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Using Skype to Record Phone Interviews for Your Nonprofit Podcast or Blog

Skype logoDo you have ideas for people you'd like to interview over the phone for your nonprofit podcast or blog, but don't know the best way to record it?  The past few interviews I've done for the NetSquared Podcast and blog have been done over the phone with Skype.  It took me a while to find recording software I liked for Skype, so I thought I'd share my findings.  I have a Mac, so I use Ecamm's Call Recorder for Skype.  It is only $15 and has worked really well for me so far.  My only complaint is that it records my questions and the interviewee's answers as one track.  Ideally our voices would be on two separate tracks.

If you have a PC, people have recommended Hot Recorder and Powergramo to me. (Update 3.1.07: I just heard of someone using Skylook).

Once I've finished editing the interview and posted it to our podcast, I send it to CastingWords to be transcribed.  They just changed their pricing structure.  They charge .75 per each minute of your recording, and you can send them the RSS feed or upload an MP3 or WAV file.   They charge .45 per minute if you set up a subscription so that each time you publish a new podcast to your RSS feed, they transcribe it.  It takes them 2-5 days to get the transcript back to me.  Before posting, I read through the transcript while listening to the recording and check for errors.  There are usually a few.

What recording software/hardware do you use to record phone interviews?

Comments

I do skype interview for

I do skype interview for nonprofit radio. I have been using powergramo for two years with my PC. I prefer this one because 1) allows speperate channel recording(pro version) 2) allows different out put sampling rate 3) sound quality is very good. Other tips: 1) use head phone while recording to avoid echoing over to the other channel. 2) adjust caller's volumn to a lower level than yourself's. 3) make sure that the setreo mix in realtek audio(came with vista) is disabled.

New tool for podcasting over Skype

We just released a new tool for podcasting over Skype.

http://www.callgraph.in

It supports wav file encoding and two channel recording for easier editing. We also provide services such as online storage, sharing, search and transcription. Pls. do have a look. Thanks in advnace.

Mac or PC?

Which is it built for?

Another solution

I use i-Sound WMA MP3 Recorder to record Skype and VoIP conversations/interviews. This tool have a VOX system to skip silent parts and AGC system to adjust recording level in real time. In additional, it could be used for capture streaming audio.

 

Call Recorder tracks

Call Recorder does create two audio tracks inside the QuickTime file.  (One of you and the other the remote party.) (See the question "Q: How can I access each side of the call as individual audio tracks?" in their FAQ here: http://ecamm.com/mac/callrecorder/faq.html Regards, Ken

Skype is cool, more than VoIP

Sure, Skype is not only VoIP, but also can record more...and extend Skype IM, we can think out pretty cool, such as RSS+Skype.

multiple tracks or not?

from the ecamm site:

<blockquote>Calls are saved as QuickTime movies with the local and remote side of the conversation on different tracks.</blockquote>

that's not true? i'm looking for this type of a service, so i'd appreciate clarification. thx.

Good eye

 I just looked in the FAQs and indeed it will split the recording into two tracks for you.   Thanks so much for catching that.  Here is what it says:

Q: How can I access each side of the call as individual tracks?

A: Call Recorder records each side of the Skype call as a separate QuickTime movie track. Ecamm includes a simple conversion tool called Split Movie Tracks with Call Recorder, which can be used to extract the individual movie tracks for further editing. The resulting files can be used with most any sound editing program.

Britt Bravo
Community Builder
NetSquared • A Project of Tech Soup
www.netsquared.org
bbravo@techsoup.org
Skype:bebravo

Software to record phone calls

I use Cakewalk Pyro for recording on a PC. It allows me to split my tracks into shorter segments and convert them into mp3s for upload to my website. I often record trainings by teleconference. 

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