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Do you have ipDTL or Source-Connect?

ipDTL and Source-Connect are pieces of software that allow high-quality audio connection via the internet. You need either of these as a requirement for us to work together with you on your demo (Standard or Pro Bundle). We'll connect to you via this to record high-quality audio from your home studio set up and run the session remotely.

ipDTL is subscription based at $25 a month (or $160 annually) for the voiceover package. Please read our article on 'I keep hearing about ipDTL, what are they talking about?' for more details.

Source-Connect have several options: 

Please read our article on 'Is Source-Connect worth buying?' for more details.

What is ISDN?

ISDN stands for Integrated Services for Digital Network and is basically a way for two parties to connect to each other over phone lines but at a much better quality than a phone.

It uses technology that requires each party to have an 'ISDN Box' in order to code and decode (a codec) the signal to and from a studio (i.e. someone's microphone). These boxes can extremely expensive and have to be installed by specialists. It's also not always available in the area which can be a serious down side.

In the voice over industry they are used frequently to connect to voice over talent that may not be present at the studio recording them. For example, if the studio that is producing an advert is in New York but the client wants a voice that is based in LA, they will usually connect via ISDN. Depending on the codec this will use two telephone lines to spread the bandwidth over them both resulting in a high quality connection. This comes at a price of around $1 per minute per line. So an hour session would cost whoever dialled out around $120 in line charges alone! 

Whilst this technology has been around since the 80's, it is still used often. However, with internet speeds getting quicker it is getting forced out by products such as ipDTL and Source-Connect. These are far cheaper to initially buy and only requires a fairly decent internet connection. 

I keep hearing about ipDTL, what are they talking about?

ipDTL is subscription based at $25 a month (or $160 annually) for the voiceover package. It works in the same way as Source-Connect in the sense that it connects audio over the internet. This is not dissimilar to Skype in principle except the quality is far superior (320kbit/s Stereo). This is what justifies the price as opposed to being free. The main benefit of ipDTL is that it runs through your internet browser (they recommend Chrome). You simply log into your user area and connect to the network of ipDTL subscribers. 

If you opt in for Link+ ($50/month) you can use ipDTL with people that don't have a subscription by simply sending them a web link. This can be helpful if clients want to listen in but not as common for VO talent. They offer a range of packages including ones that allow you to connect to ISDN see which can be helpful when dealing with studios that don't currently have an ipDTL subscription.

ipDTL has not been around as long as Source-Connect but currently more studios and VO talent seem to prefer it since it costs less (initially) and has the same quality and capabilities.

At IVG we recommend this software or Source-Connect. 

More Information: https://ipdtl.com/ 

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