Good audio/video quality ON-LINE.
How do we realize and facilitate that
The past period has taught us that it is not always obvious to experience good audio and video quality during lessons and meetings. Often the connections are subject to interference or the audio is ‘ squeezed ‘ in such a way that little of the real music remains. The new vehicle ‘ Microsoft Teams ‘ that we now use within the Conservatory is actually not designed for music. MicroSoft is certainly working hard on improving Teams, but the audio quality leaves much to be desired.
How can we realize a good audio connection? Below is a list of possible options to improve the audio and video quality of an online session. Regardless of which platform or software will be used, there are a few important conditions that must be taken into account to improve the quality.
- Provide a fairly modern computer. A rough guideline: not older than 4 years. This does not mean that a Macintosh / PC of 5-6 years old is not sufficient. That can be a great alternative and will certainly not interfere with the audio / video quality.
- It is important to use an audio interface or sound card. This is a device that converts audio to USB (Universal Serial Bus) and ensures that the computer is expanded with audio inputs and outputs.
- To properly pick up the audio at the source, using the right microphone is a must. This microphone can be connected to the ‘ audio interface ‘ .
- For a better video image, it is recommended to an external ‘ web cam ‘ to use (not necessary) . With this camera, a better composition of the image can be made and it can be easier to show something in detail.
- For a stable and fast connection to the internet, it is strongly recommended to connect the computer to the router with a cable (CAT5). Wifi will work, but is often the cause of lower quality.
If we assume that everyone has the right equipment and a wired internet connection (as shown at the bottom of this note), what are the different options for using existing software applications? On this website we provide you with a summary of the various options that we have found so far. Just check it out!