NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] The Sound of Google+ "Hangouts On Air" Disruptive Innovation
The Sound of Google+ "Hangouts On Air" Disruptive Innovation
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000982.html
Back before I worked with video, even back before the days of
widespread digital audio, not only did we record and process voice,
music -- everything -- in the analog domain, we edited it all using
razor blades, splicing tape, and aluminum splicing blocks. Despite
the relative simplicity of our tools, it was possible to create
extremely high quality results, which some observers even today
consider superior to digital versions.
Analog or digital, audio quality is crucial not only for its own sake
but also for video. For most videos, the audio is at least as
important as the video itself, and sometimes even more crucial.
For anyone who is an aficionado of high quality audio, it is sometimes
painful to see YouTube and other videos where the audio component was
an afterthought of the creators -- or in some cases, obviously really
received no thought at all. Whether a fancy production or a talking
heads seminar, audio almost always matters.
When Google announced Hangouts On Air (HOA) not long ago, it
immediately offered -- and delivered -- the promise of providing the
free ability to broadcast live programming (with automatic archival to
YouTube) to virtually unlimited size audiences around the world.
When I tested HOA myself, I fairly quickly determined video settings
that would deliver optimally smooth video for the sorts of productions
I've had in mind. These are not always obvious, however. For
example, if you're dealing with that aforementioned "talking heads"
case, local video generation at frame sizes as small as 320 x 180, and
frame rates as low as 15 fps, may for some configurations provide the
smoothest display for viewers, while still looking quite good as a
fullscreen 16:9 image. This will vary depending on the specifics of
your application, of course.
Other factors, such as using a separate device to monitor your
generated HOA stream (e.g., another PC, a Google TV box, etc.) --
unless you've really got enough cycles to spare on your transmitting
system -- are also relevant.
But frankly, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed in some
respects with the audio quality that Hangouts On Air provided.
The audio was completely intelligible. It was utterly reasonable for
a video chat.
However, no matter how much processing technology I threw at the
problem locally, I could not obtain results with music that I
considered acceptable, and I would have preferred (for one-to-many
broadcasts at least) higher voice quality as well in some situations.
Reluctantly, I shelved a number of concepts I had originally intended
for HOA.
It appeared possible that this situation might have changed a few days
ago, when Google announced the rolling out of a new "Studio" high
quality audio option for HOA, specifically oriented toward music.
This afternoon I reran my original HOA tests using this new mode, and
the results were really quite excellent indeed.
Basically, in Studio mode virtually all of the audio problems I faced
with the original HOA (now termed "Voice") mode are gone. I now feel
comfortable in producing programming for distribution via HOA that is
suitable for music and mixed-mode content, not only voice. It may not
be what we nebulously call "broadcast quality" audio -- but it's
damned good. To paraphrase an old saying, it's better than enough for
jazz!
The HOA Voice/Studio toggle selection should appear on the HOA
settings page (click on the gear icon) after you start a Hangout On
Air (but before you actually begin broadcasting it). If the toggle
does not appear, the most likely cause is that you're running an older
Google Talk plugin, which can be updated at:
http://j.mp/NCrKaP (Google Chat)
Remember that all programming you broadcast via Hangouts On Air is
subject to real-time Content ID scanning (as on YouTube). Content ID
hits will interrupt your broadcast and prevent its archival to
YouTube.
If you'd like to hear examples of the audio quality resulting from HOA
Studio mode, a short segment of my testing today (archived
automatically to YouTube) is online at:
http://j.mp/NCrMj2 (YouTube)
Be warned, it's not very exciting at all -- just my standard color
bars graphic and an audio loop containing several different sorts of
content that I've found useful for testing in various situations. But
it may be adequate to demonstrate that Hangouts On Air have definitely
moved to a new stage in their evolution. Any glitches audible in this
test video are the result of my actively adjusting various parameters
during the transmission itself.
Given that Hangouts On Air showed enormous potential for "disrupting"
key aspects of traditional broadcasting even from day one of their
deployment, the possibilities now in play given the availability of
higher quality HOA audio will likely be even more dramatic.
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org/pfir-info
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com/privacy-info
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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