VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Dave · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:46 am Post subject: Phone prompt audio question

Hi gang,

Today I got a gig recording phone prompts. Client requested .mp3 files so that's no big deal BUT I suspect there may be "industry standard" (?) ways to process the audio (compression, eq etc) for telephone... of which I have no clue.

If you can share some settings you use I would be really grateful for the tips. (if it matters, I'm using Cool Edit Pro).

Dave
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JimRon · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:41 am Post subject:

a/mu-law wav files are, i believe, the codec for telephone systems. some stuff i do has to be saved in that format, but i can also save other files in an mp3 format. so i guess it could be dependant on the equipment used.

or maybe they'll do their own conversions. did they ask you to send at a specific sample/bit rate?
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Dave · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 10:38 am Post subject:

Thanks for chiming in Jim...

I don't think I have to worry about the a/mu-law stuff since they said an mp3 was fine. I am more concerned with the sonics of the audio on playback.

Some time back there was a discussion about this but I can't locate the thread Embarrassed

Anyway, I recall several people mentioning that for a recording to sound right on the telephone it should be processed in a certain way and they mentioned certain settings that would insure a good playback.
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JimRon · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 10:47 am Post subject:

as far as quality, it's over the phone, so how good will it really sound? i'd guess it depends on the phone equipment.

that being said, an on hold company i do work for uses CD machines specifically for on hold, and they use regular audio CDs. so i burn a CD at the standard rate of 128/44,1. the message sounds pretty good, quality wise (for something over the phone).
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Don G. · King's Row Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 1071 Location: MA

If they're asking for .mp3, then they're converting. And my general rule of thumb is that if they're doing the final processing, then I give them the cleanest, flattest file I can give them. That way they can't accuse you of screwing something up technically.

That said, for phone stuff I'd say you can safely roll off anything at the bottom of the spectrum. Smile

JimRon · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 11:19 am Post subject:

if file size doesn't matter (your joke here), send them the highest quality mp3 you can. if it does, i think you can go as low as 96k and still not have an issue with quality. but definitely keep the sample rate at 44,1.
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bobbinbeamo · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 12:30 pm Post subject:

When mp3 is the requested file format I send my standard mono, 44.1 /128kbps. It seems to work fine. Haven't heard back to the contrary. And yes, the end users are probably converting. Some clients like to feed directly into their pbx, and that's when the a law, mu law, 8 bit 8000k files and more are sometimes requested. There are programs available in which you can record directly and or convert to those specific and unique formats. Vox Studio is the high end and Goldwave is another.
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Jowillie · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:11 pm Post subject:

Just in case you need it.....here's a little extra info. It's what I use:

"For Telephony work (IVRs) I generally roll off above 10k and below 120Hz w/ a pretty sharp curve, sometimes boost around 2k, and compress/limit the hell out of it."
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Dave · Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 1:48 pm Post subject:

Thanks guys! I really appreciate the input. (I replied earlier but that post never appeared ???) If anyone else has ideas I'm still listening Smile

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todd ellis · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 6:05 am Post subject:

i'm with ron. for phone stuff i use 96kbps - 44.1 (mono, of course)

if i recall correctly, a telephone conversation only carries 24kbps/side anyway. (someone correct me if i'm wrong)
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Lizden · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 9:52 am Post subject:

YOU'RE WRONG!
...ok I have no clue if you are or not...I just wanted to take advatage of your offer to tell you so! Wink

L.
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Lizden · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 9:54 am Post subject:

Now to actually answer the question!
I'm with Bobbin & Don: If they ask for a .wav or .mp3, I just give them the cleanest file I can and they'll convert it to thier specs.

L.
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Dave · Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 11:09 am Post subject:

First of all to Willie: Thanks a bunch for coaching me during our telephone conversation...I know enough to be seriously dangerous now!!!

Many thanks for all who chimed in to help as well. I agree it all starts (and usually stops) with sending a good quality file in the first place...But, in this case, I happened to know that what I send will get no additional processing by the customer so that's why I wanted to do what I could on my end to provide them the best sound possible.
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