The NMP Network

Last week, we discussed the Basics of Talkshoe and continuing with that line of thinking, this week, we will discuss Broadcasting on a Shoestring.

Everyone has the ability to produce a good sounding, professional style show, and most everyone has the inclination to do so. Sometimes, your financial situation, especially during these hard, economic times, can get in the way of allowing you to do this.

Tonight, we will discuss different hardware, equipment and software that you can use to setup your home studio to produce a more professional style podcast. You may need to spend a few bucks to do this, however, we will attempt to show you the most inexpensive way to get yourself setup.

To begin with, when using Talkshoe, of course, the service itself is free. The service is free, but consider that your Internet connection is not! Look at your current provider or ISP and see what package you are subscribed to. If you are wanting to do just audio broadcasting, then you can easily get by with a lower end package of say 1mb down and 128k up. However, if you are wanting to do audio AND video broadcasting, then you will want a higher end package with at least 1mb to 3mb up and maybe 3mb to 6 mb down. When broadcasting, your upload speed is more critical than your download speed. Check with your ISP or Internet provider to see what packages they offer and you might even be able to upgrade for only a few dollars more a month!

Now, once your Internet connection is worked out, you will want to look at how you are connecting to the Talkshoe Service. Talkshoe allows several methods of connecting including landline or cell phone by way of 724-444-7444 and of course this may be a toll call depending on your phone service, so expect long distance charges when calling this number, especially if you don’t have a good long distance plan on your land line or cell phone. Another way to connect is by the SIP Interface using Gizmo, SJPhone or XLite and of course, don’t forget the Shoephone that is built into the Talkshoe Pro Client. And then of course, there is Skype. With Skype, you can purchase an outgoing plan for around $36.00 US per year and you will have the ability to dial into Talkshoe using the 724-444-7444 number WITHOUT long distance charges! We’ll talk more about these alternate methods of dialing in shortly when we discuss some of the equipment you will need.

Ok, one quick comment about dialing in before we move on, remember, depending on how you are dialing in or connecting to the Talkshoe service, will greatly affect your audio quality and your recording quality. If you dial in using a cell phone, for example, then you quality will be lower as this will be an analog or phone quality audio. When you connect using Skype or SIP, then you will have a higher quality, because your connection is a higher quality connection. Again, we’ll talk more about quality when we discuss the equipment later.

Talking about equipment, a good microphone and headset will go a long way to helping you to have a great quality audio and recording. Most places such as Radio Shack, Office Depot, Office Max, Staples and even Wal-Mart carry quality products at low prices to get you started.

Listen to this episode in the player below to hear what some of the listeners had to say about this topic!