Source connect

[Claired]

Hi!

I'm looking at source connect and I'm a bit confused with the options available.
I was wondering if some of you have tried them first hand and can advise what product to buy.

Source-Connect Pro $1495 RTAS
Source-Connect Standard $395 RTAS/VST/AU
Source-Live $395 RTAS/VST
Source-Talkback $95 RTAS


Really, my main question is: is the standard version at $395 enough?
It's so cheap, it seems silly not to have it if it works fine.
Or do we have to get the pro version? And do we need to also purchase Live and talkback?

I heard that we need 3mb bandwidth up for it to work with no interruptions. Any other tips?

Thanks!

[ChrisMezzolesta]

Claire, I believe it was 300k up (real speed) to make it work, which seems feasible in many DSL situations (even tho I am well outside a "city" environment I still get between 425 and 550k up depending on conditions). So if your speed at one of the online test sites (speedtest.com I think is one) is OK, you should be in good shape. One thing is that the new version is not Vista compatible (no idea about Mac) so I have had to purchase another XP machine to use along with the studio end of things, I'll be adding Source Connect to that.

Hope it works out for you!


C

[Claired]

Thanks Chris,
so which one have you got? Standard? pro? live?

[ChrisMezzolesta]

I don't have it yet as the studio is still torn apart and under construction, but I am planning to get the Standard version, 2.5 rather than 3 if I can get my hands on it (have heard 3 is a little buggy). I just added ISDN so hopefully this will "cover" me for connectivity. Whichever one of us gets it first, post!! :-)

[BobbyH]

Hi Claire,

I have the standard and know a few who also purchased the SC Live. And you are correct; small fee for another nice tool in your studio.

B

[Claired]

Hi Bobby,

If you're saying that the standard one works fine, then I think I'm going to ask father Christmas for it!
I really wonder why the pro version costs so much more, what it's got that justifies the difference.
Anyone knows?

[Jacob Ekstroem]

Claire,
you should have a chat with the nicest Swiss guy in the world: Thomas C. Gass. He has just evaluated SC, and very thoroughly, as I understand. He seems very impressed by SC.

Most likely I will be adding SC to my studio during the winter too, so I'm listening in...

[jsgilbert]

The regular version limits the mono and stero bitrates to 96k and 192bps, while the other more expensive version allows for up to 380bps.
There are some other features that the pro version offers that make it good for collaborative music, whereby you could record an album and have 4 musicians in differnt locations. The $395 version only allows single point sessions.

None of the studios or clients I work with care for Source Connect, although I know there are folks using it and getting work done. It does seem that in a day and age where high definition full size video can be streamed over DSl lines that there should be quality alternatives that would make ISDN seem like the overpriced dinosaur it is.

Perhaps however I might learn a little something from Mr. Gass that might persuade me to get some of my folks to work with it. It would solve quite a few problems. I'm just not sure if the 96k mono bitrate is the issue or what.

[BobbyH]

The one argument from studios I keep hearing is that it is more expensive to maintain SC than ISDN. It seems that if you host your own servers for ftp and back-ups of sessions, then a studio would have to have a separate internet account to keep a stable data exchange between the studio and the talent. If a client(s) were to begin a download off of the servers durring a session, it would most likely cause severe interference. Now, the cost of a businness internet account is not the same as a residential account. A business account might run as much as $300 p/m, so I am told.

[Greg Houser]

Depends on the size of the pipe and how you regulate your servers, it's not hard to keep things going without causing agita on the part of your clients.

It's not that difficult to pay a few bucks more (in most areas) to get a larger bandwith allotment for the pipe (you may not always get it, but it'll be a lot better at handling multiple connections). From there you need to throttle the bandwith of the FTP server (which should be separate from any internal file servers, web server, etc.). I see too many folks using a server or two for everything, and using 5400 or 7200 RPM drives to run those servers (if you're running a business with multiple clients, the speed of those drives quickly becomes a liability). When the bandwith for the FTP server isn't capped, it's easy for the thing to become a chokepoint, especially if you do a lot of transfers that way.

For most VO, the standard version of SC seems fine. If you have to upgrade later, the company offers a way to do it without paying full price (just deduct the cost of the version you have). The trick is to do some testing first and make sure that even during peak hours you have the bandwith necessary to properly use the application.