The Role Playing Public Radio Forums
General Category => RPGs => : Armos Black February 07, 2010, 05:18:38 PM
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Sorry if this has already been covered.
I am new to RPPR and I like the Actual Play podcasts. They are easy to listen to which I find is a problem for many other APs. Listening to them, I thought I could get some use out of recording my game sessions. Can someone tell me a quick and cheap way to do this? We usually sit around a table and play for about 4 to 5 hours. I would also like to put them on my computer.
Thanks in advance.
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Well, Ross uses some expensive area sound recorder thingie. It's like the h2 something or whatever, I don't actually know much
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I used the mic on my laptop and set it kind of in the circle of six of us and it recorded just fine (have the previous generation MacBook Pro, if you were curious). It was a little loud on the people closer/facing the mic, but it worked out pretty well nonetheless.
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I've had some success using the recorder that comes with the iPhone. The sound is surprisingly good.
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Go to a RadioShack and you can find omni directional mikes for recording meetings and stuff. Plug that into a PC and download Audacity (which is totally free) and your set.
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I use the Blue Snowball for my Mic and like it a lot. Any omnidirectional mic is good. I personally dislike Audacity because it crashed constantly on my PC. I love WavePad. Even the freeware version had most every tool you'll need to do editing if you need to. That's my two cents. You can check out my podcast to hear how my setup sounds. www.nerdbound.com
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I've used a variety of solutions
You can get a voice recorder for 50 bucks or less - listen to the Little Fears AP to get an idea of what that sounds like
You can also get a boundary mic (also known as a PZM mic) like this http://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Audio-Technica-ATR4697-Boundary-Microphone/4179108/product.html?cid=123620&fp=F&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=12177814
The problem with boundary mics is figuring out a way to convert it to a digital file
The optimal solution for me is a zoom h2 microphone http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodid=1916
It uses standard SD memory cards and records directly to mp3 or wav and best of all - records 360 degrees around the mic and can be set to record human voices at an optimal level while minimizing other sounds
Zoom H2s are are ~150 bucks
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My first handful of recordings were done on an Olympus DS50 I scored on eBay for $65. I'm really surprised by how well that thing did with just the stock mic.
However, I upgraded to Giant Squid's Podcasting mics (http://www.giant-squid-audio-lab.com/gs/gs-podcast_stereo.html) and the difference is amazing. They're worth every penny. I've got them mounted from the ceiling above the gaming table and it's completely eliminated table thumps and dice roll washout. It took some finagling to find the right settings in the DS50 for those mics, but once I found the sweet spot our recording quality went way up. Unfortunately, it was like 10 episodes before I dialed it in.
I'd say you can get away with a cheap recorder provided it A. has enough memory to store decent quality recordings and B. has the option to upgrade the microphones.
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You can squeeze more quality out of a cheaper mike by using some programs if money is an issue for you.
Levelator is amazing for the price (free!) and helps put the quiet people on the same volume as the loud people.
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I just got an H2. Do you have any settings advice? We play on a dining room table. I was thinking 320 or VBR MP3 2 channel or should I go with on of the lower WAV settings? We normally play about 5 hrs, so that is pushing the WAV file size ( although the 16 bit is about 7 hrs on a 4Gb card ).
Any other info would be helpful too.
I am also planning to use it for recording some live music in clubs. Most of that would be of the stealth variety. Have you tried any of that ( I am sure there are lots of setting post on the live music sites but thought I would ask ).
Thanks
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Read the manual to get a basic idea
For RPPR AP I use the following settings - windscreen is on - I use the little screw on stand and place it in the center of the table.
MP3 160 kbps - a $10 dollar 2 gig SD memory card will record 27 hours worth of content at this setting - BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT DELETING FILES OFF A MEMORY CARD - IT IS EASY TO LOSE A RECORDING BY CLEARING A MEMORY CARD YOU DIDN'T BACK UP - I have 4 memory cards that I alternate between - I only delete the one with the oldest recordings when I fill one up.
2 channel 360 degree recording
AGC - Speech 2
Lo cut filter - ON
I plug the H2 into an AC adapter because batteries won't last a 3 hour game - I also set the LED light to ON so I can read the screen easily during a game and make sure it's still recording.
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Can you get one of these H2s in a store like Radio Shack or the like?
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Thanks Ross, I would never have thought of putting the windscreen on. Using your settings will help bring me up to speed fast. I will be trying it out during this weekends game.
Armos, I did not really find any for a reasonable price locally. I ordered it from amazon for $143-ish. I saw it on microcenter.com for $230, which I assumed would be around the price I would find it at the bricks and mortar stores. I did not really look to hard since I frequent amazon a lot and they were competitive with the other online sources. I did try a couple of (small) music stores and did not see one.
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Can you get one of these H2s in a store like Radio Shack or the like?
I've seen them in music stores - they do a great job recording audio - not just speech, but music or whatever. Someday, I'm going to get the Zoom h4 n2 - it has 2 XLR inputs so I can plug the 2 mics I use for RPPR episodes into the recorder directly.
You see, right now the biggest problem to me recording RPPR is laptop fan noise. I record directly to garageband using a macbook pro with an external hd - the problem is that the laptop heats up after all and you can hear the fan noise in the background - I've learned how to minimize it but I can't get rid of it entirely. So when you hear a consistent low level hum on RPPR, that;s the fucking fan.
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I know it's pretty basic stuff, but all this audio lingo makes Ross sound like a technobabbler.
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I recorded last nights session with those settings and it sounds great. I never realized how much we wandered off topic during the game. I think I know why we have trouble finishing adventures in the time I think it would take.
How much editing do you do of the extraneous banter during a game? I know about a 10 minute segment during a smoke break that needs to be taken out, but most of the rest of the conversation is happening during the action.
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edit? hahahahahaha
If we take a break, I stop the recorder.
I don't edit otherwise. That would take far too much work.
I only encode the recording so it's easier to download
I have Final Cut Studio 2 so I take the mp3 and add it as a new sequence - I use FCS because it doesn't freak out over long recordings - most audio editing programs aren't equipped to deal with multi hour mp3s.
Then I export the sequence to compressor
In compressor I lower the kbps to 64 kbps
join stereo
filter 10khz sounds
Then I export it
Takes a few hours for the recording to export
Then I tag the new mp3 in Itunes
Then I ftp it
Then I post it to the AP site.
And now you know.
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God damn, Ross. You must really love us if every single time you post an AP it demands hours of techie labor.
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eh - most of the time is spent encoding so I don't have to do anything - just wait for the encoding to finish.
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The computer compiles over time hours, he doesn't do it manually. If his processor is good enough he doesn't even have to stop using the computer while it works. Each AP could be concieved as a background to Ross trolling RPG.net and looking for zombie stuff.
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The computer compiles over time hours, he doesn't do it manually. If his processor is good enough he doesn't even have to stop using the computer while it works. Each AP could be concieved as a background to Ross trolling RPG.net and looking for zombie stuff.
Ross has something like eight computers that are all running simultaneously doing different tasks. I'm surprised he doesn't blow more fuses than he does. ::)
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And now you know.
And knowing is half the battle!
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And now you know.
And knowing is half the battle!
G.I. JOE!!!!!!!!!!!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXQbBf-U6_8&feature=related)
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The computer compiles over time hours, he doesn't do it manually. If his processor is good enough he doesn't even have to stop using the computer while it works. Each AP could be concieved as a background to Ross trolling RPG.net and looking for zombie stuff.
Ross has something like eight computers that are all running simultaneously doing different tasks. I'm surprised he doesn't blow more fuses than he does. ::)
I have a macbook pro and my new PC. The other computers are all old pieces of shit (and my brother's old comp) that I don't even have plugged in. So when shit is encoding on the mac, I use the PC.
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AKA Play Mass Effect 2!
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I have a macbook pro and my new PC. The other computers are all old pieces of shit (and my brother's old comp) that I don't even have plugged in. So when shit is encoding on the mac, I use the PC.
AKA Play Mass Effect 2!
They are pretty much synonyms.
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advice on podcasting in general - they recommend the zoom h2 as well http://rooreynolds.com/2010/02/13/making-a-podcast-some-notes-and-observations/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rooreynolds%2Fwhatsnext+%28What%27s+Next%3F+Roo+Reynolds%29
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I bought a Zoom H2 a while back and have found it to be incredibly fucking useful. Not only is it super convenient with its size (just plop the thing in the middle of the table during game sessions and forget about it), but the recording quality is excellent for interviews using all four mics (couple that with Levelator and you sound absolutely pro) or recording instruments with the forward ones.
I have a few actual plays recorded (just first sessions and they never went anywhere, so they'll never see the light of day), as well as some guitar jam sessions with my dad and I (we're big blues fans). Now that I think about it, if anyone (Ross) wants to write the lyrics for "The Roleplayin' Blues" I'd record it 8).
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(apparently I enjoy parentheses)
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(apparently I enjoy parentheses)
And double posting. ::)
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And accidentally clicking on Quote instead of Modify and not realizing until it's too late, and then having to salvage a retard move into something moderately acceptable since there is no way to delete my post.
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And accidentally clicking on Quote instead of Modify and not realizing until it's too late, and then having to salvage a retard move into something moderately acceptable since there is no way to delete my post.
I'm just giving you hell. Everyone on this forum double posts at least once a week. 8)
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your mom is a double post
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your mom is a double post
My father was a double post, sir!
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MY mom is a double post
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your mom is a double post
My father was a double post, sir!
Too bad he smelt of elderberries.
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I have been listening to the show and the New World Campaign, and I want to start recording some actual plays with my group and maybe start a little podcast of my own. I want to also see if I can have a mobile way to record at Origins this year if I end up attending.
So the question is, what equipment should I invest in? I heard something about the Zoom H2, is that a good starter mic/recorder? I don't have a huge budget, but I want something functional.
Thanks!
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Hey folks. While you guys have the luxury of a regular group of gaming buddies you can get round a table my access is rather patchy at the moment. However I have started using Skype as a means to this end and it works really well. I'm tempted to start recording the sessions and was curious how one would do that on the same laptop as the conversation is occurring.
I know this isn't exactly what you guys are doing but I'm not very tech savvy and will take all advice.
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Hey folks. While you guys have the luxury of a regular group of gaming buddies you can get round a table my access is rather patchy at the moment. However I have started using Skype as a means to this end and it works really well. I'm tempted to start recording the sessions and was curious how one would do that on the same laptop as the conversation is occurring.
I know this isn't exactly what you guys are doing but I'm not very tech savvy and will take all advice.
Ross and I are puzzling over this very issue. There are different plug-ins available for Skype you might try. You could try using a combination of Audacity and Skype (google around for tips), but Ross says that he's had problems recording more than an hour on Audacity.
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I have had the same problem multiple times with Audacity. The Skype solutions suck. The only thing I have found to work is using SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder. The Rogue Trader games on NerdBound are recorded using the software. It's very stable and other than Skype cutting out, it hasn't failed yet. It can be tricky to work out the kinks as to which program is started first and what settings you have in place. But it's the only way I can have my out-of-town group members play. No I don't work for NCH. I just love their recording products.
http://www.nch.com.au/soundtap/index.html (http://www.nch.com.au/soundtap/index.html)
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I have had the same problem multiple times with Audacity. The Skype solutions suck. The only thing I have found to work is using SoundTap Streaming Audio Recorder. The Rogue Trader games on NerdBound are recorded using the software. It's very stable and other than Skype cutting out, it hasn't failed yet. It can be tricky to work out the kinks as to which program is started first and what settings you have in place. But it's the only way I can have my out-of-town group members play. No I don't work for NCH. I just love their recording products.
http://www.nch.com.au/soundtap/index.html (http://www.nch.com.au/soundtap/index.html)
I assume you can run this through Levelator once recorded?
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Yep. It just records as a .wav or .mp3 depending on what format you want to record in. I record as .wav, do all my editing, then convert to .mp3 at the very end. I don't think it makes much difference though.
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Yep. It just records as a .wav or .mp3 depending on what format you want to record in. I record as .wav, do all my editing, then convert to .mp3 at the very end. I don't think it makes much difference though.
Nice, I'll have to bounce this off of Ross. We're looking for a way not only to record games, but to do some promos for Zombies of the World.
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If you want an audio program that I think is almost as robust as Audacity (and free), you can check out NCH's WavePad Audio Editor which is completely free. The only thing it can't do without paying for the upgrade is add audio tags. However, you can just go to iTunes and edit them there. I still only use the free version of WavePad to record and edit my regular game sessions. SoundTap has been perfect for the Skype games. Hope it helps.
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Zoom H2 is the best solution for recording tabletop games.
Audio Hijack Pro is a great solution for recording Skype on Mac http://rogueamoeba.com/audiohijack/
I'll look into PC solutions
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Thank you everyone for the quick and informative replies. In all honesty I had done very little research into it bar hearing the woes of a fellow Skype gamer on getting it to work. I'll test out the free software this weekend and get back to you then.
Edit: Ok had the guy that related his woes to me try it (Soundtap) out. Apparently every 10 seconds it cuts out your own audio and replaces it with "Please Purchase Soundtap". I should of stated that really a free solution is the best one at the moment.
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Off topic but whenever I'm listening to an actual play and I hear someone say, "Yeah, but Ross will probably edit this out." And Ross responds, "Yeah, edit... :-\" I just laugh.
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hahaha, I can't remember when anyone said that in any of the posted games.
Editing takes work so fuck that.
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I think it was one of the convention games. I don't remember which one or what was exactly said, but the game was just getting off topic and somebody said something along the lines of, "I hope this gets edited out."
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Sorry Dogfish, I should have let you know you actually had to buy SoundTap. The audio overlay on the free one is INSANE. Definitely my bad on that one.
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I recorded the sessions I was in of the nerdbound Rogue Trader games with MP3 Skype Recorder (http://voipcallrecording.com/). It's free and very very stable. Only downside I've found is it only records to mp3 format, but in my opinion the sound quality is just fine.
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http://www.powergramo.com/download.htm
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http://www.powergramo.com/download.htm
Since it's only free for trial, what version do you think will work best when the trial runs out?
NEED MOAR INFO ROSS OTHER THAN LINK. :-\
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I recorded the sessions I was in of the nerdbound Rogue Trader games with MP3 Skype Recorder (http://voipcallrecording.com/). It's free and very very stable. Only downside I've found is it only records to mp3 format, but in my opinion the sound quality is just fine.
I got talking to the guy that does recording and he currently uses this however what has prompted him to start looking again is because it's not stable. It sometimes won't start recording, record only to be played through one 'side' and a few other minor hiccups.
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If people are interested, I just finished spending about 2-3 hours tweaking and internet searching to find a way to record Skype games for free (on Mac). I am fairly certain I will be able to record everything and the only final editing will be to lay my personal audio over all the other players. It involves 3-4 programs, but I'm pretty sure it works and I'll let you know how well after I finish the game.
Just thought I'd throw this up as it seems that there was never a real definitive answer.
Programs used:
2 audio recording programs (I am going to use Audacity (free) and GarageBand (I got it with my computer, but any other program you can find that will record audio would probably work))
Soundflower
LineIn
I don't know how much of this knowledge would carry over to Windows, but regardless I would be more than happy to help others set things up and get it all squared away.
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Hey guys,
Since I got such great advice about what microphone to get for my podcast (love my BLUE SNOWBALL), I thought I would ask you guys what is a good replacement for audacity. I have had a few good sessions of my actual play podcast with audacity, but after crashing a couple of times, I think it might be time to upgrade. Should I upgrade to a paid program or stick with audacity because there isn't anything else thats much better. If I should upgrade, what program would you guys recommend. Thanks in advance.
- Arvandus
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Hey guys,
Since I got such great advice about what microphone to get for my podcast (love my BLUE SNOWBALL), I thought I would ask you guys what is a good replacement for audacity. I have had a few good sessions of my actual play podcast with audacity, but after crashing a couple of times, I think it might be time to upgrade. Should I upgrade to a paid program or stick with audacity because there isn't anything else thats much better. If I should upgrade, what program would you guys recommend. Thanks in advance.
- Arvandus
I use a digital field recorder because it goes straight to memory card and doesn't crash. The problem isn't the software per se - recording more than an hour of audio is taxing on a system. It's more likely that your computer simply runs out of memory after X amount of time.
Try recording in 1 hour segments - stop every hour to save and start a new file
upgrade your ram
I use garageband for recording standard episodes of RPPR but that's mac only.
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I use a digital field recorder because it goes straight to memory card and doesn't crash. The problem isn't the software per se - recording more than an hour of audio is taxing on a system. It's more likely that your computer simply runs out of memory after X amount of time.
Try recording in 1 hour segments - stop every hour to save and start a new file
upgrade your ram
I use garageband for recording standard episodes of RPPR but that's mac only.
Thanks for the advice.
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I use a digital field recorder because it goes straight to memory card and doesn't crash. The problem isn't the software per se - recording more than an hour of audio is taxing on a system. It's more likely that your computer simply runs out of memory after X amount of time.
Try recording in 1 hour segments - stop every hour to save and start a new file
upgrade your ram
I use garageband for recording standard episodes of RPPR but that's mac only.
Dammit Ross, you jinxed me! I had managed to record all of my games without any problems using Audacity, and the day you mention this is the first day it crashes.
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(http://imgur.com/9joQX.jpg)
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Sorry to res this thread but I thought I'd give my 2 cents.
I use an Olympus WS-110 digital voice recorder and have since 2009. It uses a single AAA battery which lives about 8 to 10 hours and picks up voices very well. It also has a usb jack built right in that can be hooked to the usb port on my computer to download the information quickly and easily. If anyone is interested in the quality of the recordings, some of the sessions I've recorded can be found here:
http://www.zanysite.com/maxwriter/
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Okay, this might be a bit off-topic/unrelated by now, but has anyone considered setting up an Audio Out cable on the computer that's running Skype, and connecting it to some sort of external recorder? Solves the memory issues pretty handily.
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I've essentially done this, but with programs on my computer. The problem is that it would still require patching together two audio tracks...
Though I just realized that in the future (because i have two computers), I might have one just sit in the call to record...
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Hey,
I recorded a game with my ipad2 and can only export it to my pc as a .caf file. What software is recommended to get it to mp3 so I can cut it up / edit it?
Mahalo
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http://www.bigasoft.com/articles/how-to-convert-caf-audio.html
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Thanks Ross.
So I got the software and converted/cut up the file. However now I'm having some trouble with the FTP.
I'm using FileZilla since I can't get Cyberduck/FireFTp because either I don't have a legal copy of an OS or it just won't work with Firefox. Anyway, I created an account with the AP site. When I attempt to connect with the FTP I get the following error.
Protocol error: Unknown protocol identifier (0x50 0x50 0x48). Most likely connected to the wrong port.
Connection to server closed.
For the port I put in: 21
for the address i put in: ftp.slangdesign.com
for the password i put in: RPPRis#1
mahalo
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are you using rpprupload@slangdesign.com as the username?
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won't give me a username option
scratch that program, onto SmartFTP. I think this one will work.
-- edit
Currently the log window says it can't check the file extension (which is mp3) and is adding it to the transfer queue.
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I know it's beat to death, but if anyone was interested in other recording options, my group and I just started using the Sony ICD SX712 (http://www.abt.com/product/53635/Sony-ICDSX712.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=froogle&gclid=CMjljOGftq0CFWg0QgodkzzalQ (http://www.abt.com/product/53635/Sony-ICDSX712.html?utm_source=scfroogle&utm_medium=sc&utm_campaign=froogle&gclid=CMjljOGftq0CFWg0QgodkzzalQ)). It is a small portable MP3 recorded with a dual surround sound mic. The sound quality is pretty good, it records for up to 13 hours with 2 AAA batteries that last about 8 hours. Once the files are recorded, it easily uploads to my lap top computer where I edit the tracks instantly using Garage Band. Check out my groups Live Play podcasts on iTunes to see a sample of the sound, search for: This Quest Sucks! Gaming Podcast. The podcasts I'm currently uploading are from our Gamma World sessions! :)
(You can also check out a sample on the RSS feed here: http://tmcd.podbean.com/2011/10/09/this-quest-sucks-presents-gamma-world-drones-clones-and-armored-automobiles-episode-1-part-1/ (http://tmcd.podbean.com/2011/10/09/this-quest-sucks-presents-gamma-world-drones-clones-and-armored-automobiles-episode-1-part-1/)
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Update on recording
I use a zoom h2n in 2 channel 360 degree recording mode, set to record to .wav. I then use levelator on the wav file then compress the output file into a mp3, using the same settings in Final Cut Pro as I have always done.
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More details on Zoom H2n settings
I use uncompressed (.wav) on 2 channel 360 degree (the control on the top of the mic) Lo-Cut ON, COMP 2 (VOCAL) for comp/limiter, auto gain off. I then use Levelator on the source audio file http://web.archive.org/web/20130729204551id_/http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator/ (http://web.archive.org/web/20130729204551id_/http://www.conversationsnetwork.org/levelator/)
Then I encode the wav file to a 64kbps mono mp3. You can use any number of programs to do that. Audacity is free. Sometimes I use Audacity for noise removal as well.
I use a 32 gig sd card - that gets over 50 hours of wav file recording. I never reuse sd cards because they're pretty cheap.
BTW you can use a USB battery pack to power a zoom h2n - put in the standard batteries so it accurately time stamps files though.
I also use a foam windscreen.