KVR Audio

Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:08 pm

Compyfox, you don't have any accent, you should transfer to Hamburg or at least learn a bit "Berliner Schnauze"...

Seriously, I can understand you pretty good in German as well as in English, much better than a professional speaker from Texas...

Frantz · Post by **Frantz** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:17 pm

Some random comments even though I'm not really looking for video tutorials at the moment.

1. To reach the most people, speak in English and include English subtitles unless your English is flawless.

2. Unless you are unusually witty and entertaining, get right to the point and focus on content. When I occasionally Google a question and end up watching a video tutorial, minutes are often spent with the host fumbling around trying to set things up or rambling about something completely off topic.

3. I think you are going to get extremely few donations but you will probably attract customers looking for help with their productions. The tutorials may end up being commercials for your services.

4. On your studio page, "RESTAURATION" should be spelled "RESTORATION." The spelling you are using is archaic and looks like a typo.

EDIT: I just heard your English speech sample. Your voice is pleasant but there is enough of a German accent that I have to pay attention to catch everything. I think English plus English subtitles is your best bet.

Also when I watch American movies with my wife, whose first language is not English, she always wants the subtitles on. If she can't figure out what someone is saying, she can always read it.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:27 pm

I am aware of Point 4. I'm working on a new page for over 1,5 years now. Just no time and patience for it. But a massive update is planned and in the works.

Thanks for the feedback.

Delfinoverde · Post by **Delfinoverde** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:28 pm

Hello Compyfox, I've listened to your voice recordings.
Result of my impressions:
- German : very natural speak, a little bit fast, understandable Pronunciation of words
- English : sounding someway unnatural to me, slower rhythm is though better than in the German voice recording, the English voice sounds deeper

Here a clip of a German (virtual) friend of mine speaking English in his clips.
Just to listen to! As said, the "foreign accent" is still remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAZCAmLnz6E

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Tricky-Loops · Post by **Tricky-Loops** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:34 pm

Delfinoverde wrote:Hello Compyfox, I've listened to your voice recordings.
Result of my impressions:
- German : very natural speak, a little bit fast, understandable Pronunciation of words
- English : sounding someway unnatural to me, slower rhythm is though better than in the German voice recording, the English voice sounds deeper

Here a clip of a German (virtual) friend of mine speaking English in his clips.
Just to listen to! As said, the "foreign accent" is still remarkable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAZCAmLnz6E

I like his life style. But I wouldn't eat raw fish...

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:39 pm

And this accent is actually a bit stronger than mine even. Still understandable.

Please keep in mind, posted files on page 2 are not uber-great examples. The German recording was for testing purposes (tested a DIY mic shield in a non treated room), the second recording was done in the middle of the night to test screencasting capabilities, no script - just rambling (which resulted in a lot of spelling errors).

I think if I'd speak as much English as I write in English, I'd be more fluent.

But I appreciate the feedback so far. Which is very helpful on the long run.

So far, the most language votes go for "Either way is fine with me, as long as there are subtitles". I think this will be a ton more work, but can indeed provide both English and German subtitles. No matter which language I'm going for. Though the tendency so far is "English" to get more attention (internationally), with a handful of votes for "German" to stay more authentic.

Multilanguage dub is a ton more work, also for editing. So dub-wise, I have to decide on one language.

EDIT:
A thing on provided format:
I plan to provide MP4 as additional download (some interest was there). The thing is, MP4 files can be played on a Mac, but if I "mux" subtitles into them, I really don't know if Quicktime can interpret them.

I read that H264 video, AAC audio and TTXT (converted from SRT) subtitles are Mac conform. But does anyone have a link to a demo video with subs that works on a Nac in Quicktime, for me to analyze?

Else, I pretty much have all tools I need at my disposal already.

Delfinoverde · Post by **Delfinoverde** » Mon Jan 20, 2014 11:55 pm

Compyfox wrote:…But does anyone have a link to a demo video with subs that works on a Nac in Quicktime, for me to analyze?

You mean "with subs that work on a Mac in Quicktime"?

Maybe this can help……
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnod6UXGoxY

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:06 am

Not quite - more like overlayed subtitles, like a DVD. It's part of the MP4 specs - but I did not find anything out about Quicktime in whether or not it can "natively" read SRT/SSA/whatever embeded into the MP4 container.

Actually, the Mac (especially Quicktime) is really picky with video formats.

Delfinoverde · Post by **Delfinoverde** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 12:48 am

I'm not an expert with video. You may check this @
http://documentation.apple.com/en/final ... tasks=true
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highkoo · Post by **highkoo** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:10 am

Oh you are modest, or something. Your english is great.

Everyones different, but for me, that speech would be far preferable to subs.
You have some of the common oddly pronounced syllables here and there, but for the most part you have a very natural sounding rhythm to your phrases/sentences in english, which I think is more important.
Anyway, I had no trouble at all understanding every single word, and what you were talking about.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 2:30 am

Good to know. So the tendency is indeed going towards English rather than my native language?

Again - this was really sloppy - no script, late at night, not used to speaking English, etc.

Regarding MP4's with Subs and Mac compatibility:
I tried several tools over the course of the last 2 hours. Unless I have access to a Mac, I can't do much about it. I can create MP4 containers with H264 and AAC LC audio streams (which are MP4 conform), but the subtitle conformity (TTXT) doesn't work for me. SRT or SSA does work on pretty much all players I've tried.

I also found out, that both the Mac and portable devices can use custom playes like VLC, or install a plugin for Quicktime which can load "embed" SRT subtitles. So I am not spliting hairs over this with a download offer (which would be bonus - else, you can use download tools for YouTube - I can write a post about this on my blog as soon as the tutorials can go live).

I need to do further tests with stock media players on my Android 4.2.x cellphone (subtitles especially). But... I'll have to wait and see how this all turns out. Maybe subtitles only work on custom players or on desktop PCs. I don't want to burn them in.

EDIT (10min later):
And I guess I just found a way to create "mac compliant" subtitles. Now it's only down to testing in the next few weeks.

Lotuzia · Post by **Lotuzia** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 11:45 am

Just sharing my experience, so no advice there :

A lot of people can READ english, but dont understand it when its spoken. Therefore to reach the widest target I think that subtitles are mandatory.

I choose not to include any speak in my videos. Not only because of my - delicious- French accent, and the additional work involved ( record voive etc ) but because I want people to listen to the audio, not a speaker's voice ( and its there that tuts related to audio are unique and different from any other tuts imho : people shoul be enabled to focus on audio, and audio alone )

I personnaly dont care if a speaker, or subtitles, speaks in anatural way, or less. Of course its probably better if ther is a speaker, but, again imho, the most important thing in a tutorial is the information that you give to people, and if, at the end of the video, people will both have learned something, and possibly in a way that is easy to reproduce for themselves.

So, regarding this aim, I think that, with a written form, you can shrink the message to the essential part, calibrate each sentence to be the most possibly precise and informative one. Its also very effective to make a good flow and rythm in the video, not spreading too much information at once, so that people are lost, and not giving too few as well. ind the exact tempo of a video, like -I imagine- directors have to find the good tempo for a movie.

Well, just my thoughts, hopefully will help you a bit, and give food to think about.

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Tue Jan 21, 2014 1:57 pm

Definitely food for thought.

You people can help me with further testing btw:
http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... 5&t=401428

I created two test-batches to test both subtitles and audio playback capabilities. If you happen to be on a portable device (Android, iOS, etc), Macintosh (laptop/desktop), use a "smart TV", media station or gaming console as media player... then please take these files for a test drive.

I want to offer as much compatibility as possible in order to provide downloadable content (or DLC in short).

The reason for this test:
With DLC, I can up the quality of both the video and the audio. YouTube is limited to H264 with High Profile @ L3.1, while modern HDTV streams are already on High Profile @ L4.1. Which can result in better compression/better visuals with less filesize.

Furthermore, YouTube's audio stream is locked to AAC-LC @ 44k/16, with 192kbit stereo maximum. A lot modern devices that can play back MP4 streams utilize AAC-LC @ 160kBit per channel (resulting in 320kbit stereo files max). Even if limited to Stereo only (which is more than fine), I could up the audio quality to AAC-LC @ 48/24, with 320kbit - maybe even higher (depending on how many people give positive reports). Which is actually better than the AC3 codec specs in stereo. Pity that AAC is not as much used for music yet (it is the future with HD-AAC though!).

The idea behind the DLC would then be to provide more "high quality" streams, without the hassle of actually using Youtube stream rippers.

I won't provide 96kHz/24bit streams in AAC though - even if it's possible (most hardware gives a definite "no" unfortunatey). I mainly work in 48kHz, unless I oversample stuff (mastering). And even then I rather apply some SRC in the end for sharing. 48/24 is still great for tutorials. Actually luxury even.

BluRay can always be a thing for later. Like, much much later.

Again, thanks for contributing.

Delfinoverde · Post by **Delfinoverde** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 1:45 am

Lotuzia wrote: I choose not to include any speak in my videos.

I personally don't care if a speaker, or subtitles, speaks in a natural way, or less. Of course its probably better if there is a speaker, but, again imho…

…Its also very effective to make a good flow and rhythm in the video, not spreading too much information at once, so that people are lost, and not giving too few as well. ind the exact tempo of a video, like -I imagine- directors have to find the good tempo for a movie.

Tutorials or clips with no voice @ all are easier & cheaper to do but they seem in someway dead, or boring to me.

A speaker speaking with a natural voice - in his mother tongue - sounds in most cases much better than somebody who forces himself to speak a foreign language.

And last but not least I wouldn't add bombastic explosion sounds into the intros, like so many developers tend to do (trying to please a U.S. public)!

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Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Wed Jan 22, 2014 3:04 pm

I can't confirm that tutorial clips without voice are easier to do. Especially if it's on screen annotation rather than a plain TXT editor showing unreadable gibberish. I also find vocalized tutorials way better, and more personal.

Since you've tested the demo videos I posted in the other thread, and you eventually also listened to the audio demos provided in this thread (page 1 for example)... what's your opinion?

Regarding intro:
I planned a DnB snipped as some sort of intro. Video is not concepted yet, but it won't be anything uber-bombastic. And definitely no explosions. I'm not Michael Bay.

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