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georgethetech
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
Posts: 1878
Location: Topanga, CA
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 Posted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 10:57 pm Post subject: Skype's new Opus CoDec could be a game-changer |
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From the FAQ at http://opus-codec.org/comparison/
| Quote: | How does Opus compare to other codecs?
Opus is distinguished from most formats for high quality audio (AAC, Vorbis, MP3) by having low delay and it is distinguished from most low delay formats (G.711, GSM, Speex) by supporting high audio quality. It meets or exceeds existing codecs' quality across a wide range of bitrates, and it operates at lower delay than virtually any existing compressed format. Further, the Opus format itself and the reference implementation are available under liberal royalty-free licenses, making it easy to adopt, compatible with free software, and suitable for usage as part of the basic infrastructure of the Internet. See the Opus comparison page for more details. |
We don't know when the Opus codec will be engaged, as it's going to be implemented by the Skype network gradually over time. I know it will vary audio quality to maintain the connection (like Skype's current codec SILK). The question I have is whether it will vary the latency during a session. Depending on how it handles this, could determine whether it's a viable alternative to the likes of Source Connect. Also, codec quality is always VERY subjective, so hearing is believing.
I certainly see this being huge for projects or talent that don't have budget for Source Connect, who also don't need to have sample accurate sync to picture. It's going to be awesome for improving the production values of my show EWABS, so that my co-host and guests have potentially audio quality equal to mine.
_________________
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 |
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 12:10 am Post subject: |
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OPUS is not a Skype product. Skype Technologies S.A./Microsoft and Huawei own some on parts of the SILK algorithms, but they all pledged to make them available for use with Opus and royalty-free once the codec was accepted as an IETF standard. It is a blending of CELP (based on low-latency for VOIP) and Skype's SILK codec for speech and has been created by Octasic.
OPUS IS now approved by the IETF for use and is being implemented in several VOIP products such as JITSI and Firefox 15.
It is doubtful Skype will implement OPUS within it's proprietary VOIP engine in the near or foreseeable future.
OPUS is good and offers SILK's speech quality and CELP's musicality and supports constant and variable bitrates from 6 kbit/s to 510 kbit/s, *frame sizes of 2.5 ms to 60 ms, and various sampling rates from 8 kHz (with 4 kHz bandwidth) to 48 kHz (with 20 kHz bandwidth).
Watch for some good things to come with the OPUS codec for the professional VOist, including a very low fee based product designed for talent and producers (about $20.00 a month for unlimited use for use of the servers required for SIP; is projected at this time). The codec beats the pants off HE-AAC (.m4a) and .mp3, APTx (used mostly in Europe), and Vorbis for VOIP.
Frank F
*frame rates equal to 20 ms is near a conversation of two people at a distance of 30 feet apart.
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Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com |
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georgethetech
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
Posts: 1878
Location: Topanga, CA
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agettig
Contributor IV
Joined: 14 Sep 2010
Posts: 111
Location: Portage, MI
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| Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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That is quite impressive. I wonder what the Source Elements folks think of that.
For professional VO purposes, I wonder if it will ever catch on. It's just not marketed to our audience for that purpose. But, perhaps someone in our industry will grab ahold of this and make a "magic vo connection box". I think the potential is there for some enterprising person. |
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D Voice
Been Here Awhile
Joined: 26 Jun 2010
Posts: 232
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| Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2012 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| agettig wrote: | | ...perhaps someone in our industry will grab ahold of this and make a "magic vo connection box". I think the potential is there for some enterprising person. |
re-read the latter part of Frank's posting. something's apparently already in the works! |
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georgethetech
The Gates of Troy
Joined: 18 Mar 2007
Posts: 1878
Location: Topanga, CA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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Could Frank's iSpeek be coming back from the deep freeze?
_________________
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 |
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Frank F
Fat, Old, and Sassy
Joined: 10 Nov 2004
Posts: 4421
Location: Park City, Utah
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| Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:29 pm Post subject: |
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No!
FF
_________________
Be thankful for the bad things in life. They opened your eyes to the good things you weren't paying attention to before. email: thevoice@usa.com |
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