Tuesday, October 28, 2003

The Secret To Streaming MP3 Files For Dial-Up Users

Some people look at audio on a web site as a passing fad --
after all, if it was really all that useful, why did it just
recently become popular?

The fact that audio can increase sales and sign-ups isn't
disputed by savvy marketers, but until recently the
technology wasn't cheap enough or easy enough for a "normal"
person to deploy streaming audio. It used to take a special
server and more fiddling than a lot of people were willing
to do.

And then Macromedia Flash version 6 came on the scene and
introduced the ability to stream MP3 audio files from a
normal server. Soon after that several solutions came on the
market that gave everyone the ability to stream audio.

So, it's all good, right? Well, not exactly. Since using
audio is a new thing for most marketers there's some
confusion about how to record the audio files, what size
they should be, etc.

In my communications with people who are putting audio on
their web sites the most common question is, "How can I
create a sound file that even dial-up users can hear without
lots of stops and starts?"

The stuttering that dial-up users are subjected to is a
result of two factors. First, they're on a slow line and
things just aren't going to come across as quickly. Second,
audio files that are recorded at a high bit-rate require a
high bandwidth connection. Either everyone needs DSL or
better (yeah, right!) or you need to create an audio file
that's much smaller in size.

So let's look at ways to do that. Note: there are about as
many audio editing programs out there as stars in the sky,
so the following won't be step-by-step instructions. But the
info should get you close enough to make the right choices
in the software you're using.

There are two options you're going to want to tweak. They're
typically called "sample rate" and "bit rate." The sample
rate numbers will usually be followed by the letters Hz or
kHz and range from about 8000 (or 8 if the info is in kHz)
to 44100 (or 44.1 kHz). Bit rate numbers are usually
followed by the letters kbps and will typically range from 8
or 16 up to 196 or even higher. (If you see just two or
three options, 8, 16, and possibly 32, that's not the
parameter we care about).

For CD quality audio you'd want a sample rate of 44,100 Hz
but since voice can get by with so much less, set your
sample rate to 11,025 Hz (or 11.025 kHz). And most people
listening to music want their bit rate set to at least 128
kbps, but for voice work we can go much lower. And, if we
want dial-up people to be happy, we have to go very low.

Try setting your bit rate to 16kbps and see if you're
satisfied with the result. If not, try 32kbps and so on, up
until you are happy. Just remember, every step you take up
the ladder means more dial-up people won't have a smooth
audio stream. Folks with faster dial-up connections should
get 32kbps sound with little trouble -- but if the sound
quality of a 16kbps file floats your boat, then go with
that. Just about everyone should be happy in that case.

It might take an afternoon of tweaking with your audio
software to get comfortable with it the first time, but
after that you'll be able to crank out audio files as
easily as you crank out word processor docs.

If you haven't made the move to using audio on your web site
yet, go ahead and give it a shot. There are many great
reasons to use it, and now that you know how to create audio
files that even dial-up users can experience, there are
fewer reasons not to.

=====================================================
Jay Jennings is the developer behind the Sonic Memo
sound utility and runs an email list that includes
different ways webmasters/marketers can profit with
audio-based products and projects.
=====================================================


 


7:31:58 PM  #