VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

Hart · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 7:39 pm Post subject:

With Audition 2.0 and 3.0 presumably (although I haven't yet upgraded) you get expanded space that you can customize over the two monitors. I love it since I produce too. You get your standard editing screen or multi track screen on one monitor and then an array of tools on the other such as the mixer, frequency space analysis, phase analysis etc, It's easier to me as well when working with video, which I don't do very often but it does come up for small projects or family stuff.

For voice recording purposes I would love being able to have Audition open on one monitor and either Word or a webpage with my script on the other. I do this when I produce sometimes too so I can refer to it (I'll put the script on the same monitor as the mixer etc). Gee, maybe I need a three monitor setup.

Anyway, if I recorded at my desk I'd love it. If I could invent a portable noise cancellation device that would fit over my 15 month old I would record at my desk. Wink

_________________
Hart Voice Overs Blog
Brian Hart Productions

louzucaro · Posted: Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject:

Jowillie, usually it's a function of the video card where it can either duplicate the primary display on the 2nd, or extend the primary onto the second.

So in the 2nd scenario, if you have two displays running at 1680 x 1050, they would be extended horizontally, so you'd have 3360 x 1050 worth of desktop space between the two displays on which to put windows from any and all programs you're working in.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

georgethetech · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:28 pm Post subject:

Whatever desktop PC you go for, make sure that it is:
1- quiet (BTX style cases are nice)
2- Running Windows XP!! Vista is pretty, but still not ready for prime time. Service Pack 1 MIGHT help (rolling out now), or... might not. Spent hours at a client's the other day working out "bugs" right out of the box with his fancy new HP-Vista machine from Costco.
3- Since multitrack recording looks like a requirement for the band, try the M-Audio Delta 1010. PCI, been around a while, and it is reliable (and can run all the DAWs PLUS Pro Tools with Pro Tools M-Powered)

Good luck!
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

jrodriguez315 · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:03 pm Post subject:

It's been my experience that Laptops need to be replaced more often than desktops. They have a much greater tendency to be dropped from a significant height, stolen at an airport or sat on by someone heavy.

Just saying.
_________________
Joe Rodriguez, Bilingual Voice Actor | The Voiceover Thespian Blog

bobsouer · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:06 pm Post subject:

louzucaro · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:52 pm Post subject:

I know many, many people love to talk about how Vista is trouble...I cannot disagree more. Now, granted, I don't use it for my DAW at the moment, but I have it running on several machines, all of which work fine. My mom runs it. My dad runs it. A v.o. friend of mine uses it on her laptop DAW. Nobody's had any issues with crashing, weird compatibility issues or anything that I'm aware (and trust me, in my family, I'd be aware Frown

).

I honestly cannot guess what all the "Vista is trouble" is about.

This post isn't intended to start any type of "which Windows is better" discussion, only to illustrate that not only does everybody not have trouble with Vista, but that I don't know ANYbody, personally, who's had trouble with it.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

RayAnime · Posted: Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:41 pm Post subject:

The technical stuff makes my head spin a little but, but for what it's worth I really enjoy my MacBook Pro laptop . . .

I think the main factors to consider beyond the technical specs in the laptop vs. desktop debate are how much you'd realistically travel with your computer and how much space you have at home. I live in NYC (hence, limited space) and drag my computer everywhere so a laptop is perfect for me. That being said, if I ever have the space for a desktop, I'd love to have both!

Something else to consider: you could get the desktop you want and then get a refurbished or older laptop for traveling. You can find perfectly good used laptops for a few hundred dollars online, and if you only need it for recording, emailing and performing other routine functions on the road it probably doesn't have to be the newest thing on the market--plus if you drop it or it gets stolen, or even if it stops working after a little while it won't be a big deal.

As far as Mac vs. PC, I can't really weigh in on the PC side since I haven't consistently used them in a long time, but I can share some of my experiences with Macs.

I do freelance graphic design and that community is very Mac-based, so I can admit I'm biased--I love the operating system because I feel like it's easy to navigate & clean-looking, and if you choose an iMac as your desktop they're beautifully self-contained (but the Mac Pro, where the real memory & speed is, is a tower--and I believe they're actually cheaper than a comparably configured Dell machine). And yes, I'm also swayed by the fact that Macs are just nice to look at Smile

I know plenty of people who think the Mac OS complicates simple functions and much prefer the PC, but I personally love OSX and find it incredibly intuitive & easy to use.

As far as technical support, I've found Apple's customer service to be very good, but I don't know if it's just because I live so close to a Mac store. I'm probably spoiled here in NYC--if I ever have a problem I can just head over to the 24-hour Mac store and drop my machine off. I recently needed a new hard drive and I got my computer back in less than a day (plus the repair was under warranty so I didn't have to pay anything). Maybe it's different if you actually have to send it away, but anyway I've had great experiences with them.

If you ARE near a Mac store and you the kind of person who likes a lot of support at your fingertips, that might be a factor to consider in your Mac vs. PC decision, as in addition to the convenience of walking in and dropping off your computer directly with a Mac specialist, they also offer a ton of free workshops on everything from getting started on a Mac to using GarageBand & other programs, and for $99 a year you can sign up for one-to-one training--basically you can go in up to once a week for a full year and get a private 1 hour lesson on anything Mac-related that you want to know (and they often know about non-Apple programs like Photoshop as well). For me, it's nice to know there's this whole "hub" completely dedicated to Macs right nearby, vs. going to a store that sells everything under the sun to deal with my computer questions/problems or having to call a website's customer support line for help. Maybe there is something like this available for PCs as well, and I'm just not aware of it (I bought my last PC in '98, so I'm definitely out of the loop). I know Best Buy has the "Geek Squad," which I hear is very good for PC repairs, but I don't know if you have to pay for that service or how it works.

Anyway, my roommate loves her PC so I really do think it comes down to personal preference . . . I just figured I'd share some of my experiences as a Mac user.

Good luck in your quest and keep us posted--I'd love to know what you end up with!!

georgethetech · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:26 pm Post subject:

RayAnime:
That was very nicely written and I couldn't have said it better myself. I currently I have a client with an older Dell running Windows XP and a new HP running Vista tearing his hair out over all sorts of silly issues. I used DOS/Windows machines exclusively since 1988, and 2 years ago made the switch to Mac and not looking back, although part of my job is to continue supporting my clients' Windows machines.
_________________
If it sounds good, it is good.
George Whittam
GeorgeThe.Tech
424-226-8528
VOBS.TV Co-host
TheProAudioSuite.com Co-host
TriBooth.com Co-founder

Jeffrey Kafer · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject:

My Atari 800 still serves me well.
_________________
Jeff
http://JeffreyKafer.com
Voice-overload Web comic: http://voice-overload.com

TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:12 pm Post subject:

Jeff,

.gif" alt="W00T" border="0" /> W00T

.gif" alt="W00T" border="0" />
_________________
Try to imagine a world where there is no such thing as hypothetical situations.

The Voice of Bob

georgethetech · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:26 pm Post subject:

louzucaro · Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

In the second half of the '80s, a friend and I used to go to Woodfield Mall to the Schaak Electronics store, where they had some garage-brand "microcomputer" that had speech recognition as part of its software package.

Like most early vorec software, you had to train it, and this one was interesting in that you only had to train it to say about half a dozen color names, and then there were nested menus where each menu item could be selected by saying the color next to it.

So, since we were bored and obnoxious high school kids, we'd go in and while nobody was looking, we'd re-train the computer but with gross mispronunciations of the colors.

We changed "cyan" to "cyANNNNNNNNNNNN" and "purple" to "PUHHHHHHHpil" and "magenta" to "maGEN-TAAAAAAA" etc. etc.

The first time we did it, I think it stayed "broken" for about three weeks. Finally somebody there must have figured out how to get to the re-training bit and they re-trained it with more normal-sounding color names. Oh well.
_________________
Lou Zucaro
http://www.voicehero.com

"Well, yeah, there's my favorite leaf!"

Donna · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:44 pm Post subject:

Hi everybody!
Glad to see the discussion continues. Lots of good points.
I haven't been around much because we're dealing with a little too much water here right now--120 horses evacuated, the 40 or so left behind are kinda nervous-- but it looks like the water is already receding and normality will be restored soon.
And then ... back to shopping!

Deirdre · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:

I love Donna for using the word "Normality".
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

Diane Maggipinto · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:10 pm Post subject:

AND she's got a llama for an avatar (at this time stamp ...) !
_________________
sitting at #8, though not as present as I'd like to be. Hello!

www.d3voiceworks.com