"In this business, clients want a particular voice. But having the best technology to go with the voice can make the difference in getting and keeping clients," says John B. Wells, 20-year veteran of the voiceover business and the voice of WCBS NewsRadio 88. The codec he relies on is the MUSICAM USA CDQPrima 220.

At his main studio location in Dallas, John serves up to 18 clients daily. "I take great care in selecting the right microphone, preamps, and signal processing equipment to perfect the front end, so I don’t want to lose all that work in the transmission." Because the Prima 220 boasts a dynamic range of 92 dB and ultra-low distortion of less than 0.01%, nothing is "lost in the transmission." While he works, John often tunes his television to the ABC affiliate in Dallas, and is convinced that the audio "sounds even better than what we get when I go to their studio."

In fact, John says he selected the Prima 220 over a popular competitor because "the noise floor is lower—the Prima just sounds better." Sound quality is a concern not only in voiceover work, but also in his music business. John often uses his Prima 220 (which works at all bit rates up to 384 kb/s in CCS MUSICAMÒ Layer II and 320 kb/s Layer III) to send music for recording sessions and client approval to Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville, where he has other studios. "We can call a musician into our Nashville studio and use the Prima 220 to bring him in while we’re recording in Dallas, and that saves us scheduling conflicts and the expense of travel."

As a business owner, John also recognizes the value of the Prima 220. He had already been using MUSICAM USA’s Micro 56 for several years, and he still uses this unit in some areas where ISDN still isn’t available. Although he was growing dissatisfied with Switched 56 sound quality and lack of bandwidth, John says he was cautious about moving up to this technology. He tried satellite transmission a few times, but found it too costly.

When he purchased the Prima 220 several months ago, he could have chosen from five models in the CDQPrima product family (Models 110, 120, 210, 220, and 230). "You owe it to yourself to buy top-of-the-line tools," John reasons. "Like a carpenter or any other craftsman, you need tools that are reliable; tools that can help you produce quality work."

By investing in the Prima 220, John explains that he has made a key business decision. "I’ve gained significant quality improvement, flexibility in the way I work, and a quicker way to do more work for a greater client base." And with a growing client base worldwide, John has come to rely on Prima’s ability to communicate with a variety of other codecs.

John acknowledges that he is not currently using all the features available on the Prima 220; for example, only his engineers generally use the SMPTE Timecode feature. He considers these "features-in-reserve" for the competitive edge. "If I have to buy more equipment to keep getting features or capabilities required for potential jobs, then I lose time and money. Any delay in handling time-sensitive material in this business can jeopardize a deal."

Looking to the future, the CDQPrima digital audio codecs accept software upgrades directly from the factory over an ISDN line. While that offers John investment protection, he says that he’s still worried about advances in this technology. "MUSICAM USA’s CDQPrima is already so superior at reporting everything we do in performance, what will happen if it gets even better? We won’t be able to get away with even the smallest flaw."

For more Information Contact:
Marketing Coordinator
MUSICAM USA
732-739-5600
732-739-1818 fax
info@musicamusa.com e-mail

MUSICAM USA is the d/b/a of Corporate Computer Systems, Inc., Holmdel, NJ USA

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