#10 Podcasting, Zoom, Livestreaming OH MY! - what happened to HD Audio?

Most of us are locked up inside our homes.  Many of us trying to work from home creating a whole new wave of online classes, webinars, zoom/skype or whatever meetings.  Were you caught off guard as I was?

I think it was 4 or 5 Zoom and Skype sessions in when I realized that it was no accident that the other side of the conversation was the same.  "We're having trouble hearing you.  It's breaking up".  I tried with a better computer and still the same thing happened.  My laptop kept giving me a message.. "Interruptions.".  

Okay, it was a Chromebook, so maybe that was my problem. I tried a better and latest Chromebook model. Still results were not good When I kept the camera on and used the phone for actually hearing what someone was saying, the conversation could be more engaging.  Me, of all people should be able to solve this problem considering we are some of the few people in the world recording, mixing, mastering and delivering DSD256 files of the top standards.  Why was a zoom meeting so difficult?

We compared a zoom meeting using an iPhone7 and it was MUCH better.  We examined our wifi router (which was very old and not up to snuff for our top speed internet account.  I started doing research on podcast vs streaming microphones (and let me just say.. an expensive mic for a podcaster is $100 - which is the cheapest end mic for what we do and we rarely use them).  We're looking at video camera now.  I'm even considering a Bluetooth headset.

I think we've entered the 'real people' world and it's a whole other language I've never learned.  But hey, we won't give up the DSD recording and getting our audiophiles great sound.  My next door neighbor asked if I was playing the piano the other day.  I said, no, but I was blasting the sound of the piano through my speakers.  She said it sounded real.  I took it as a compliment. :)