It doesn’t have the sexiest moniker, but as the debate rages over what will one day replace the expensive if reliable behemoth (been trying to crowbar that word into conversation all week) ISDN, other cheaper, easier to use and apparently better quality options keep popping up.
This week’s contender for the the throne is IPDTL. The Radio Academy announced it was their Technical Innovation Award winner 2013 at the Radio Festival in Salford and have since put it to good use in their own podcasts.
Using only the Chrome browser and my own microphone set up, I’ve carried out a couple of test sessions with it, both with the software’s creator and with a colleague at the BBC and I was pretty impressed with the results. It was clear, had next to no latency (we were able to carry out a conversation without a delay coming back and smacking us in the ears) and during both tests, didn’t drop out once. I can see it being very effective for in-house production at radio stations, particularly for quick sessions for imaging, trails or commercials.
But I’m not letting go of my Prima LT just yet. As much as change is good, people do like to cling to their old ways.