jharris171185
Member
Hello everyone,
I am posting this guide for Radioboss and Streamyard or other similar service just in case anyone else has wondered what the best way is to pull this off.
I use a device called the Zoom Podtrack P4, which is an audio interface made specifically for podcasters, but it also works incredibly well for radio, but there are some rather frustrating limitations that would apply to this, or to any other audio interface, at least with my current setup. The podtrack offers the ability to have 4 microphones if you are only recording to the computer, 3 mics and a phone caller, 3 mics and usb channel with mix minus, or two mics, phone caller, and USB mix minus channel. I have the latter setup, where I have USB channel with mix minus enabled, and then either two or three mics, depending on if I also want a phone caller. That channel 3 can be switched as needed, but can't do both at the same time, so you either use it as a mic or for a caller (with mix minus automatically applied.) So, I have radioboss main output set to the Podtrack, and the mic is also set to the podtrack. That way, with just one press of a button, I can have a few mics added to the mix, and even a phone call (with mix minus already done.) One press of a button, and you're set. Your music volume lowers, so then you just have to worry about the levels of the inputs going to the podtrack, and it sounds amazing. The microphone is set to only output to the encoder, since in Radioboss there would be a delay, and the podtrack also offers direct monitoring via headphones. If all you ever do is inside radioboss, awesome, you don't have to touch another thing. But if you want to take that same signal from radioboss, and have it duplicated in another program, then things get hard. In OBS, it's easy, you just set your input and output to the Podtrack, and done. But for something like Streamyard, a browser based streaming solution, where it won't capture everything the same way, meaning it won't capture everything coming from your speakers, then you start to ask, how in the world do I get all radioboss audio to Streamyard?
So, what I did is to use the included virtual cable, setting this as monitor device. Remember, mic playback is disabled in radioboss because of the delay, so this effects both main and monitor. Life would be easier if that option could be set independently for each, but at this time, it can't. So, if you just use the output from that virtual cable going in to Radioboss monitor, you get all the music, spots, etc from Radioboss, but not your mic. Hmmmm, rather frustrating. So, the final piece of the puzzle comes when you go in to Windows sound settings, under recording devices, and select properties for the podtrack, and then set sound from that device to play back also on the virtual cable.
Some things to keep in mind:
1. You may need to adjust volume for the microphone and the virtual cable. The mix going to the virtual cable will not be exactly the same as the mix going through radioboss and out to your stream, as this method does not have a way of taking in to account whatever mic levels you have in Radioboss and any plugins used for the mic inside RB. You are basically getting everything else from RB, (music, promos, etc) plus raw output from the podtrack. Because Mix minus is enabled on the USB channel, you don't get all the other rb audio double.
2. An easier way to do things, if you don't care about, or want, one button control, would be to disable mix minus on that usb channel, and then instead of setting it as your mic, set it as input 1, and treat it like a normal mixer, and then just adjust rb volume with the channel 4 knob. By treating it like a normal mixer, and having mix minus disabled on usb channel, all audio would also then output to any other service set to use the podtrack as an input/output. But because I like that one button control, having rb lower and it capture everything else coming through the podtrack, I've had to go about it in this round about way.
What I haven't quite figured out yet is, if I want to have a remote guest in streamyard, how do I also get their audio back in to Radioboss, since by default I don't think radioboss will capture audio from an external program? The idea is for neither side to have weird loopback issues.
I've done recordings, both from inside radioboss as a stream archive, as well as from an external recording program, with the external program set to record from virtual cable, and by playing with my levels, I've managed to get the secondary mix sounding pretty close to the first. What is unclear is how to make sure a remote guest in streamyard can both hear and be added to, that remote mix, still preserving that mix minus.
A lot of this can also be simplified by using a much bigger device, like a broadcast board with telco channels. I know, as I've done it, and doing all of this via hardware is a ton easier, but I don't do it for two reasons. 1. I'm trying to save on space, and that board is huge, and 2, by using a regular mixer, I lose that one button control, because rather than just hitting a button to toggle on and off a microphone, I have to both turn mics on and off, as well as raise and lower volume on the mixer, plus still doing other things on the keyboard, like going to the next track. Thus, I find myself trying to perfect a software solution.
While this is nowhere a complete and perfect guide, I hope someone finds it to be of use. And, if you wish to add to it, by all means, feel free.
I am posting this guide for Radioboss and Streamyard or other similar service just in case anyone else has wondered what the best way is to pull this off.
I use a device called the Zoom Podtrack P4, which is an audio interface made specifically for podcasters, but it also works incredibly well for radio, but there are some rather frustrating limitations that would apply to this, or to any other audio interface, at least with my current setup. The podtrack offers the ability to have 4 microphones if you are only recording to the computer, 3 mics and a phone caller, 3 mics and usb channel with mix minus, or two mics, phone caller, and USB mix minus channel. I have the latter setup, where I have USB channel with mix minus enabled, and then either two or three mics, depending on if I also want a phone caller. That channel 3 can be switched as needed, but can't do both at the same time, so you either use it as a mic or for a caller (with mix minus automatically applied.) So, I have radioboss main output set to the Podtrack, and the mic is also set to the podtrack. That way, with just one press of a button, I can have a few mics added to the mix, and even a phone call (with mix minus already done.) One press of a button, and you're set. Your music volume lowers, so then you just have to worry about the levels of the inputs going to the podtrack, and it sounds amazing. The microphone is set to only output to the encoder, since in Radioboss there would be a delay, and the podtrack also offers direct monitoring via headphones. If all you ever do is inside radioboss, awesome, you don't have to touch another thing. But if you want to take that same signal from radioboss, and have it duplicated in another program, then things get hard. In OBS, it's easy, you just set your input and output to the Podtrack, and done. But for something like Streamyard, a browser based streaming solution, where it won't capture everything the same way, meaning it won't capture everything coming from your speakers, then you start to ask, how in the world do I get all radioboss audio to Streamyard?
So, what I did is to use the included virtual cable, setting this as monitor device. Remember, mic playback is disabled in radioboss because of the delay, so this effects both main and monitor. Life would be easier if that option could be set independently for each, but at this time, it can't. So, if you just use the output from that virtual cable going in to Radioboss monitor, you get all the music, spots, etc from Radioboss, but not your mic. Hmmmm, rather frustrating. So, the final piece of the puzzle comes when you go in to Windows sound settings, under recording devices, and select properties for the podtrack, and then set sound from that device to play back also on the virtual cable.
Some things to keep in mind:
1. You may need to adjust volume for the microphone and the virtual cable. The mix going to the virtual cable will not be exactly the same as the mix going through radioboss and out to your stream, as this method does not have a way of taking in to account whatever mic levels you have in Radioboss and any plugins used for the mic inside RB. You are basically getting everything else from RB, (music, promos, etc) plus raw output from the podtrack. Because Mix minus is enabled on the USB channel, you don't get all the other rb audio double.
2. An easier way to do things, if you don't care about, or want, one button control, would be to disable mix minus on that usb channel, and then instead of setting it as your mic, set it as input 1, and treat it like a normal mixer, and then just adjust rb volume with the channel 4 knob. By treating it like a normal mixer, and having mix minus disabled on usb channel, all audio would also then output to any other service set to use the podtrack as an input/output. But because I like that one button control, having rb lower and it capture everything else coming through the podtrack, I've had to go about it in this round about way.
What I haven't quite figured out yet is, if I want to have a remote guest in streamyard, how do I also get their audio back in to Radioboss, since by default I don't think radioboss will capture audio from an external program? The idea is for neither side to have weird loopback issues.
I've done recordings, both from inside radioboss as a stream archive, as well as from an external recording program, with the external program set to record from virtual cable, and by playing with my levels, I've managed to get the secondary mix sounding pretty close to the first. What is unclear is how to make sure a remote guest in streamyard can both hear and be added to, that remote mix, still preserving that mix minus.
A lot of this can also be simplified by using a much bigger device, like a broadcast board with telco channels. I know, as I've done it, and doing all of this via hardware is a ton easier, but I don't do it for two reasons. 1. I'm trying to save on space, and that board is huge, and 2, by using a regular mixer, I lose that one button control, because rather than just hitting a button to toggle on and off a microphone, I have to both turn mics on and off, as well as raise and lower volume on the mixer, plus still doing other things on the keyboard, like going to the next track. Thus, I find myself trying to perfect a software solution.
While this is nowhere a complete and perfect guide, I hope someone finds it to be of use. And, if you wish to add to it, by all means, feel free.
