Why Aren't You Using Audio?

By
Ronni Rhodes
As use of the Internet continues to grow geometrically, we see an increased demand for information to be provided by a variety of media. Viewing options can range from simple text to PDF documents to video clips. Unfortunately, each option requires more and more resources and technological know-how. As convergence moves inexorably forward, we have to ask ourselves if there is a practical way to combine the best of this technology and still provide the user with a satisfying Internet experience.
The answer, at this stage of Internet evolution, is audio.
Voice, by itself, provides the means to enhance a user’s enjoyment of the Internet. Voice conveys many of the intangibles underlying the written word. A voice can touch the human spirit and deliver a message on its’ own merits. Audio can build community and maintain relationships.
Audio is the most mature of the streaming technologies and doesn’t have the bandwidth requirements associated with video. Any Internet user connecting at 28.8k or better can enjoy FM quality sound without experiencing buffering and other annoyances that can affect video at lower bit rates.
It is common knowledge that people only retain 20% of what they read, but they do remember 70% of what they see and hear. That fact in itself increases the value of an audio message delivered from a website for the typical user. And, the implications of how audio can increase Internet enjoyment for the handicapped are overwhelming.
Streaming audio provides Internet businesses with unlimited opportunities to reach their audience and to simplify their interactions. Streaming audio broadens a product’s appeal and helps to stimulate sales. People are comfortable with audio and have few qualms about using it in their day-to-day lives.
Retailers can integrate audio into their operations in several ways. Use it to enhance product descriptions and deliver product information in ways far more persuasive than plain text. Booksellers can have “special events” that offer audio excerpts from selected titles. Art dealers can use voice to give value added information on an artist or a period of history depicted by an artist’s work. (Think of those audio tours that museums offer.)
Organizations that specialize in selling educational tools can use audio clips for potential clients to preview and evaluate the material being offered. The ability to sample the product is a potent and practical selling aid.
Business-to-Business sites and corporate Intranets can also harness the power of audio. The need to provide up-to-the-minute information for employees and customers can be well served with streaming audio and the telephone. Integrating audio into the corporate communications mix is a tool that is easy to use and addresses the need to communicate with a distributed work force.
In both the retail and business-to-business marketplace, audio can and should be used to maintain those all important customer relationships. Voice messages add a personal touch that intrigues the listener and encourages them to remain on the site.
Employee training is greatly enhanced with audio. Use it to orient new employees and keep the information archived on the site for easy reference. Sales training can also be archived and quickly retrieved when needed. The ability to offer customized audio training materials on a 24/7 basis makes streaming audio a very versatile and efficient learning tool.
Some words of caution are also necessary. Audio, just like any other value-added technology, has to be used judiciously. It should be employed for a specific purpose and to enhance the text based message being delivered. Think of your audience and how you’d like them to interact with your website. Keep in mind that your visitor may be coming to your site while they’re at their place of business and plan accordingly.
The future of streaming audio is bright and filled with promise. More and more Internet users have become familiar with streaming audio and use it everyday. Internet radio broadcasts are extremely popular and are now being employed as effective advertising vehicles. Audio e-mail messaging is becoming widely available and is being positioned as a practical business tool. Consumers are attaching audio messages to greeting cards and experimenting with Internet telephony. Streaming audio will allow the average Internet user the ability to create content that conveys the power of voice and the emotions that it conveys.
So…why aren’t you using audio?

Streaming Online Audio and Online Radio

What is DVD Audio?

by: Kenny Hemphill

DVD Audio is a music format that is designed to offer improved audio performance over CD. The new audio format can be used to provide listeners with Advanced Resolution stereo and/or multi-channel (up to a maximum of six channels) music. In order to play back DVD Audio discs, players have to be specially designed to support the format. So far, consumer electronics manufacturers have announced a range of DVD Audio players, including home decks, portable players and devies for cars.

DVD Audio has a sampling rate of up to 192kHz compared to a maximum of 44.1kHz for CD. It also supports resolutions of up to 24 bits, compared to 16bits on CD.

The idea behind DVD Audio is that it alllows peoducesr to give listeners a playback experience that is much more faithful to the original master recording that has been possible previously.

DVD Audio discs have a much higher capacity than CDs. This extra space can be used to provide audio at the highest possible quality or for longer recordings, or to provide additional material, such as infromation on the artist, photos and even video, all of which can be displaye don a television screen. Alternatively, DVD Audio discs currently on the market from the likes of the Warner group of labels have the audio content in both DVD Audio format and as Dolby Digital surround so that they can be played back on regular DVD players.

DVD Audio discs are navigable in the same way as DVD Video when polayed back on a player connected to a TV set. Users can select the required track from an on-screen menu and with an internet connection, can click on links to go to websites.

These dual format discs are a good way to kick-start the market while DVD Audio players are still relativley rare. The market will also be helped by combined DVD Video and Audio players.

Broadcasting Mp3 Audio Via Computer, The Looney Tune World

by: Sunny Hills

Podcasting Is A New Form Of Fun Stuff
To Do On The Computer.
The Ipod Was Made For Music Downloads,
But The Reality Is That It Has Created
A Launch Of Mini Shows,
That Are Uncut And Cheap To Produce.
Every Event You Can Imagine Is A
Potential Contender As A Reality Radio
Broadcast Show From Rio To Cape Cod,
And From Boston To Broadway.
CB Radio,i.e. Ham Radio, Was Developed
As Radio For The People, But
Now Another Page In The Consumer Notebook
Of Modern History Has Turned.
Any Music Concert Can Become An Mp3,
Whether It’s By Players Like Eminem
& 50cent Or Country Music And
Guitar Songs Dedicated To Andy Griffeth.
Mp3 Audio Can Include A Report From
A Reality TV Show To A Las Vegas Show,
To A Looney Tune Review,
And It Can Range From Humor To Commentaries
On The Weather, Oprah Winfrey & American Idol,
The Titanic, The Da Vinci Code,
Or Even A Live Sex Show In Harmony Hall.
They’re All Now Available As A Downloadable
Music Composition, A Video Or Even A Slide Show
On Your Computer,
And I Wouldn’t Be Surprised If
Some Of These Shows Show Up On Sirius Radio,
XM Radio Or Other Satellite Radio Shows,
Conventional Radio Or Even On TV.
The Ipod Is A Creative Way To Download
Digital Music Automatically Via Computer
Around The Clock, By Virtue Of Podcasting.
This Is Not About Downloading Online Music
Onto Your Computer Via Music File Sharing.
This Is About The Bone Thug Across The Street
Writing A Music Lyric On His Computer
Calling It A Skin Tune
By Frankie J & Lil Jon Luny Mas,
And With No Harmony Or Melody,
Having A Ball, Because Some Stranger
In Central Louisville Looking For
Cheap Music Downloads Records It
To His Mp3 Player While Waiting
For A Pizza Delivery.
The Apple Ipod Is Not A Technology
Whose Life Is Limited To A
Trade Show Display.
It’s In The Hands Of The People.
Podcasting Is Way Bigger Than
Two Way Radio Or Any Online Computer Game,
And It’s Not Limited To The
Ipod Mp3 Player Or Even The Rio Sport
Mp3 Player.
Newer Models Are Creating Competition
And Getting Cheaper, Just Like All
Computer Technology Always Does.
Just Look At The DVD Player.
Ipod Is Getting The Credit,
But Adam Curry, Former Music Video DJ
And MTV Host In The 1980’s,
Is The Central Player In RSS
(Real Simple Syndication).
A Music Download To A Mini Portable
Mp3 Player Is Not New, The Ipod Buzz Is.
Podcasting Is Going To Be Big.
I Feel Lucky To Have Gotten In On It
At An Early Stage,
With My Daily Podcast Sunny Thought Of The Day.
It Supplements My Free Affirmations By E-Mail.
So Now You Have 2 Free Ways To Get
Positive Thinking From Me.
I Was Interviewed Last Month
In The Honolulu Star Bulletin,
Who Told Me I Was The Only Daily Podcaster
In The State Of Hawaii.
Since Then I’ve Found Out I’m One
Of Only A Handful Who Podcast Daily
In The Entire World.
And My Radio Interviews – I Was Interviewed
By Positive Purpose Radio Host Kevin Mcdonald,
On KLAY AM Radio In The Seattle Area,
5 Times – 1 Hour Each – Those Shows
Were All Podcast Internationally, Too.
Welcome To The Future!
It’s Evolving One Day At A Time.
Why Not Hit The Computer Airwaves Yourself?
And Start Podcasting Today!

TALKINGSITES WEB SITE AUDIO

by: Dane Scott

People love pantomimes because they can communicate so cleverly without ever
uttering a sound. I find them fascinating. But imagine what the
world would be like if all our entertainment, conversation, and
advertising was done in pantomime. Aside from giving us a new
appreciation for clown-white face paint, we'd probably tire of it rather
quickly.

The truth of the matter is, the Internet is still very much like the
great mimist Marcel Marceau. Expressive, colorful, animated, and stone
cold silent. Are there exceptions? Certainly. MP3 music sites, some
news sites, and a growing number of radio stations are making those
little desktop speakers come to life. But for the huge majority of
sites, including nearly all the millions of business sites, the silence
is deafening.

Why is that? There are several reasons, the greatest of which is a
simple lack of awareness about the potential that exists in web audio.
Our exposure to audio on the web has been so limited up until now that
it's difficult to even imagine how to use it. Likewise, most web
designers have not been exposed to an understanding of web audio's power and
potential, and thus, have never considered recommending it to their clients. Another
reason for the shortage of audio is the huge number of sites which were constructed
before web audio was practical, or even a
consideration.

Why be different?

How is the addition of audio content valuable to you and your company?

It sells. A well-worded, well-produced clip of audio accompanying each
clickable product on your site makes those products more exciting, and
gives the potential purchaser more reasons to buy.

It convinces. For example, imagine the power of using the actual voices
of your customers, telling their own testimonial stories about the
quality of your products and services.

It builds image. The style and delivery of a spoken message can make a
very personal statement about you as a company. In addition, when your
web visitors are greeted by a rich selection of audio options, the
impression it leaves is that your company is a step-ahead. It is an
instant distinction between your web site and your competition's, which
is unlikely to have any audio whatsoever.

It teaches. Our aural receptors stimulate our brain to action in ways
our eyes never will. That's why we're tempted to read aloud when faced
with a difficult set of instructions. That same phenomenon occurs in all
aural messages, making it easier for customers to comprehend value and
buy, remote staff to learn over the net, clients to understand technical
support information, etc.

It eliminates clutter. You may have more to say than you can justify
displaying onscreen. By letting people click on certain points for more
details, you keep clutter down, while making your expanded points in a
more compelling way.

It leverages existing resources. If you have radio ads already produced
up, get double duty out of them! There are effective ways to put those
right on your site.

It encourages return visits. Sites which visitors find more interesting
are the ones that get bookmarked and revisited. Web audio combined with
a regular refreshing of your visual content is a way to keep 'em coming
back for more.

What to do?

First, it's important to understand that web audio is best supplied in
liquid form. It's what they call "streaming audio." The explanation is
simple. Generally, when we download a file from a web site, we must
wait for all of it to arrive before we can use it. In that sense, it's
rather like a solid block. "Streaming audio," on the other hand,
trickles to you across the Internet as you are listening to it. You
don't have to wait for it to download. That makes it a quick, practical
way to deliver audio over the Internet.

The last thing you want to force your visitors to have to do is visit a
web site somewhere to download an obscure audio player plug-in before
they can begin accessing sound on your site, so I generally recommend
Real Audio, which is the format most widely playable by the web browsers
currently in use.

This will sound self-serving, but I am convinced the best way to add
audio to your web site is to have someone do it professionally. Just as
a company would be mistaken to hire an inexperienced person to design
their web site itself, or to lay out a sales brochure, it's equally
unwise to attempt to add audio to your own site. There are issues of
equipment, acoustics, equalization, encoding, and integration which are
far better left to someone who has the skill and experience to do it
right. My advice is to check around, listen carefully to the quality of
what each service offers, and consider their degree of experience and
expertise.

Adding audio to your company's web site lets you stand out from the
crowd and get noticed. Unlike all the the white-faced, arm-waving,
silent clowns on the Internet, your company's audio-rich web site
demonstrates to the world that you have something to say and you
know how to say it.

Streaming Video and Audio In the Internet

by: Lester John M. Policarpio

Entertainment is a necessity! And thank god we belong to the digitalage when almost all our needs are readily available right in the comforts of our own home. And now that the Internet is here, the focus is not merely on the issue of merely supplying information to the users but giving them the choice to pick only the kind of information they are most interested in, when to obtain these information, where to extract these information from and of how these preferred information should take form. Imagine using your computer in watching your favorite NBA match, your watch your favorite television show or the evening newscast and listen to the live concerts and Webcasts through Castdial. Imagine just sitting in front of your computer screen while searching for articles on the hottest political issues rather than going through those pile of newspapers or magazine archives in your local library. Streaming media is a technique that allows users to view audio and video contents while they are still receiving it. Or as others perceive it, an audio and video file that plays as instantly on a text based content as when a Web page downloads on your browser. And unlike downloading a video or audio file to be played later, it flows to your computer screen enabling you to view its contents simultaneous to the process of downloading. So, how do you stream something into the Internet? Especially video? Here are the basic steps: First, in order to stream a data in video form, a person must use a 30-frames-per-second analog video that is fed by a VCH or video camera to a video board within the computer. This must then be converted from an analog wave form into binary data. This representation is stored in the computer hard disk and further reduced in size by video compression software. The video compression software then scans each of the frames of the video file and distinguishes which are redundant. The redundant ones are erased. Only needed data are retained. A user can then watch a file by clicking on an HTML tag embedded in a website. When he does this the video streaming software on the remote server is released and a steady stream of data begins to flow. But before he gets to watch this, he must have an interface or a "player" installed in his computer. If he has this, he can then watch the file he requested through the website's remote server. Then comes the issue of speed of data retrievals in connection to bandwidth. The snail's pace of the 28.8, 33.6 and 56 kbps modems simply cannot deliver the amount of kilobytes that streaming media demands. This situation provided the Vendors who are well aware of the problems to intelligently devise ways to manage network resources for users faced with streaming media flood. From the snail- blazing 28.8 dial-up connections, there came much advancement. The 33.6 and 56K variants came out as minor upgrades to their 28.8 sibling. This development could be hardly felt by the users so they had to come out of that medium of connection—the analog modem. Then came what they would call the second generation of connection devices designed to give the subscribers a leap from 28.8 kbps to a stunning speed of up to 1.5 mbps. What could these technical numbers signify then? Well, it means that the new connection speeds that subscribers could now enjoy could reach up to 20 or even 50 times faster than when they were using the 56K connection speed. The efforts to battle bandwidth problems have produced good results especially in subduing qualms about supporting streaming media applications. By this, followed the advent of streaming technologies to deliver audio, video and animation into websites, which is considered an appropriate response to this TV generation's insatiable demands. Now that streaming media is gaining much recognition in the Internet, websites are now transforming plain information exchange in the Internet to the ultimate sensory experience. And it is the consumers benefiting from these technologies. Entertainment companies have extended their broadcasts to the net thus expanding the markets across the barriers of the traditional transmitters to the global community in the Internet. Through innovations that supported streaming media, thousands of audio and video information are now available on the Internet. Only the users' individual preferences are considered their limit. Thanks to the many innovations and new gizmos that pop out every minute that ticks. Five to seven years ago, streaming media was just a young idea being cooked up on the Internet and now, the attention and respect for it is increasing. People find more reasons on why these streaming media will slowly shape and influence the way they see and access information. Mr. Lester John M. Policarpio is the supervisor of the eMktg Team of CyberImagination, Inc. Among the websites of CyberImagination are http://www.WebPonent.com; a one stop solutions center that offers downloadable communications and chat software solutions to websites and businesses and http://www.Castdial.com a website that offers a software that allows you to experience Net webcasts and live events for free.

 

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