Every now and then I toy with the idea of catching up with the rest of the world and starting a podcast. But, being a mobile geek, I would, of course, prefer to record it using a Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone. The question is: Would the sound quality be good enough for podcasting? So, I created two audio recordings to help me decide. If you visit my new alternate multimedia blogging site, you can listen to a 30 second test recording found at the link below…
This web site has a built in audio player. So, you don’t need to download anything to hear the test recording.
The recording consists of two pieces. I recorded the first part using a Microsoft LifeChat LX-3000 USB headset/microphone. The second part was recorded using a Windows Mobile 6 Pocket PC. Both recordings were made in the same room with a large Voronado fan blowing in the background to simulate a noisy environment. Both recordings were made using 16-bit 44KHz mono setttings.
Only two transformations were applied to the recording. First, the combined audio file was sent through the GigaVox Levelator to even out the volume differences between the two recordings (the Pocket PC recording was much louder than the headset recording). Second, the resulting WAV file was transcoded to a MPG audio file to reduce its size.
The USB headset recording is much quieter (you don’t hear the fan as much) than the Pocket PC recording. But, I think the overall Pocket PC sound quality is decent enough to use for short podcast recordings. And, the ambient sound might even add a bit of real-life to the recordings (vs. a somewhat sterile but quieter USB headset recording).
Comments
4 responses to “Is a Pocket PC Good Enough to be a Podcast Recording Device?”
Ken: The previous poster was, um, me. Actually, there isn’t any issue in uploading digital audio from a dedicated digital audio recorder if the recorder has some kind of usable USB interface or removable flash storage card. The issue, for me, would be spending additional $$$ 🙂 O’Reilly’s Digital Media site has reviewed a bunch of good dedicated digital audio recorders.
As a previous poster said a digital recorder would be the best solution. The problem is that you can not upload the file from the recorder. This is the advantage of using a PPC. You can record and then upload the podcast so it is online and all from a remote location. I have tried a cheap wired headset with good results. I think the secret will be either a high end wired headset with noise cancelation or an external mic.
psionandy: The BT stack in WM devices generally does not support BT microphones except for phone calls. Only a few devices (like the old Dell Axim X50/51 series) supported a wired microphone. For serious podcasters (obviously not me :-), a dedicated portable digital audio recorder is probably the way to go.
Have you tried recording on he pocket pc with a BT or wired headset?
(and which ppc did you use?)