VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

...okay, I might have jumped the gun just a tad buying a Musicam Road Warrior codec (higher $$ because it has IP ability which may be handy in the future), but to be honest I'm not booking enough ISDN sessions at this time for this investment to so far be clearly profitable. This can and eventually will change,...

...but in the meantime I'm wondering if selling the codec (they retail for around 4K new) and switching to Source Connect would be a wise move.
It's my understanding that this would eliminate the $100/month ISDN bill as well.

I'm mainly wondering how those of you using SourceConnect are finding it, and whether it's getting the job done for you in the abscence of having traditional ISDN.

At $395 for the standard version, plus no more monthly ISDN bill, the prospect is intriguing.

(Source Connect will work with Adobe Audition, won't it? I know it used to work only with ProTools, but have heard that is no longer the case.)

I can continue to pay the ISDN bill, and the codec is paid for, so it's not a desparate situation, it is simply a matter of being more efficient and practical. And I also have to weigh the savings of making this move versus the potential disadvantages of changing, and the inevitable loss you incur when you re-sell expensive equipment.

Thanks for your input!

mcm · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 10:45 am Post subject:

Rob, SC does indeed work with Adobe Audition.

A tip: when I got Source Connect, I bought it through our own George Whittam (soundgun), who is an authorized SC distributor/reseller. I got a nice discount, and he set it up for me over the phone and with the use of logmein (so he had access to my computer). It was the most painless acquisition of new technology I've ever experienced.

Just make sure you have adequate internet upload speed before you get it, and get an ilok for the license.

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Thanks Mary!

Calling Soundgun! Soundgun?.... Smile

Frank F · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:28 am Post subject:

Pluses and minuses... or Hits and misses.

Source Connect: Nice product, needs lots of internet bandwidth, can (expensively) connect with ISDN via patch, STILL not a lot of STUDIOS using the product, requires SC on both ends or ISDN via patch, requires some computer knowledge to set up initially.

AudioTX: Great product, uses less bandwidth for IP connection to another AudioTX product than does other IP connections, If ISDN is available - can use ISDN direct, can/may be difficult to set up initially (due to equipment concerns - the software works right off the download/dongle) - but works flawlessly with most/many ISDN codecs. IP is AudioTX to AudioTX only.

AudioTX is more expensive than Source Connect and is more widely accepted as it uses ISDN lines direct. I have been using the IP connection with other AudioTX users often as of late and have found the IP connection to be MORE than advertised. AudioTX is very stable.

So the final breakdown - if many of your clients or future clients have Source Connect - then it is possibly a fair decision. If you still wish to use ISDN capabilities - then buy AudioTX. Find out if your clients already own the AudioTX and you can use the IP connection within the program.

No current product talks directly with other codecs in the IP mode, they must connect only to the same product line for service.

Toodles

F2
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Philip Banks · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 11:30 am Post subject:

ISDN codec bought and paid for, $100 per month for ISDN line rental not a problem - No point in selling the codec or cancelling the ISDN lines.

Should you have no use for the above and feel you may never have use for the above then get rid of them.

Separate issue - Should you have Source Connect? No idea. I do not use it and it has never been requested. Yes it works but then so does a helicopter and I don't have one of those either. Will it get you work? No. Will it help you get work? Highly unlikely. Neither of those comments are indictments on your ability. The evidence to support the use of Source Connect is scant and anecdotal but as far as I can tell most Voice Overist would've got work any way it's just that Source Connect made life a little easier.

jasbart · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 4:11 pm Post subject:

First of all, I've had Source-Connect for a few years, and I am a huge cheerleader for it. I talk it up to anybody who'll listen, and would like nothing more than to see ISDN sent to it's grave.

That said, you're really looking at two client bases: those with ISDN, and those with S-C. Of course there are those studios that have both (like me, but I'm talent) but most of those studios really only use ISDN. The client's paying a hefty multiple for the session, so why change? I had a few studios pretty much talked into using S-C, we did a few sessions, then they quietly returned to ISDN...not because the quality's better (it's not) but because it's easy, and frankly why not? And I can only bang the S-C drum so much before it gets annoying.

But there's a growing contingent out there who only have S-C. They don't have ISDN, and they probably never will...and that's where the promotional possibilities lie. Talent with S-C is looking for studios equipped the same way, and vice-versa.

So to reiterate, don't get S-C because you think it'll replace ISDN. Sadly that won't happen for a long time (unless the phone companies simultaneously pull the plug.) Think of S-C as just another tool in your war chest...bad analogy, but that's all I got at the moment.

Jim
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imaginator · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2009 5:11 pm Post subject:

our friend wendy zier has gotten a lot of good use from her audio tx over the past season, more than making back her investment. but it took a lot of trouble to get configured at first, and lately she's had enough trouble with it (having had to get a new computer and go through the installation all over again), that she just gave up and bought a new road warrior.

pity we didn't all know about this sooner. perhaps some kind of deal could've been made. her audio tx is currently without a home.

i'll hasten to point out she loved audio tx while she was using it, and studio compatibility was never a problem. i guess you just need to understand computers better than she and i do if you're going to make it work. me and wendy? we push the pretty buttons in the right order.
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

thanks again for the input.

BTW I am not considering adding SourceConnect or AudioTX to what I have, but possibly to replace.

Maybe I should just stick with what I have.

It sounded like maybe SourceConnect or AudioTX might be a less expensive alternative, and make more sense for someone like me who isn't doing regular ISDN sessions. But maybe not.....have any of you sold your codecs and switched to SourceConnect, and was it a good move for you?

I've had ISDN for about 8 months and done 4 actual sessions with it-2 with the same client. But again, I'm bullish on my prospects for increasing that number. Most jobs at this time are either phone patch or MP3 delivery or FTP upload.

It sounds like traditional ISDN might be more seamless, easier for clients, and generally more widely recognized, and that in those respects it may provide a competitive edge that might make it worth continuing. Keep in mind that I am still relatively new to all of this, so I'm not speaking from a position of great knowledge or experience with this stuff.

Again, it's not about needing the $$$ from selling the codec or the monthly bill, it's just about being leaner and meaner and more efficient.

Or, as JasBart seemed to say, maybe I switch it and market myself more to the SourceConnect crowd..? Ninja

And of course I understand there is no 100% right or wrong answer to this...

imaginator · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:36 am Post subject:

i do know that another area friend, kevin silva, spent many a gig over here at my place using the ISDN, to the point he decided to get one of his own...then spent over a year with hardly any use of it, wondering if he'd made a big expensive mistake. biz finally did start picking up for him and i think he's glad he held onto it.

if you don't need the money, i'd hang onto it. you can still connect just about anyone you'd need to, right?
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rowell gormon
www.voices2go.com
"Mr. Warm & Friendly Voice...with Character!"
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jasbart · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 10:54 am Post subject:

Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Jim, thanks for the clarification.

Is SourceConnect basic ($395) sufficient for the most part, in your experience?

jasbart · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:37 pm Post subject:

georgethetech · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 2:39 pm Post subject:

Everyone has brought good points to the thread. I'd hang onto your ISDN service, if anything, because if you cancel it, the next time you decide you want to use ISDN you may not be able to get the service. It's getting harder and harder to establish residential ISDN service in the US. The codec hardware is just a tool, you can buy and sell as needed. For me it never makes sense to hang on to gear that isn't being used, when it often can be sold and repurchased used for nearly the same amount.

The majority of my clients with SC use it as a supplement to their ISDN service, and primarily while traveling through a bridging service. Source Elements support is far better than that of AudioTX, in my experience, but the AudioTX product has been a around a long time and proven reliable (unless your dongle no longer works with your computer and they don't care to help you since you bought it from another user). Check the FAQ for a very long thread comparing the two systems.
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Frank F · Posted: Sun Feb 08, 2009 3:01 pm Post subject:

Phillip writes a poignant post when he commented that neither ISDN or SC will get you work. They are tools which make life easier for the Voice over artist and/or producer.

The biggest and most productive issue for you to work on is not the "toys" but the marketing of your services.

So far in almost six years of availability (according to the Source Elements website) there are 1313 Source Connect users in the USA, 162 in Canada, and 134 in the U.K. Those numbers compare to 5813 recording studios/radio-TV stations and 4211 (publicly accessed) VA's using ISDN in the USA. Other usage in other countries is not known for ISDN.

Will they "toys" get you work? No. Should the numbers of users make any difference in your decision? No. I just put the information out for your reference.

Toodles

F2
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Rob Ellis · M&M Joined: 01 Aug 2006 Posts: 2385 Location: Detroit

Very helpful info, thanks again!

I feel much better informed regarding the ISDN landscape out there.....