Tutorial Two: RealAudio on the Web
 

Part One: Recording "live" with a microphone

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Example: Geographers in the Web

Procedure:

Step 1: Plug microphone into back of your computer. The jack should be labeled "MIC".

Step 2: Open the RealAudio Encoder from the Start Menu. You want the application called "RealAudio Live Encoder".

Step 3: On the "Source" side of the screen choose the "Live Stream" window. You may also want to enter your name and a title for your recording.

Step 4: On the "Destination" side of the screen, enter a name for the file you will be encoding. Additionally, you can choose the compression type that best suits your needs. The compression you choose is a trade off between sound quality and file size. You may want to play around with different compressions to find which best serves your needs.

Step 5: You are now ready to start encoding. Press the "Start Encoding" Button. Speak into the microphone. Press "Stop Encoding/Drawing" when you are finished. You have just created an ".RA" file that contains the audio information you want to broadcast.

Step 6: The next step is to create a Metafile that tells the Browser to look for a helper application or plug-in to play the recording. The metafile is a text file that can be created in Notepad. The following syntax can be used:

pnm://realaudio.cc.utexas.edu/depts/grg/virtdept/
workshops/1998/test/yourdirectory/audioclip.ra NOTE: For this workshop, "yourdirectory" corresponds to your last name (if you have a subfolder to store your recordings, that folder name will also appear here). Additionally, "audioclip.ra" should correspond to the name you gave the file you created in RealAudio.

Save the metafile as "audioclip.ram". Be sure to give the file the .ram extension.

Step 7: Create a link in your homepage (or any other page you choose) to the "audioclip.ram" file. Be careful to link to the metafile (.ram) and not the audio file (.ra). When you are finished, upload the updated homepage, the metafile (.ram), and the recording file (.ra) to the server.

 

Part Two: Putting taped audio on-line

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Example: Taped interview from Morning Edition on National Public Radio

Procedure:

Step 1: Plug tape recorder into back of your computer. The jack should be labeled "MIC". The following steps are identical to those for recording "live" with a microphone.

Step 2: Open the RealAudio Encoder from the Start Menu. You want the application called "RealAudio Live Encoder".

Step 3: On the "Source" side of the screen choose the "Live Stream" window. You may also want to enter your name and a title for your recording.

Step 4: On the "Destination" side of the screen, enter a name for the file you will be encoding. Additionally, you can choose the compression type that best suits your needs. The compression you choose is a trade off between sound quality and file size. You may want to play around with different compressions to find which best serves your needs.

Step 5: You are now ready to start encoding. Press the "Start Encoding" Button. Speak into the microphone. Press "Stop Encoding/Drawing" when you are finished. You have just created an ".RA" file that contains the audio information you want to broadcast.

Step 6: The next step is to create a Metafile that tells the Browser to look for a helper application or plug-in to play the recording. The metafile is a text file that can be created in Notepad. The following syntax can be used:

pnm://realaudio.cc.utexas.edu/depts/grg/virtdept/
workshops/1998/test/yourdirectory/audioclip.ra NOTE: For this workshop, "yourdirectory" corresponds to your last name (if you have a subfolder to store your recordings, that folder name will also appear here). Additionally, "audioclip.ra" should correspond to the name you gave the file you created in RealAudio.

Save the metafile as "audioclip.ram". Be sure to give the file the .ram extension.

Step 7: Create a link in your homepage (or any other page you choose) to the "audioclip.ram" file. Be careful to link to the metafile (.ram) and not the audio file (.ra). When you are finished, upload the updated homepage, the metafile (.ram), and the recording file (.ra) to the server.

 Additional Notes:
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Created 6/2/98, Last modified 6/2/98, djs, dscott@mail.utexas.edu