Current Offerings

Currently, users can host their audio files in iTunes U or on their department, organization, or personal websites. In Web Press, audio files can be uploaded into your asset manager.

Obtaining/Recording

There are many ways to obtain audio for your website. If your audio is already on a CD, you can rip the audio to your hard drive by using a program like iTunes or Freerip.  Please ensure that the university owns the copyright to whatever audio material you are ripping from a CD by checking Missouri State’s Copyright Policy.

If you are planning on making original recordings, you will need a recorder and microphone. We suggest using a , as these do not require tape or the transfer time that goes along with using a tape-based system. A digital recorder records onto removable media (a Flash card similar to what is used in a digital camera) and your recorded audio can then be transferred to your computer via a USB cable.

Conversion

To convert your recorded audio to a preferred file type and bit rate for the web, you can use a program like iTunes or FreeRip. The best audio format for use online is the .mp3 file format. The bit rate at which you encode your audio depends on the type of audio it is, and your space constraints.

For audio that is only speech (with no music or other sounds) then a bit rate of 64kbps is suggested. If your audio is more dynamic and contains elements other than just speech, then a bit rate of 128kbps is suggested. A limit of a 10MB file size for any piece of audio is recommended, and your audio bit rate should be adjusted accordingly to ensure that you do not go over this size limit. Below is a rough estimate as to how much space will be required for your audio depending on the bit rate you set:

64 kbps: 0.5 MB / minute of audio
128 kbps: 1.0 MB / minute of audio
192 kbps: 1.5 MB / minute of audio

Embedding Your Audio

You can embed your audio file onto your webpage by creating a link to your audio file, so a user can download the file to their computer and listen to the audio from their hard drive.

The other option is to stream the audio file on your webpage, so a user can listen without having to wait to download the entire file. In Web Press, there is a content class for a Flash audio player that you can embed onto your site, and play your audio files through this.