Bose iPod In Ear Heaphones

I have trialled a pair of these headphones. They are truly the best of their breed, although they are also the most expensive. 69 quid on Regent Street. But the audio quality is simply amazing. Ideal for clandestine recordings in the field. They come with three sizes of earpieces to ensure a snug fit. But I am surprised that they didn't include two sets. The case for the headphones is clever too....neatly protects the headphones, though it closes with a magnetic clip which needs to be kept away from credit cards.

Linux software for radio stations launches

I am currently looking at this piece of software as one possibile solution for a radio station in West Africa. One challenge with the Open-Source project like this is that the developers cannot offer a 24 hour service, like other guys do for Linux. But I have met the people behind this project and know them to be passionate about getting it right.

Community radio stations in Sierra Leone and in other emerging democracies will be powered by the latest release of the free and open source Campcaster software, which was released on December 7th 2006. Campcaster is free and open source software that turns a PC running the free Linux operating system into an essential tool for radio broadcasting. In a user-friendly way, it enables both automated broadcast at preset dates and times, as well as allowing “live” playout from the studio. At the same time, it also enables the exchange of radio program material both online and off-line, and provides a stable, secure, extensible archive server for storing, searching and retrieving program content.

Campcaster 1.1, code-named “Freetown,” was built with conditions in difficult environments such as Sierra Leone in mind. It provides very stable playout, and because it runs on Linux, there are fewer problems with viruses, spyware and malware.

Campcaster's relevance is not limited to the developing world: stations in the developed world are starting to adapt the system to their own needs. For example, Vienna, Austria's Radio Orange is adapting Campcaster's playout system to work with its existing digital archive, while in Hungary, a network of independent radio stations is integrating Campcaster's storage server into its IKRA project, a generic public website engine for radio stations.

Because all of the Campcaster software is free and open source, stations are free to adapt it to their individual needs, but are strongly encouraged to share their efforts with others.

“Campcaster provides features that used to be only available in extremely expensive commercial radio systems,” says Sava Tatić, Managing Director of the Media Development Loan Fund's Center for Advanced Media, Prague (CAMP), which coordinates the Campware Initiative. “We believe there is a strong north-south aspect to using and extending Campcaster,” Tatić added. “Every time a station in North America or Europe adapts and extends Campcaster, stations in places like Sierra Leone benefit.”

An international team of software developers, user interface designers, media activists and radio professionals have worked for more than 12 months on the 1.1 “Freetown” release. Campware representatives have coordinated their work with the Cornet community radio network on the software, and members of the development team will travel to Freetown, Sierra Leone later this month to provide training to partners implementing and servicing Campcaster locally.

Campcaster 1.1 “Freetown” is the latest release from the Media Development Loan Fund's Campware Initiative, which creates free and open source tools for independent media in emerging democracies. Initial funding for Campcaster has been provided by a grant from the Open Society Institute. The tools are all free and available for download at the Campware website at www.campware.org. Developers and technically-minded users can visit the developers' page at http://code.campware.org/projects/campcaster.


Douglas Arellanes Head of Research and Development on the project tells me that he and programmer Ferenc Gerlits are now in Freetown, Sierra Leone to install Campcaster at the Cornet network of community radio stations. They already have confirmation that a number of other stations have already begun installing and extending Campcaster, and they will regularly update the Campware site as we hear about new implementations.

Next on their release program (in addition to bugfix releases) is Campcaster 1.2, which is code-named "Kotor" because they are planning to implement it at Skala Radio in Kotor, Montenegro. The main feature will be integration with Campsite, which will allow stations to create and manage news broadcasts in an effective and user-friendly manner.

Technica Del Arte Recorder

  Been busy comparing this device (which is a software package) from Maastricht based Technica del Arte with other handheld recorders. I'm impressed that this device will record in MPEG-1 Layer 2 (as used in systems like Dalet) and send the recording to the station (or web server) at the touch of one button. 

Zoom H4

This recorder comes from the manufacturer of Zoom in Tokyo Japan. Don't bother trying to correspond with them, they simply refer you to dealers. In the Europe, that has proved to be disappointing, although detailed photos and the complete manual are up on the Samson site, who distribute Zoom products in the USA.

It is on sale in the US for US$299, which makes it cheaper than some microphones out there. In the US, a wall outlet power supply, camera stand mount, 128MB SD card are standard issue with the unit. That flash memory card will only give you about 12 minutes of recording time using the .wav file format. A 2 GB SD card should give about 200 minutes (3 hrs, 20 min) of std .wav record time although there is no mention of write speed for the SD memory is given.

Phantom Power is available at either 24V or 48V for external micrphones that need it. No hum or noise was noticed when using the phantom supply for the external microphones. Mic levels can be set via slide switches on the side of the H4 and finely adjusted in the input menu options.

The device also has a 4-track mode, but that has not yet been explored. Quality of the internal microphones is fine for interview work. The case is plastic (what do you expect for 299?) and the menu's take some getting used to. A better job than the M-audio, not as robust as the HHB Flash Microphone (but then it is 1/3rd of the price).

B & G Building on opening night

B & G Building on opening night
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

The centre is certainly going to be a great place, not only for the Media experience, but for conferences. I am curious to see how the collections will grow. At the moment they have done a fantastic job of explaining the past and bring this into a contemporary context. The challenge will be to project into the future - showing how mobile technology will be part of the tool set for content producers of the future.

Apart from the challenges with the sound, I can thoroughly recommend a visit. Many of the interviews I made for Radio Nederland Wereldomroep on the future of media are shown in the exhibit "The Global Village". They turned out nicely.

Looking down from the atrium

Looking down from the atrium
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

The design of the archive part of the building is inspiring....more like working in the Colosseum in Rome than a broadcast archive.

Looking up from Atrium

Looking up from Atrium
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

The ceiling is like being in the cupboard under the stairs, in a very big cupboard. Inspiring when you see it in real life. The building is an acoustic engineer's nightmare though. The reflections from the walls mean that the sound in the Media Experience, especially accompanying what they describe as the world's biggest screen, is the only main disappointment.

Your Personal Guide

Your personal guide
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

When you go into the media experience, you can choose one of the Netherlands news presenters to act as a guide. Three women and one man. Interesting that they each have a different text...not the same. They come from both public and commercial broadcasting. It is nicely done.

Early Podcast equipment

Early Podcast equipment
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

A relatively small part of the exhibition in Hilversum is a static display of equipment, like this domestic tape recorder from 1961. It reminds me of the Mission Impossible TV show. Those reel sizes were great for 10 minute messages at 3 3/4 ips speed. The rest are interactive exhibits.

Looking down on the Global Village

Looking down on the Global Village
Originally uploaded by Jonathan Marks.

The world is one "media experience" richer. On December 1st, Queen Beatrix officially opened a new permanent exhibition which tells the story of Dutch broadcasting in a global context. Three floors of the new Netherlands Instiute for Sound and Vision have been dedicated to a public display of what both the commercial and public radio & TV stations mean to Dutch society. It is not a museum - it is indeed an experience.