Industry news, views and reviews

Is ISDN necessary for your home studio?

March 18th, 2009 Posted in Actor, Beginners, General Info, Q & A, Technical, Voice Over Question

Here’s a question that we received today from a VO artist who is just beginning her career…“As a newbie, starting out in the business, is it worth the extra expense for me to get ISDN service in my home studio?” 

What do YOU think?  Is it worth the investment in ISDN service for one’s home studio at the beginning stages in their career?  Are agents more likely to represent a talent who has ISDN in their home studio?  Is ISDN on it’s way ‘out’ of the industry?

Your comments, thoughts, experiences, etc. about ISDN is greatly appreciated! 

Amber Dahlin & Tracy Pattin at Voicebank.net

  1. 7 Responses to “Is ISDN necessary for your home studio?”

  2. By Jeffrey Kafer on Mar 18, 2009

    The rule of thumb I’ve heard: Don’t invest in ISDN until you’re at a point where you’re turning clients away because you don’t have it.

  3. By Heather on Mar 18, 2009

    That sounds like a great rule of thumb. I currently don’t have ISDN, and when looking for work, I seem to be caught in an endless loop of, “we won’t work with you unless you get ISDN” and the fact that I can’t justify getting ISDN without work…

    And I keep hearing small whispers that its going out of relevance, so… its quite the conundrum.

  4. By Dave White on Mar 20, 2009

    My belief is that you should be a full service studio right out of the gate. Many agents and production studios won’t even consider you unless you have it. If you can’t afford ISDN right now, get Source Connect. It requires Pro Tools but for a fee, you can connect to ISDN through a bridging service using your Source Connect. I’ve only used mine a few times because I have ISDN too but others have told me that the bridge link works great! I know other voice talent that cut a deal with a studio close by or another talent with ISDN and then absorb the studio rates and then let it be known to clients that they have ISDN. It’s not dishonest if you have access to ISDN whenever you need it. Dave W.

  5. By Philip Banks on Mar 22, 2009

    Don’t buy a Taxi until you have a passenger and you won’t get any passengers until you have a Taxi.

    If you are making close to a living or a living as a Voice Over then you will increase your income by having an ISDN equipped studio.

    The key is to sell your voice, get people to pay you for it. Forget the gear until people have discovered the joy of hiring you.

    ISDN will not get you work it will simply change a decision from “possibly” to “yes”.

    In terms of ISDN being yesterday’s technology, it is but it will be used by studios for a good few years to come. The only people to poo-poo ISDN are those who don’t have it or those who thought it was the lazy man’s way to riches. ISDN gives you ISDN, not talent – Big mistake to think the opposite but you’d be surprised how many do think like that.

  6. By Bill Pryce on Mar 27, 2009

    When ISDN first came on the scene I was among a small group of voice actors who split the cost of a codec plus the required phone lines. One of my fellow voice actors had a studio in his office suite and we installed it there. It was a cost effective way to gain entry to the technology.

    I don’t see ISDN going away anytime soon. It just works too well.

    You do not need Pro Tools to use Source Connect. You can buy the standard version and use the free desktop host. It’s a great alternative to ISDN to have on a laptop when traveling.

  7. By Weddings on Oct 20, 2009

    Ok, yeah, I don’t get it. I use Comcast Cable which is far faster than ISDN in most cases. So being a newbie to VO using this method (as opposed to just going into the studio and doing it), it would be great to understand why they are asking this. Are they wanting you to record the VO and then send the MP3 to them via ISDN or does it even matter that I use cable instead? I’m just curious.

  8. By Stewart Wilson-Turner on Dec 10, 2009

    Hi Weddings.

    ISDN is a direct connection to the studio where the Producer/Director/Client are listening, directing and simultaneously recording your session. Comcast (which is just an internet connection) is fine if they want you to record and send them the file after recording. They can direct you over the phone and listen to you while you do the take but being on Comcast doesn’t allow you to connect directly with the recording equipment in the studio, giving you and the client the ability to work in real-time…unless you also invest in Source Connect and use a bridging service mentioned in one of the comments above.

Post a Comment