Steven S. Ross

I recently watched a great preso that was targeted for those that do podcast interviews but, those just looking to get good Skype calls may want to read on as well. First go get the latest version of Skype . You need at version 3.2 or higher (PC) or 2.6 or higher (Mac). This is because you need the latest high quality codec (I’m assuming you upgrade apps on a regular basis so thats not included in the steps below). The gist of it is that you should do the following:

1. Make sure you are using a USB headset on both ends and you position the headset’s mic above your nose (this keeps breathing sounds out of your recording but, keeps the mic close enough to get a good recording). USB provides a higher quality recording and produces less frequency noise than the standard headphone jack.
2. Port forward the Skype packets through your router to the computer on your network that is running Skype (you can get the port number from the advanced option in Skype’s preferences).
3. Shut down anything that is using CPU or bandwidth. iTunes, IM clients, anything that is robbing your machine of its bandwidth or speed. iTunes is the greatest offender.
4. Use the Skype profiler (options > advanced > “Display technical call info”). The mac will show a new window but the PC requires you hover over an empty area in the Skype application window (during a call).
5. Record your Skype incoming audio to a separate channel in RAW format so you can edit them individually. Only distribute files as mp3 don’t record mp3 due to it being a compressed / lossy format. This part requires a few more steps and some extra software. For the mac use “Audio Hijack Pro” for the pc use “Callburner”.

If you need the detailed info on how to record multiple channels go watch the end of the preso here (you can skip to parts of the preso using the right arrow on the video player). Skip to the part that is titled “Audio Hijack Pro” or “Recording Windows”: http://www.blogarithms.com/index.php/archives/2007/12/23/skype-for-interviews/

Happy Skyping.