VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Dave Waters · Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 6:59 am Post subject:

Keep in mind that ISDN was an established broadcast standard long before it was widely used in VO.

Broadcast drives the technology, not VO. All these software startups are interesting to follow, but are incapable of capturing the real market.

Companies like Telos, Tie-Line and Comrex are where the future if IP is truly being developed. They are industry leaders and are not about to give up their market share easily.

It's quite likely that when you finally replace your Zephyr it will be with another box with Telos written on it.
_________________
Dave Waters
www.davewatersvo.com

Steve Knight · Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 3:09 pm Post subject:

The bottom line is:

ISDN; AT LEAST $3K for hardware, then there's set-up and of course the monthly line charges...

Source-connect; $695, (plus and ilok and service contract)

Even though it's painfully obvious that SC is a better deal, they know the only other viable alternative is the MUCH more expensive ISDN, so much of their pricing has more to do with market landscape, than software development, etc..

They raised their prices because they can..

Frank F · Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject:

Bish · Posted: Sun May 26, 2013 8:40 pm Post subject:

The problem with the $3000 comparison is that my Musicam ISDN box (albeit used) was only $500, and there are plenty of good used Zephyrs to be had for $1000. My total set-up (with line install costs) was roughly the same price as the SC upfront. Admittedly, I have a monthly line charge of around $60, but I'm still a lot better off than having an SC install... and I have ISDN Smile

Maybe this is why I am so caustic about SC... I see no business case for me to even think about it. This may change, but for me it's a bucketful of meh Mello

_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Steve Knight · Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 12:00 pm Post subject:

Bish, right after I posted, I thought "Am I gonna get flamed for saying codecs cost at least $3K?"...I was speaking from what I've seen in BSW catalogs, etc. I'm certain there are many deals out there to be had, if you look hard enough...

The ISDN vs SC discussion is beginning to resemble Coke vs Pepsi..for me, as someone who does maybe 2 online sessions a month, and given the recent news about Verizon and ISDN installs, SC has been has been the right choice for me,,

Your mileage may vary

Bish · Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:13 pm Post subject:

Maybe not Coke vs Pepsi... maybe Coke vs a generic cola from a soda-steam dispenser Smile

Financial considerations are real... ISDN is now either uber-expensive or unobtainable, so it's really a moot point in many cases. I can see the business case for talents getting SC... and many people (and clients) are very happy with it. I was in the position to get relatively cheap ISDN, so I didn't consider any alternatives. My view is jaundiced... and therefore I'm being very subjective.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Bish, you are spoiled by those $60 line charges, my friend!

I'm paying $300 a month for my ISDN line charges alone (plus another $15-20 for long-distance so I can call out). That extremely high rate isn't uncommon these days. I pay as much every 2.5 months just in line charges to make SC a compelling financial proposition. I paid about $1400 for my used Zephyr 3 years ago, but have had to send it it twice to Telos for repair at a cost of another $1300! Whereas SC for me has been rock-solid.

I think Don was right in his assessment that the small user base has to pay for the high cost of development and support. I don't feel gouged by any means.

Boy do I wish ISDN would die a messy and immediate death.
_________________
Best regards,
Tom Test
"The Voice You Trust"
www.tomtest.com

heyguido · Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 12:40 pm Post subject:

Don't wish for that too soon, Tom. SC isn't there yet.

Good news on the horizon, however, as a group of researchers has just published a proof-of-concept on a new method of data transmission that maintained lossless transmission at 400gbps over a distance of over 2500 miles over fiber..... using mirrored signals and an algorithm that compares the signals at the other end to eliminate packet loss. Using this method of transmission with a lossless codec like Opus could bring just what we're looking for.
_________________
Don Brookshire
"Wait.... They wanna PAY me for this?"

Bish · Posted: Tue May 28, 2013 1:00 pm Post subject:

That could be promising for fast and accurate data transfer. We can do accurate transfer at the moment but the protocols and lines mean that it gets there... when it gets there. Monitoring packets, re-sequencing & blasting out a retransmission request if a packet is lost (and all that good stuff) is well established tech... and if they can make it quicker with less overhead... great.

However... (and I know I sound like a stuck record here) unless they can tunnel through the public network, establish a virtual private path from end-to-end... they will still be subject to possible/probable multi-second dropouts on the public internet. We may be getting closer to a "good" Skype (or other end-to-end service) with good quality and acceptable latency... but still with the pitfalls of non-guaranteed continuity.
_________________
Bish a.k.a. Bish
Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

georgethetech · Posted: Thu May 30, 2013 10:11 am Post subject:

I am going to explore the Luci system further very soon. Out of Hear bridging service has a Comrex IP codec box that should be able to speak with Luci. Once we test it they'll have bridging services available. Digifon is already supporting Luci bridging, according to Dave Immer. Could make for an awesome "self bridging" scenario as well for ISDN using road warriors who want to handle the bridge themselves.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

JTVG · Backstage Pass Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 433

I'm not sure which version of SC standard I'm using, but like you, my upgrades expired long ago. I still have a buggy version though, because the record and save feature built into desktop won't work for me, on multiple computers. Would at least be nice to have a version with no bugs. I haven't reached out about this problem, so giving them the benefit here, they might take care of it if I did.
_________________
Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com

georgethetech · Posted: Sat Jun 01, 2013 12:20 pm Post subject:

Rebekah of S.E. made it clear to me that an upgrade of SC is FREE when it's necessary to fix a bug that interferes with proper function.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

ChrisMezzolesta · Posted: Sun Jun 02, 2013 8:44 pm Post subject:

The multi-platformness of Luci looks really intriguing - theoretically if it is using standard codecs and IP transmission, should it not be possible to receive the audio on any suitable sound program or device? DAW or WinMedia or Droid audio player or download/save a stream, for example? For the cost of that one it seems feasible...used a trial of SC to cut my demo but still on the fence as to whether to buy it.
_________________
Chris Mezzolesta, Voice Talent
800.356.5519 www.voiceatile.com