How did Andy Gilligan manage to broadcast from his house on the famous morning last year? He had an "ISDN Unit" in his house. That means he was able to originate studio quality down a ISDN telephone. To do so you either have a special piece of hardware, or you can now do it by plugging a reporter's microphone into a laptop and firing up a piece of software.
In Birmingham in the UK, a company called MDO-UK seem to be the furthest with the ISDN laptop codecs.
Their Communicator software turns your PC or Laptop into an ISDN codec that's compatible with virtually all other manufacturers' units and with MPEG Layer 2, Layer 3, G.722 and G.711 (tele-hybrid mode), mono or stereo, full studio quality connections. It offers the same or even better audio quality audio and performance as most other manufacturer's ISDN codecs. Use it for live audio transmissions, to connect your studios, to send and receive broadcast material, or for voice-over work, news and sports reporting.
The company offers a 30 day free trial to see if it is compatible with your laptop. At 725 Euro, the software solution is considerably cheaper than buying separate hardware.
