ISDN, or Integrated Services Digital Network is old, legacy equipment….it's a circuit-switched telephone network system, designed to allow digital transmission of voice and
data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better
voice quality than an analog phone. (according to Wikipedia).
All I know is to get the best-paying jobs, respect, and cred as a career voice actor, many talent-types get the installation of ISDN technology at home.
There are other, mostly IP solutions to uninterrupted top-quality audio connections (notably Source-Connect), but ISDN just doesn’t seem to want to go away, and not everyone is sold on the IP technology yet.
Established, high-traffic studios in important cities still use ISDN all the time, and despite a lively debate among Voice actors about it’s demise, ISDN survives, even thrives.
‘Trouble is, even most Telco’s don’t know what it is, or how to install it, service it, or describe it. Stories about acquiring, installing, configuring, and connecting to ISDN are legendary among voice actors.
I’ve just joined that special fraternity/sorority.
The provider of telephony in Las Vegas is Embarq. To make a long story short, and save you all the boring details, I’ve gotten my lines installed, and purchased all the required hardware and software to ostensibly make this thing happen.
I decided to go with the less-expensive, but more quirky AudioTX solution to ISDN. It mostly relies on the guts of your computer to do many of the tasks that a typical hardware “box” would normally do. But, as you might guess, it also involves a little more “hand-holding” than the traditional Telos Zephyr installation, by comparison.
On top of that, one of the hardware “pieces” to my ISDN install was purchased on E-bay, and I didn’t really pay attention when clicking my lowly bid. Now, I’ve got a piece of 1998 equipment designed for Windows 98, that is not supported by it’s maker for WinXP, and barely mentioned on its website, even when you drill down into help files.
I’ve often stated that I’m not into computer games. To me, the computer IS the game. These things are a hassle, but they’re also wonderful opportunities to learn something. I dig in my heels and get tenacious about troubleshooting.
‘Turns out there IS some hope for my old piece of the puzzle to fit into my new ISDN configuration.
It may be boring to some, but in the next few days, I’ll be providing updates here on my blog of the winding road ahead to ISDN success. Maybe the next guy who has to go this way can benefit. I know I’ve found terrific support from those who’ve already trod on this path.
I appreciate your support and patience.
CourVO
