As published in several past articles, for recording a remote co-host or guest at 48 kHz “studio quality” audio, my preferred service is still Cleanfeed Pro. As a web developer, I use several browsers, but my favorite one remains Opera. However, a recent update to Opera made it unreliable with Cleanfeed (despite being a Chromium-based browser) as the “studio” (initiator of a Cleanfeed session). I had a enjoyable diagnostic session with Marc and Mark, the two creators of Cleanfeed, where they confirmed that Opera was the culprit. They gave me the proper technical text for me to address the issue by sending a ticket to the Opera developers. That was almost a month ago on November 5th, 2021 and I still haven’t gotten any response. Ahead are details of the error caused by an Opera update, a review of why I love Cleanfeed and why I still love Opera (except together with Cleanfeed).
Even though the guest was perfectly audible during the interview, the recording done with Cleanfeed in Opera was unusable until fixing it via a unique technique (thanks to Cleanfeed) which is outside the scope of this article.
The moral of the story (la moraleja)
Use the latest stable version of the Chrome browser as the “studio” (initiator of a Cleanfeed session) until further notice. For guests or co-costs, use any of the approved ones shown here.
Recap why I love Cleanfeed (Pro) for remote audio
- It sounds as good as the guest’s voice, microphone, preamp and environment allow, as if the guest or co-host were in an isolated booth in the same building, with an XLR cable connected to my mixer.
- It respects our absolute standard of 48 kHz (See 48kHzAlliance.com).
- It allows multiple guests in different locations, even with an ISO (isolated) track from each source.
- For guests, it runs in many different browsers. Click here for the latest list, according to the platform (host operating system).
- For guests who don’t have (or refuse to use) headphones, it offers echo cancellation (Pro only).
- Even though it is ideal to use a wired Ethernet connection (not a wireless wifi connection) for reduced latency and reduced radiation (health reasons), some guests don’t have that option. Cleanfeed’s speech-optimized mode delivers pristine 48 kHz even when your guest(s) must use wifi. (On the other hand, using Zoom.us’s optional high quality 48 kHz mode demands a wired Ethernet connection… and is very complex to implement even when a wired Ethernet connection already exists.)
Link to my prior Cleanfeed articles.
Recap of why I love the Opera browser (except for Cleanfeed)
As a web developer and host, I need to use several browsers. However, these are the reasons why my favorite (except for Cleanfeed) is Opera:
- Opera is lighter than Chrome.
- Opera works with the key Chrome extensions I need. (Safari does not.)
- Opera has a built-in screen capture tool which saves time spent with an external tool.
- Whenever we select any text with Opera, it immediately offers the option to copy it, which saves a step.
- Opera hides the common protocols (http:// and https://) while showing a padlock (although sadly, it’s no longer green) or not.
- Chrome —and some other browsers— hide the www prefix when it exists), which is good esthetically but bad for diagnostics as a web developer. On the other hand, Opera shows the www prefix when it exists, which is great for diagnostics. See my 2017 article: 5 reasons to remove WWW from your website or 5 motivos para eliminar WWW de tu sitio web.
Link to my prior Opera articles.
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FTC disclosure
Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units or NFR software, including Cleanfeed. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur, BeyondPodcasting, CapicúaFM , SpeakCastilian or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.