You can convert dozens to audio formats to MP3, including AAC, OGG, and M4A. MPEG-1, MPEG-4, AVI, and MOV are just some of the MP3 extracted from MP4 to satisfy your listening pleasure. The MP4 to MP3 converter makes the files compatible to listen on a handful of MP3 music players. The files are compatible with Zune, iPod shuffles, iPod nanos, iRiver, and Creative Zen Vision. The files are converted with a Bitrate calculator which compresses any output file into any size. There are various adjustable parameters available in this program such as decoding CD, converting pointed segment to MP3, and converting multiples files at once.

This program is very easy to use and very user-friendly. All you need to do is load the source file and hit the convert button. While waiting for the conversion process to be completed, you can surf the web or continue doing your work because you have the option of running the program in background until the process is complete. When the conversion is done it will automatically perform the task complete actions.

The rest of this article (with a lot of technical explanations) can be found on this Wikipedia page.

The commonly accepted colors are white, pink, blue, brown, purple and grey. Sometimes the names differ, and some wants to add other colors to the list as well.

1. Speak with confidence! This is definitely not a mic technique, but a vocal technique. Make sure that you don’t sit and mumble for yourself. I think this is a common mistake, especially by people who sit and record by themselves.

2. Think about the distance to the mic. Depending on the microphone you use, and depending on what sound you’re going for, you should have it at different distances. And perhaps more importantly when recording spoken word, you should keep it at a constant distance. A major flaw I hear in amateur podcasts is the typical change in sound that you get when the speaker suddenly leans backwards in his chair, thus getting an additional meter to the mic. The change that occurs there is not only volume either. No, the change is also in the character of the sound, because the sound being picked up (you) have moved from one place in the room to another. This is especially apparent when recording with condenser microphones as they pick up more of the sound than dynamic microphones do.

What distance should you have then? Record a few words at a a couple of different distances to hear the differences, then choose the one you like best. Generally, though, with a condenser mic you should be a bit farther away (a few decimeters is certainly no problem) than with a dynamic mic, the latter which you can almost let your lips touch the membrane (don’t do that however).

3. Think about the angle. If you’re reading from a paper, script or whatever, it’s a good chance that you will turn your face and mouth a little from the mic from time to time. This can also result in poor sound, so make sure that you’re aiming well. It’s especially important when using dynamic microphones.

4. Kill the sibilants. Sometimes, depending on the vocalist and the mic, a lot of s- and p-sounds will be present. This doesn’t sound good at all. While actions against it usually takes place in the editing and mixing phase as well, there’s no need to hold back against it at this point. There are pop shields available that helps to deal with these types of sounds (they’re also good for reminding you of the distance to the mic!).

The poor mans solution is making your own with a pair of stockings, or using the pen trick. As you can see on this crappy quality picture, just attach a pen to the mic so that it splits the sounds. I only use pop shields and the likes on condenser microphones.

5. If you record digital, red is a no-no. Back in the day, when analog ruled the world, it really didn’t matter if your input meters hit red when you recorded. In fact, it was often used for effect because it creates analog distortion which is pleasant to the ear. When you do this in the digital domain, however, it creates digital distortion which sounds awful. Because of that I make a habit of recording with the meters around -12dB, but some go as low as -20dB. You don’t have to be as exact, just keep in mind that louder in-signal isn’t necessarily the best or the loudest out-signal. Raising the volume fader after you’ve recorded isn’t hard, but getting rid of digital distortion can sometimes be impossible once it’s there.

Keep in mind that depending on which software you use the metering will be different. For instance, some applications will show meters going as high as +12dB, which in most cases mean that +12dB should be considered the zero point. The most common metering seems to +6dB. Consult the software manuals for details on this.

Each compressor functions differently, but common controls are threshold which decides at what levels the compressor shall start working, ratio which decides how much compression will be applied, attack and release which are timing parameters for setting how fast the compressor will work, and finally gain (or makeup gain) which helps in setting the level of the compressed signal.

Waves Restoration Bundle and Waves Z-Noise.

Waves is a classic plug-in developer in the audio department and has since the dawn of times been considered among the best. Lately however they have taken a few odd turns, including a strange support system (WUP) and a witch hunt on pirates. This has lead to them having a rather bad reputation as a company. Anyway, the Restoration Bundle contains X-Hum, X-Click, X-Noise and X-Crackle. Pretty self-explanatory.

Sony Oxford Restoration Tools

Also a giant in the pro audio field, Sony Oxford recently broke with Sony and became Sonnox. Their other plug-ins seem to still be for sale, but not the Restoration tools. it is possible that Sony kept them to themselves.

Wave Arts Restoration Suite

See a pattern in the names of these products? Wave Arts (not to be confused with Waves) have gotten some good reviews and are cheaper than much of the competition.

BIAS Sound Soap and Sound Soap Pro

While all the products mentioned above are plug-ins to use in your audio editor, BIAS Sound Soap and Sound Soap Pro are full applications.

The ones I’ve mentioned here are commonly used among professionals, but remember that the price tag doesn’t measure quality. You’ll very likely be able to find cheaper products out there that might work for you. You’ll probably even be able to find free or never expiring shareware for audio restoration tasks.

This is a beauty…
Alesis USB podcasting mic kit

I remember reading good things about Røde USB mics.
Røde Podcaster

This is a USB bundle from the controversial company Behringer. It seems like they have a Firewire bundle as well.
Behringer Podcast Studio

Samson C01U Recording / Podcast Pak

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EDIT: For some reason a volume automation in the beginning of the clip had disappeared and I didn’t notice it until now. Here’s the correct version. The difference is that the drums fade in… Sometimes small changes make a lot of difference.

As with all clips on Audival, you can use this for free in your podcast

As with all clips on Audival, you can use this for free in your podcast