Audio Comments
drupalina - March 13, 2009 - 06:22
| Project: | Audio recording field |
| Version: | 6.x-1.0-beta1 |
| Component: | Miscellaneous |
| Category: | support request |
| Priority: | normal |
| Assigned: | Unassigned |
| Status: | active |
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Description
Wow. This module seems to be very close to what I've been looking for for a very long time!!!
What I'm looking for is for users to be able to record audio comments to nodes. So together with the standard comment text-field they will also see an audio recorder. Once the comment has been recorded and submitted, it will display with a *1pixelout* player, which other users can listen to, and, of course, post audio (or text) replies to. And so we can get a whole tree of 1pixelout comments.
Can this module deliver something like this?
#1
We are still developing this module and hope to have it working soon.
ListenUp does not upload MP3 so it will not work directly with Flash. But we are developing a small JavaScript player interface so that you can play multiple recordings with just one player loaded on the page.
Also not that we use CKK to associate recordings with a node. So if you want to add recordings to comments then I think you will need to make comments be nodes. That is a Drupal option.
#2
I think 1pixelout , which is included in SWF tools package http://drupal.org/project/swftools , though can be used separately, is the most compact, neat and user-frienly audio player.
The question then becomes, how does the audio get recorded? What plugin will you use to record the audio?
And once it is recorded, where will it be stored? in a remote site of some rd party service, or locally? I think drupal people would prefer locally. After all a relatively low-quality audio file converted to Flash format shouldn't be too heavy: 50kb-100kb per comment.
I have tried Riffly module for drupal (see example http://drupal.hyrme.com/mods/node/7), and found it not very promissing. The process of recording is not very user friendly (flash player is asking for a permission), the tree hierarchy in comments doesn't work... and the worst part is that audio files get stored externally. So if I choose to discontinue using Riffly service, all the audio comments will be gone.
Ultimately, the whole point of audio comments is to save the commenters the hassle of having to type their comments, and just speak their minds *spontaneously* .. just Click-n-Talk and post, without any prompts or warnings.
Also, I never heard of comments being made nodes. Will read up on that, but any pointers are appreciated.
I have a lot of hope for this module if it will deliver a simpla nd user-friendly audio-commenting system. Please keep up the good work. Thanks!
#3
The SWF tool sounds easy. We could convert from Speex to MP3 on the server using LAME. Then you could use any Flash player.
> The question then becomes, how does the audio get recorded? What plugin will you use to record the audio?
We have our own recording tool. See ListenUp at www.javasonics.com
It can be used for free with some restrictions.
> And once it is recorded, where will it be stored?
On the same server that is hosting the Drupal site.
> just Click-n-Talk and post, without any prompts or warnings.
Security requires that the user grant permission to the recorder. But that only has to happen once. Then it is easy to just click Record, then Send.
#4
Any plans for a version 5? I am on riffly at the moment and would definitely change over to this if it meant i could store my files locally.
#5
Regarding the need to convert files on the server:
For Comments On Website:
Flash player 10, which has been out for a few months, is the first version to support the Speex codec, so I guess flash audio players will also start to support playback of Speex encoded files.
When Speex becomes supported by a flash audio player, you could use the java applet ListenUp for recording and either ListenUp or a Speex compatible flash audio player for playback. You wouldn't need to convert the file to MP3 in this case. Perhaps 1PixelOut (v2?) will support Speex?
For Podcasting:
But ... if you want to podcast the audio, you probably *would* still want to convert the files to MP3 because it is the de-facto standard for podcasts, portable audio devices etc.
ListenUp Java Applet:
The ListenUp applet is the most feature rich, cross browser, voice recording applet I've found and tested. Showing and allowing editing of the waveform is particularly interesting. Also, control of one or more recorders/players on a single page using javascript worked well in testing.
The downside so far has been that integration into Drupal CCK hasn't worked well. Hopefully this is what PBurke is working on improving ;)