[Speex-dev] How to get podcasters to adopt Speex?

[Andras Kadinger]

Absolutely not! Use 16 bit wherever you can!

Your sampling rates are however correct.

George Ou wrote:
> Ok here is something I couldn't see on the description page.  We need to
> convert to 8 bit audio right?  I'm assuming narrow band is 8 KHz 8 bit.
> Wide band is 16 KHz 8 bit.  UW band is 32 KHz 8 bit audio?
>
>
> George 
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tom Grandgent [mailto:tgrand at canvaslink.com] 
> Sent: Tuesday, October 03, 2006 11:42 AM
> To: Bertie Coopersmith; George Ou
> Cc: speex-dev at xiph.org
> Subject: Re: [Speex-dev] How to get podcasters to adopt Speex?
>
> Please consider using 16-bit 16kHz (wideband) instead.  It's a huge increase
> in audio quality and the bitrate is still very low, especially if you take
> advantage of Speex features such as VBR.
>
> 8kHz seems totally inappropriate to me for desktop streaming audio, let
> alone 8-bit samples.  Or perhaps your recording equipment is an original
> Sound Blaster from 1989?  (Even that could record at 12kHz.)
>
> People often tell me how amazed they are with the audio quality of my VoIP
> software based on Speex, compared to other VoIP software they've used.  What
> amazes me is how low most people's standards are when it comes to sampling
> rates.  I don't think 16kHz is that much to ask.  And yes, I'm talking about
> SPEECH and not audio in general.
>
> Of course, sometimes there are legitimate reasons to use 8kHz.  I'm just
> saying, try to make sure the sacrifice in quality is not in vain.
>
> Tom
>
> Bertie Coopersmith <bertie at coopersmith.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>   
>> If its just speech that you're after, why not narrowband (8kHZ) speex. 
>> I have found that to be perfectly adequate at about a seven'th of the 
>> file size of a typical (music quality) MP3.
>>
>> The other good thing is that neither server nor client needs to bother 
>> with streaming software or streaming protocol - http will do. I need 
>> this because my web host does not allow user-supplied server software on
>>     
> its free web pages.
>   
>> I just upload my .spx files (mono,8-bit samples, 8000 samples/sec, 
>> 8KHz). which may have originated from various sources: Live recording,
>>     
> radio, TV, or Web.
>   
>> My listening audience consists of family and friends, small in number 
>> but spread over 4 continents. At the crudest level they can do a 
>> binary download and convert to .wav with speexdec (speexdec.exe in the 
>> case of Windows). However, they can also play direct to a unix/linux 
>> client by means of curl url | speexdec - where the url string is 
>> http...spx . In the case of Windows XP this becomes curl.exe url | 
>> speexdec.exe -
>>
>> I've elaborated this into a .cmd script which obviates the need to 
>> enter a long url plus filename and also, it displays a companion .txt 
>> file while playing the .spx:-
>>
>> @echo off
>> rem   Play a speex (.spx) file on 
>> rem   Bertie's website. If there is a companion .txt
>> rem   file, display it while playing the .spx.
>>
>> cd c:\...\wbin
>> rem  In this directory you keep, amongst other things,  
>> rem   the win32 executables known as Unix utilities.
>> rem   In particular this script depends on curl.exe,
>> rem   speexdec.exe, sed.exe, fgrep.exe, cat.exe,
>> rem   echo.exe, tr.exe and nl.exe.
>>
>> rem  delete scratch files left over from a previous run:- del /q spxt* 
>> sndt*  txtt*
>>
>> set url=http://www.coopersmith.demon.co.uk
>> echo Speex audio files on %url%:
>> echo -----------------------------
>>
>> rem remove the html tags
>> curl -s %url% | sed -e "s+</A>++" -e "s/^.*>//" > spxt2
>>
>> fgrep -c .spx spxt2 > nul || goto nospx echo ---------- Speex files 
>> ------------------- fgrep .spx spxt2 | nl echo 
>> ------------------------------------------
>> set /p num=Enter the number of the one to play and press SEND:
>> echo.
>> fgrep .spx spxt2 | sed -n %num%p > spxt3 echo.exe  -n "curl -f %url%/" 
>>     
>>> sndtout1 cat sndtout1 spxt3 >sndtout.cmd sed  -e s/-f/-fs/ -e 
>>>       
>> s/\.spx/.txt/  sndtout.cmd > txttout.cmd
>>
>> txttout | more
>> pause
>> sndtout | speexdec -
>> exit
>> :nospx
>> echo No .spx files found on %url%
>> pause
>>
>> This works well on both dial-up and broadband. 
>>
>> However, its not gui. I have found that with Foobar2000 on Windows XP 
>> one can open a url to one of the .spx files on my website and play it. 
>> One can even pause and play from a different position in the file. 
>> This cannot be done with the curl command file.
>> I tried doing the same with illiminable's Ogg DirectShow filter
>> but without success.   
>>
>> Bertie Coopersmith
>> _______________________________________________
>> Speex-dev mailing list
>> Speex-dev at xiph.org
>> http://lists.xiph.org/mailman/listinfo/speex-dev
>>
>>
>>     
>
>
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