MobileViews.com Podcast

MobileViews Mini-Podcast 50: Walter Eccles - intersection of technology & the performing arts. Testing Decibel Meter & Wireless Lav Mics

I'm joined by a former colleague (prior to my retirement), Walter Eccles, for this podcast. Although I've known him as a technologist over the past decade or so, I learned about his involvement in local theater and TV in various capacities including acting. In this podcast, we discuss the intersection of technology in the performing arts in his decades of activities.

 

We recorded this podcast in the Fête restaurant during lunch so I could test both a new Decibel Meter and a  new set of wireless lavalier microphones. The lav's receiver was connected to an iPhone using a USB-C cable and recorded using the Just Press Record app. Although the lav mic system has a built-in noise reduction setting, I left this off to allow me more post-production granular control. This resulted in what I consider a very good voice recording of our conversation. However, I decided to post-process using  Adobe Podcast Studio at 75% enhancement to reduce the background restaurant sounds and music.

Google NotebookLM audio summary of MobileViews Podcast 544

This is a roughly 9 minute long audio summary of MobileViews Podcast 544 recorded by Jon Westfall and me today. It was created by feeding the full roughly 50 minute long podcast to Google NotebookLM and using its Audio Summary feature to create a podcast discussion.

MobileViews Mini-podcast 49: Google NotebookLM synthetic podcasting

The first podcast section was recorded outdoors to test the iRay DW40 4-channel wireless lavalier microphone kit.

The second section was generated by Google NotebookLM's Audio Overview feature to create a synthetic podcast-like discussion using text-based source material. For this example, I wrote a text discussing three of my 2024 tech grievances (with a nod to Seinfeld's Festivus). A PDF of this text was uploaded to NotebookLM as a source document.

 

In the first section I mentioned testing the relatively new NotebookLM Audio Overview "chat" feature which lets you (the human) interject into the synthetic podcasters' ongoing discussion and have "them" respond to the newly introduced material. Unfortunately, it turns out that the audio file saved only included the originally created audio summary. I'll use an external recording setup to record my next attempt to use this feature to create a longer Airing of Tech Grievances for a full podcast that will include grievances from several friends.

There were a couple of spots where the synth-podcasters misinterpreted what I wrote in the source document (mild "hallucinations"). However, overall, I'm impressed by NotebookLM"s podcast output.

MobileViews mini-podcast 47: Testing the iOS 18.1 iPhone Call Recording feature

MobileViews mini-podcast 47 is a 2 minute recording testing the new iOS 18.1 Phone Call Recording feature. It is an iPhone to iPhone call. I used the 15 Pro Max's built-in microphone to while Jon Westfall used the iPods Pro 2 mic. At the start of the recording both Jon and I heard a low volume "This call will be recorded" message.Duirng the call recording my display showed an audio volume graph, call duration, and a red button to stop recording without dropping the voice call. Despite also using an iPhone on his side, Jon did not see any recording indication after the brief start of call notification.

After the recording was stopped, an M4A audio file and an embedded text transcript was saved to the iOS Notes app. The transcript identifies the called party (Jon Westfall).

MobileViews Mini-podcast 44: Initial attempt to use Google Meet to record a podcast

Paul Lawler helped me test using Google Meet to record a podcast using its built-in recording feature. It was supposed to be a 3 to 5 minute effort. Unfortunately, one of the extensions in Google Chrome blocked video from me and audio from Paul to me. Fortunately, it occured to me to run Google Meet in a Chrome Incognito window which would not have any extensions. This worked. However, we noticed well into the mini-podcast recording session that Paul's video was not transmitting. This was fixed by his turnng video on his end off and then back on.

This was not exactly a frictionless exercise. Fortunately, it was a valuable learning exercise. We also discussed the friction involved in using Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Apple Facetime, Descript, Riverside.fm, and Adobe Podcast Studio beta to record podcasts with remote participants.

MobileViews Mini-podcast 43: Testing Moana wireless lav mic; April 8 total eclipse

In this mini-podcast I'm joined by frequent guest co-host Paul Lawler. We recorded this in-person in a busy restaurant named "Loco Moco" while eating lunch to test the Maono wireless lavalier microphone pair with a USB-C receiver. This mic set has built-in noise reduction which I augmented by post-processing it using Adobe Podcast Enhance set at 50% enhancement. Also included/spliced in are a few seconds of raw audio from a standalone voice recorder to give an idea of the ambient noise level in the restaurant during the podcasting session.

Paul (an avid amateur astronomer) provides information about the upcoming total eclipse on April 8, 2024 and the unfortunate news that we, in Hawaii, will not see much of this eclipse (17% obscuration). We also discuss some of his recent 3D printing efforts. One of his projects, an old style UK Police Box, bears a strong resemblance to an important object in one of our mutual favorite TV series: the BBC's Doctor Who.

MobileViews mini-podcast 42: AR/VR smartglasses discussion with Jared Kuroiwa

In this mini-podcast, guest co-host Jared Kuroiwa and I bought lunch from Drip Studio HNL. in downtown Honolulu.

Jared demoed what seemed like every augmented, virtual, and audio smart glasses except the Apple Vision Pro. We discussed the pros and cons of these much more affordable smart glasses (compared to the Vision Pro).

We also discussed some of the announcements from CES 2024.

MobileViews/MobileFoods mini-podcast 41: Testing three microphones for field podcasting with Paul Lawler

Todd Ogasawara is joined by guest co-host Paul Lawler to test three microphones to record an in-person podcast in a busy and noisy restaurant.

• iPhone 15 Pro Max built-in microphone
• Richchip Bluetooth wireless microphone connected to an iPhone 15 Pro Max
• Nearstream wireless lavalier pair of microphones connected to a Google Pixel 7a

During this mini-podcast, they also discuss Paul's 3D printing and Adobe Podcast Enhance.

MobileViews Mini-Podcast 38: Absgeega wireless lav mic test with an iPad mini 6

The earlier Absgeega wireless lavalier mic I bought worked well with Android devices. However, when using an iPhone or iPad, the recorded volume was extremely low. After noting this in a 3-star Amazon review, Absgeega contacted me and offered a refund. However, since I was able to use it to record in-person podcasts using an Android-based Pixel 7a, I turned down that offer. They then offered to send a newer model after it became available. The Absgeega K61 appeared a few days ago. This mini-podcast was recorded outdoors using it with an iPad mini 6 and an audio recording app named Just Press Record.

MobileViews mini-podcast 37 part B: Wireless lavalier mic outdoor recording test with Paul Lawler

In this podcast Todd Ogasawara and Paul Lawler recorded a podcast outdoors using a pair of wireless lav microphones connected to a Google Pixel 7a Android smartphone and Google's Recorder app. This very brief (just over a minute) mini-podcast was recorded while walking outdoors. In Part A, both Todd and Paul were sitting outdoors.