaks at potentially twice the allowable maximum value.   To this end there is a mono-mix export option with a -6dB attenuation before the mix in order to insure the waveform is not clipped.

… PodcastStation comes with a helpful user guide that explains the recording and editing process, as well as import and export. The publication wizard will take you through the step of creating an RSS file if that is your goal. The user guide is available in the Help menu. In general we recommend exploring all the menus as a first step in getting acquainted with the features of the program.

Streaming

Q  :  Before buying, I would like to know if I can use MP3 streaming, aka M3U files. 
A: Sorry, PodcastStation does not support any streaming formats.  Source files

must be fixed size and reside on your HD or other storage medium.

More on streaming

Q; I would like to know if I can use MP3 streaming,

[aka M3U files. [One common use of the M3U file format is creating a playlist file that contains a single entry pointing to a stream on the Internet. The created file provides easy access to that stream and can be used for things like downloading from a website or for emailing, or for Internet radio listening]

The file is saved with the "M3U" or "m3u" filename extension. – wikipedia]

PodcastStation does not support any streaming formats.  Source files

must be fixed size and reside on your HD or other storage medium.

PCS will make MP3 files and it is up to you to prep them for streaming.

Mixing and recording

The only way to add layers in PodcastStation is to mix them while recording.

So -- you load all the layers you need to mix into different cart/deck

buttons.  Start recording (if you're not actually adding any new material

then turn the mic down so you won't be adding ambient noise).  Every layer

you start by clicking on the respective button is recorded into the mix.

When you're finished, stop the recording, trim the beginning and end, and

you're done.

Skype and VoIP

Recording VoIP is in general a challenge on the Windows OS.  We have had

good results with Skype using the Skype Answering Machine (SAM) from

www.kishkish.com.  The Gold and Platinum versions of contain code which

makes it easy to integrate them with PodcastStation -- once you record a

call, you can easily export it to PCS, and from PCS you may easily import

files from SAM.

Aside from that, the answer to your question depends very much on the kind

of audio hardware you have at your disposal and how it is configured.  For

example, you may find yourself having to use two different soundcards,

playing back from one and recording into the other.

The bottom line is that PodcastStation is able to record from only one

source at a time.  For multiple sources that must be synchronized you will

need true multitrack software, such as Audition or Audacity.  However, if

you are able to run all of your sources through an external mixer, then you

should be able to record the stereo output of that mixer in PCS.

If you have VoIP software that appears to Windows as an audio device, such that you can

select it in PodcastStation as your record device, then that should work. 

If you mean Skype, you can use the Skype Answering Machine (SAM) from

www.kishkish.com to record Skype calls, and then import these into

PodcastStation.  The gold and platinum editions of SAM contain features that

also allow you to push a newly recorded Skype call directly into

PodcastStation.

Otherwise, if you are able to route the VoIP audio output into your

soundcard's input, then you can record that.  Some older computers have a

soundcard with a "stereo mix" ("what-u-hear") source that allows you to

record its output, but newer computers largely do not provide this

capability because of copyright concerns.

 

[Realtek just added “Stereo Mix” – download the latest

Go to Sound in the Control Panel's classic view
Select the Recording tab and right-click any of the devices listed.
Check "Show Disabled Devices" and "Show Disconnected Devices".
Stereo Mix should show up. Set it as default. Bob Rowen, ed.]

RSS again

So you've discovered that in PodcastStation (PCS) you normally need a file

in the edit window in order to construct an RSS file for it. (In the most

advanced mode you can bypass this restriction and import an existing RSS

file -- of course, that assumes you have an existing RSS file.)  This is

necessary because PCS requires certain information from the file in order to

construct the RSS file.

If you are using Audition to create your podcast and you still have a need

to work with the file in PCS, I would suggest using the WAV format to go

between the two (i.e. export from Audition, import into PCS) because the

quality will remain undiminished.  Compression to/from MP3 will add

distortion as you continue over successive generations.

The protocol that PCS uses to upload files to your web site is FTP, which

you can also run directly from InternetExplorer (IE is an FTP client).

RealMedia formats

PodcastStation does not support RealMedia formats, so to import these files you will have to find a way to play them with Real Player while recording  them with PodcastStation.   Or if RealPlayer gives you an option to export files to some common format (e.g. WAV or MP3) then you can easily import those into PodcastStation.

Errors

Problems with my Podcast Station?  It is saying:

Podcast Station Error...Get Edit Map...Unable to open file database for

account VPUser...What can I do to get this corrected?

Both XP and Vista have a feature called Fast User Switching which tends to

break applications.  If you are logged into one Windows account and then

switch to another, then the OS does not grant you all the permissions you

would normally have.

Or it might be that something has happened and the file handle to the edit

database is locked.  If you look in the PodcastStation Library folder (this

is usually in MyDocuments/PodcastStation) you'll see a file called

VP_EMap.vpd.  You can delete this file and restart PodcastStation and it

will rebuild the database.

Multiple FTP Ports?

Does podcast station allow a recording of one (or more) people are in a remote location?  Unfortunately there is no way you can change the FTP port in PodcastStation.

Our idea is to keep PCS simple to use, and this would just complicate the

interface for most users.  Since your FTP needs are more sophisticated than

most of our users require, I would recommend that you use other means to

upload your files.  Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox both have complete

FTP facilities built in, and there are many shareware FTP applications

available on the internet as well.

“Layers” in PodcastStation

The way to add layers in PodcastStation is to mix them while recording.

So -- you load all the layers you need to mix into different cart/deck

buttons.  Start recording (if you're not actually adding any new material

then turn the mic down so you won't be adding ambient noise).  Every layer

you start by clicking on the respective button is recorded into the mix.

When you're finished, stop the recording, trim the beginning and end, and

you're done.

Carts and Crossfades

If you right-click on the cart/deck buttons, you'll get a little popup menu

that gives you a choice of three volume "pads", at -3dB, -6dB and -12dB.

These might help you equalize the volume differences between your various

sources.

There are a limited number of automation features available on the cart

buttons once you enable "PRO" mode (click the PRO button next to the VU

meters):

There are timed triggers under the crossfade slider between each pair of

cart buttons, allowing you to effect timed crossfades with one click.

Each cart button has a loop mode and a segue mode.  These controls appear on

the right side of the button.  In segue mode the following cart button is

triggered automatically once the current cart comes to an end.

Resize the main window to create more cart buttons.

Further details on these automation features can be found in the user guide

in the Help menu.

Is there a way to "automate" carts or decks so that they will play automatically?

You'll need to make one final recording for the mixdown.  Load all of your

various tracks, voice, sound effects, music beds, cues, etc into the

cart/deck buttons (resize the main window if you need more), then start

recording.  If you've already recording your voice track then you may not be

actively speaking into a mic during this final pass, but everything that you

trigger from the cart/deck buttons will be recorded and mixed in realtime.

The AGC and PRO buttons

When you click the PRO button, you should see a set of five buttons numbered 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 beneath each of the cart crossfade sliders.  These are timers, and the number indicates the length of time in seconds for the crossfade.

The border around the main screen is a standard Windows resizing border.  You should be able to grab it with the mouse and stretch it out both vertically and horizontally.  (Unless your monitor is set to 800x600: then you won’t be able to because there is insufficient real estate at that resolution.)

AGC is a sophisticated control.  It must be properly calibrated on order to be used to best effect.  It would typically be used in a situation where the levels coming into the mic are highly variable – that is, if you are turning away from the mic often or waling across the room, etc.  If you are speaking directly into the mic at all times then I would not use it.

Mixers & Audio interfaces

Looking to get into a inexpensive sound board to fix some problems and quality issues?

Check out the line of USB mixers/audio interfaces from Prosonus – these are devices that serve as both the mixer and the audio interface to the computer, so you would be recording directly from this device.   The other route to go is a pure analog mixer, say a small Mackie -- then you use your existing audio interface to record the main or tape outputs from the board.

If you want to go really cheap, look at products from Behringer and M-Audio.  We’ve tested various Behringer firewire devices with mixed success.  

You can spend any amount you want for an audio interface.  Here’s a new product that just got an award at the NAB – absolute top of the line quality and beautiful engineering for about $1200: http://www.henryeng.com/sixmix.html

As far as keeping the caller’s voice on a separate channel – if you are making standard POTS phone calls and using one of the cheap $10 phone couplers, then you won’t be able to separate yourself from the caller.  For that you need a professional phone hybrid, which start at around $600 (look at Telos and Gentner).  That’s on top of your mixer.

There’s a big jump in price between consumer equipment and professional gear.  Anything under $300 is basically a toy, but that’s not to say you can’t make it work for you.  Makes software look cheap, huh?

You might want to look at mixers and interfaces at these places:

www.sweetwater.com

www.bswusa.com

www.bgs.cc

My advice is that money well spent is money well spent – get something good that will last and provide some room for growth.

Personally I would buy a small, high-quality outboard mixer.  It will give

you the most flexibility and room for future expansion.  You can buy a

completely analog mixer, in which case the main outputs (or "tape" output)

goes to the stereo line input on your soundcard.  Or you buy a mixer which

also doubles as the audio interface itself.  These are usually USB devices

though Firewire is used as well.

Some places to start looking:

Behringer -- cheap, we've had trouble getting some of it to work

M-Audio -- cheap but works

Mackie -- good mid-quality analog mixers

PreSonus -- good mid-quality USB mixers/interfaces

Henry Engineering -- top of the line USB interfaces/mixers used in broadcast

Radio

If you need an external mixer, it might be purely analog, in which case you

record the left/right main outputs; or it may be digital, in which case it

also doubles as the computer's audio interface (i.e. soundcard).  In either

case it must have sufficient mic inputs to accommodate your needs.  There

are hundreds of mixers of all types in all price ranges on the market, but

you should be able to find something for well under $500 that will work for

you.

Some brand names to get you started (NOT a comprehensive list):

Mackie, Presonus, Alesis, M-Audio, Behringer

Problem deleting files from library

Check to see if the file is assigned to a deck or cart button.  If so, and it will not go away it may be a small bug – there should be a message popping up telling you why it won’t delete

If this is not the case, then your database may be out of date.   To fix it:

Close PodcastStation.

On XP, browse to MyDocuments\PodcastStation\PodcastStationLibrary.  On Vista, this would be Desktop\<user>\Documents\PodcastStation\PodcastStationLibrary. 

In that folder you will find your audio files (*.vpw) and one database file called VP_EMap.vpd.  Delete this file.

Restart PodcastStation.  The database file will be rebuilt.  

Sony Viao Laptops

We've discovered a number of irregularities with the Sony Viao -- some users are unable to open PodcastStation at all on this platform.  So my best answer to you regarding that is that we need to research the issue, and I can't tell you when we'll have an answer.

Phone recording

Both sides of a phone conversation take place on the same physical wire.  Inexpensive consumer devices like your phone recorder are unable to separate the two sides, and the caller is typically much softer than your own voice.  Radio stations use digital "phone hybrids" that cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to separate the two sides and allow automatic gain control to be applied to each side separately.

Mixer Configuration

In PodcastStation, if you click the Settings menu, you'll see a command called Mixer Configuration.  This is where you set your record source (line, mic, synth, etc) as well as the playback lines for decks and carts.  The record source is usually set to line or mic -- "stereo mix" or "what-u-hear" are normally bad choices.  The names of the lines and sources in your mixer are entirely dependent on your hardware, and unfortunately nothing is standardized.

Microphones

PodcastStation is software, and as such, has nothing to do with how you

power your microphone.  If you're using a condenser mic then you'll need a

mixer or audio interface that delivers phantom power.  You'll use

PodcastStation to record the output of your mixer or audio interface.

New Version of Podcast Station (2.30)

We're going to be releasing a new version soon that does not

attempt to adjust the levels on the actual device, because all devices seem

to have a completely different response curve.  My recommendation would be

to hold on for a few weeks if you can, and we'll have a better solution.

Otherwise you are looking at $400 for a professional broadcast quality

soundcard or external audio interface.

Have you experimented with Automatic Gain Control (AGC).  It works pretty

well for evening out variable-level input once you have it calibrated

properly.

Monitoring the Recording Process

The ability to monitor the recording process is a function of your audio

hardware and interface to the computer, not PodcastStation itself.  All

audio devices are different; most provide this function in one form or

another, but many (cheaper ones) do not.  Without knowing what you are using

I cannot really answer the question.

There is no automatic method for breaking up a recording into separate

tracks.  You must control this process yourself.  I am not aware of any

software that can sense separate tracks on tape or vinyl, although there

might be commercial dubbing systems that can do it.

A Good On-Line Primer On Digital Audio

I’ve looked for a good on-line primer on digital audio but have not encountered one yet.  (Maybe I’ll have to address that shortcoming myself one of these days.)

We have no current plans to support the ASIO interface, simply because we don’t have the resources to do that at the present time.  This does not necessarily mean that the device will not work with PCS – it really depends on the driver software provided by the manufacturer of the device.  PCS wants WDM/DirectSound drivers for its audio devices, which most manufacturers provide.  Manufacturers are also constantly updating their drivers, and it is quite possible that a device for which there was no appropriate driver a year ago now has one.  We can’t stay current because there are hundreds and hundreds of audio interfaces out in the world.

You had also said that the microphone slider (record level) in PCS had no effect on your mic.  That is something we plan to change – in the current version it is controlling the Microsoft Wave Mixer but as we are learning that technique is now obsolete and most audio interfaces don’t even support it any longer.  Especially on Vista.

Don’t know if that clarifies anything for you.   The article on “digital audio” on Wikipedia is not extremely useful but might get you started.

Selecting in Podcast Station

What you want to do is make a left mark and right mark, which you can do several different ways.  The '[' and ']' keys do this, and another way is with the mouse: left-click to make the first mark (left or right side), then right-click at the other location to make

the second mark.  Everything between the marks is selected (highlighted) for

editing/deletion/effects/etc.  You can also extend or reduce the highlighted

selection with similar methods, explained in the user guide you'll find in

the Help menu -- there's a section called "Select and Audio Segment".

The Behringer Firewire Interface

We've had trouble with the Behringer firewire interface, so if you already

have one, go ahead and try it (make sure you get the latest drivers for it),

but if you don't own one yet consider other devices from Presonus, M-Audio

or Alesis. 

In any event, the Behringer or other interface would become your record

source and well as your playback device.  If you're running Windows XP, you

can set this up in PodcastStation's Settings/AudioDevices window.  If you're

running on Vista, the system record/playback devices are set in the system

control panel.

Better Bass Response From Your Mic

Actually the best way to get better bass response from your mic has nothing

to do with software settings.  Most mics sound more resonant if you speak

into them very closely.  Another trick is to place the mic right above a

hard surface (a table) -- it will pick up low frequency reflections from the

table and add these to the direct signal.

Otherwise there is a Parametric EQ effect in the Effects menu (Windows XP

only) that you might be able to use to perk up the bass response.

Links about Podcast Station

We'll be releasing a newer version of PodcastStation within the next couple

weeks in order to address some general usability issues as well as some

constraints imposed by Windows Vista.  You may review the complete revision

history at this URL:

http://www.podcaststation.com/support/release_notes.asp 

A group of PodcastStation users are also in the process of starting up a

user forum which we are helping them with.  We'll be announcing that URL as

soon as things are up and running.

Here are a few reviews you might find helpful:

http://www.brighthub.com/Multimedia/Audio/reviews/522.aspx

http://podcast-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

http://www.podsqod.com/2006/03/06/105/

Here's a short list of shows (in no particular order) that are produced with

PodcastStation:

http://www.jasonoblivion.com/

http://daverabbit.podomatic.com/

http://www.whitokyo.info/WHIT.htm

http://www.cslseattle.org/

http://racerxcanada.com/news/4579/somewhat-live-and-uncensored-no-14/

http://www.number1duioffice.com/

http://www.podsqod.com/

As far as PodcastStation vs. Audacity goes, it's almost apples and oranges.

Audicity is of course a multitrack editor which PodcastStation is not.

PodcastStation allows you to add your sound effects and other background

audio live and spontaneously, which Audacity does not.  PodcastStation was

designed by commercial broadcast radio DJs to support the way they work in

an on-air studio.  Audacity follows the classic recording studio

post-production model.  The TopTenReviews site listed above contains a

PCS/Audacity comparison chart.

Problem Loading an Audio File

Q: I currently have a problem that I never had before with your

product. When I load an mp3 on a cart button, the program gives me an

error message saying Error initializing format conversion and even though

it loads and plays the mp3 when I click on the restart button on the cart

button, the mp3 does not play anymore and I have to repeat the process all

over again and it's really annoying, do I have to reinstall the program or

is there a way that this will never happen again.

A:  I suggest you *import* the mp3 file into PodcastStation, and then load the

imported file (.vpw) into your deck/cart button.  The file is in some format

which makes it difficult to convert on the fly, but importing it will

convert it to PodcastStation's native format and it should go smoother for

you.

Importing in Mono vs. Importing in Stereo

If  you have set PodcastStation's internal format
to mono (in Settings/AudioDevices). by default, then, any file imported
will be converted to mono (unless you check the obscure option called "Do not
convert to PodcastStation's internal format" in the File/Import dialog box).

Most people prefer to work in stereo, though, as it gives you more control
over processing and mixing.  You can still work in 2 channels but playback
to a mono mix, and you can always export your finished product to a mono
mix. 

If recording in stereo from a monophonic source, the Mono-mix-record option
in the Settings menu will put the same signal on both channels.

"Chipmunk" Effect on Some Players

I surmise from your note that you have set PodcastStation's internal format
to mono (in Settings/AudioDevices).  By default, then, any file imported
will be converted to mono unless you check the obscure option called "Do not
convert to PodcastStation's internal format" in the File/Import dialog box.

Most people prefer to work in stereo, though, as it gives you more control
over processing and mixing.  You can still work in 2 channels but playback
to a mono mix, and you can always export your finished product to a mono
mix. 

If recording in stereo from a monophonic source, the Mono-mix-record option
in the Settings menu will put the same signal on both channels.far been unable to figure it out.  If you use Windows Media Player to play

the MP3s you create with PodcastStation then you will hear that they are

correct.  If you wouldn't mind sending me a pair of short MP3s -- the one

you make with PCS, the other after conversion through Audacity -- I should

be able to determine what Audacity is doing to the file that allows some of

these streaming players to work.