EnnuiCastr
Craig can work with the EnnuiCastr webapp to make your recordings better! Using the webapp is a free option for any Craig users, enabled with the command :craig:, ennuicastr on
. Using the webapp gives you two advantages over Craig alone:
- When you start a recording with Craig, you're given an EnnuiCastr client link. Send this link to whoever you wish to record. Anyone with this link may join the recording through the webapp in Firefox or Chrome, in addition to Discord, and it will capture their audio through the web as another track for Craig. Audio captured through the webapp doesn't go through Discord, which means that it won't be processed, and won't suffer ill effect from bad Internet connections. You will get a cleaner, more complete recording of any user who opts to use it.
- The webapp provides a recording monitor which displays live who's connected and who's speaking, whether through Discord or EnnuiCastr. If you're ever concerned whether your audio is actually making it to Craig, this makes it crystal clear!
EnnuiCastr is a new service and new feature, so expect more features as time goes on!
Some technical details of how EnnuiCastr works:
- When used with Craig, EnnuiCastr isn't an independent application: EnnuiCastr tracks are included in the same recording as Discord tracks, and are downloaded through the same system. It should have negligible effect on the editing process, other than providing higher-quality audio for editing.
- EnnuiCastr uses Opus-compressed audio, like Discord itself, but at 128kbit, which in Opus is sufficient for almost any purpose. The audio is compressed in the browser itself, so a modern browser is required! Patrons may opt to record directly in FLAC, eliminating lossy compression from the entire recording pipeline.
- EnnuiCastr employs a voice activity detector (VAD), which means it's only transmitting audio when the speaker is talking. However, unlike a traditional VAD, EnnuiCastr's VAD buffers two seconds of surrounding audio, so that there are no sudden cut-ins or cut-outs. Patrons may disable the VAD, and thus get continuous recordings of all users.
- EnnuiCastr has the same commitment to synchronization as the rest of Craig. EnnuiCastr clients constantly check for synchronization with the server and account for clock drift, so that multiple tracks never go out of sync.