Gear
Choosing your Studio Setup
In this section we'll introduce you to the hard- en software to setup your Podcast Studio. (The same for a Vidcast Studio will follow shortly.)
Since there are about 267,984,789,512 possible Studio setups, we have decided to simplify things a bit. All for your convenience, of course!
We'll introduce you to:
- The Minimal setup
- (We'll introduce you to the Basic and the De-Luxe setups shortly...)
The Minimal setup
The minimal setup is really the MINIMAL Podcast Studio setup.
The thought behind it: Add As Little As Possible.
The microphone
For computers with a built-in microphone, which is often the case with laptops, it's easy. Stick with what you have!
In other cases, buy the cheapest microphone avaible to either stick in your soundcard/line-in (a passive microphone with a mono mini-jack plug).
Or, if that is cheaper or more convenient, buy a USB-microphone.
The recording software
Most computers with a sound input already installed, have some audio-software pre-installed. Either as part of the Operating System (Windows, OS/X, Linux, and others), or as an additional software package provided by the computer manufacturer.
If that's the case, please check if:
- the software enables you to record, using the microphone you just have choosen;
- the software is able to save the recording as an mp3 audio-file, including ID3-tags!.
If you get an affermative on both questions, your OK.
Of not, please download the free Audiacity (Windows, Mac OS/X and Linux).
The feed software
In the minimal setup, there is no feed software.
You just use your two typing-fingers (if you type like we do, that is) and the standard text-editor that has been installed together with your Operating System:
- Notepad (Windows)
- TextEdit (Mac OS/X)
- vi, Emacs and about 2 million others (Linux)
The publishing software
To publish, you have to choice to:
- publish your Podcast on your own website, or
- publish your Podcast using one of the special Podcast Hosting Providers (like Feedburner and the Podcast Delivery Network.
When you choose to publish on your own website, you will need a program to transfer files from you own computer to your website-server.
Software that will take care of that is called an FTP-client, where FTP stand for File Transfer Protocol.
Many free packages are available for download. Check out www.TuCows.com and search for "FTP" with your particular Operating System selected.
The headphones
You'll need a set of headphones to listen to your own recording the way your audience will!
Apart from that, headphones give you the ability to listen to the sound you are recording, without the microphone picking up the signal as well.
(If a microphone picks up its own signal after it has passed through an amplifier, the resulting sound is a high tone increasing in volume. This phenomenon is called "a feedback loop". Jimi Hendrickxkxxx made this sound very popular, using it to create guitar sounds that went on for ever. Although he happened to be very successful, you probably don't want that kind of noise in your Podcast.)
Since we're talking Minimal Setup here, let's grab a pair of headphones laying around, or buy a cheap pair of those earplugs.
That's it!
Did you notice, the only item that might (!) include a purchase is the additional microphone. And we can inform you that you can buy a microphone of reasonable quality for less than fourty bucks/euro's!
In other words, starting your own Podcast requires nothing more than initiative and some free software. And maybe, just maybe, spending a little money.
Shift into gear with Podcasting!
The PLATFORM TEAM
;-)