Audacity Forum

Can anyone tell me how to successfully do the following in Skype's SkypeOut'S voice over ip calls?

Successfully record the skypeout conversation, all parties included in the call.
Play flash soundboards over skype in the skype conference.
Talk in the microphone in skype while playing the flash soundboards.
Beable to hear the output of the flash soundboard that is being played.

What I have now and am able to do.

I have 2 laptops with the audio out of one laptop(laptop1) going into the audio in of the second latptop (laptop2). laptop1 is the laptop I use to bring up the soundboards from soundboards.com and input them into the laptop2 to broadcast over skype. I have a 1/8 Y splitter on laptop2 which is plugged into the microphone port. On the Y splitter I have my microphone and the audio in comming from laptop1. Now if I set the microphone volume on laptop2 to low and play the soundboard clips, I am able to play the sound over Skype and it is clear, but the problem is then when I talk in the mic nobody can hear me due to the low volume level. If I raise the microphone volume level, I am able to talk in the microphone and the conference members are able to hear me, but the sounboard sounds end up sounding distorted. Also I am unable to hear the sounds being played when I play the soundboard clips, but that is because it is going into the microphone input device and if I could I would probably get an echo. Can this be done though?

Would it be better to purchase say a USB Mixer and try getting the desired results? If so can anyone recommend a mixer to use for the type of results I am looking for? Something cheap that sounds ok and will get the job done.

Thanks

Probably the place that will kill you first about that setup is that anything that says "Microphone" on it is about a thousand times lower in volume than anything that says "Line Level" or "Headphone Level." That's why it sounded like overloading garbage when you cross connected them like that.

PC Laptops tend to have "Mic In" and "Headphone Out" which are very different from each other but pretty much perfect for plugging a in a communications headset and using Skype-like services. You don't get to plug stereo line-level signals in, anywhere, ever. Macs are the opposite. Good stereo Line-In and no microphone.

As you're finding out, Communications Services like Skype tend to preclude you from doing other things. Some of this is intentional. Skype would be a disaster if they couldn't firmly grab the computer's sound channels.

So yes, you will need some sort of sound mixer and that's something of a design task because mixers that do what you want either have to be made/modified or very carefully shopped for..

Koz

Would any of these devices work for what I am trying to accomplish?

E-mu 0202:

http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp ... duct=15186

Tascam US-122L:

http://www.tascam.com/products/us-122l.html

Tascam US-144:

http://www.tascam.com/products/us-144.html

M-Audio has a bunch of cool stuff like the Black Box:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/M ... ckBox.html

FastTrack USB:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackUSB.html

FastTrack Pro:

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FastTrackPro.html

Behringer Podcast Studio USB might do what I want:

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/PO ... O-USB.aspx

A little mixer with loads of knobs, and cheap:

http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/802.aspx

<<<I am able to talk in the microphone and the conference members are able to hear me, but the sounboard sounds end up sounding distorted.>>>

You need to hear the transmission show and take part in the conference with multiple locations? I think that would be a nightmare to design and build and a second nightmare to get to work. You're describing a national radio network studio with multiple call-in channels, multi-level music mixing desk, and a fold-back routing switcher.

Let us know how it comes out.

Koz

Nobody wants to stick their neck out on this one because you are asking about a very complicated set-up with lots of challenges (as described by koz). The mixer/interfaces that you have listed are all nice little units, but whether you will be able to satisfy all the requirements/overcome all of the issues and get everything to work all at the same time.... ?

Just getting both sides of a Skype conversation recorded is quite a challenge - the best way to do that seems to be with 3rd party (non-free) software that is designed specifically for that.
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=recording+skype