My thanks to Mike Descher of the MXL Technology Division of Marshall Electronics for providing test units of three USB microphones for my review: the Studio 1 USB , the USB.008 , and the USB.009. First, it’s important to note that these are USB microphones, allowing you to plug them directly into your computer for audio recording - no breakout box required. Audio pros may scoff at USB microphones, preferring their expensive XLR mics and breakout boxes or mixing boards - and probably rightly so. So a USB microphone fits my needs perfectly. But I digress. MORE >>

Microphone. Use the best microphone your budget allows. Microphones come in many different shapes, sizes, and prices. If you are on a more conservative project budget, I suggest that you invest in a USB Plantronics headset with integrated microphone as I’ve generally had good luck with this brand. Using a USB microphone ensures that your recording is transferred to your computer digitally ( analog microphones use your sound card and must convert an analog signal to digital —resulting in sound degradation). You know of what I speak. Beware of the Buzz. MORE >>

Your Voki can speak with your own voice which is added via microphone, upload, or phone. Voki enables users to express themselves on the web in their own voice using a talking character. You can customize your Voki to look like you or take on the identity of lots of other types of characters… animals, monsters, anime etc. Check it out: [link MORE >>

Flipcams have no jack for an external microphone. Make audio awesome—the external microphone jack lets you record in stereo. I’ve been a tremendous fan of Flipcams, the $150 pocket-sized video cameras with an interface even a first grader can figure out. The one downside was sound. Audio is more important than picture when shooting video. Charles Jennings showed me an awesome Kodak mini-cam that solves the problem. Check the specs of the $180 KODAK Zi8 Pocket Video Camera : Capture HD quality 1080p video with 16:9 aspect ratio. File formats. video: H.264 (MOV), AAC LC. MORE >>

Today we’ll look at the microphone and recording environment. Invest in a good quality microphone. When it comes to microphones, you typically get what you pay for. This isn’t to say that you can’t make do with an inexpensive microphone. ve worked for plenty of organizations that had no money and forced me to buy my microphones at an unnamed electrical store. But the truth is that when you compare the acceptable low-quality audio with similar narration recorded with a better microphone, there is a noticeable difference. But that’s just me. MORE >>