Zoom is a great program for recording your remote podcast interviews. Their free plan includes unlimited one-on-one meetings and up to 40 minutes for group meetings.
In this article I'll discuss what settings you need to change now to optimize your podcast recordings.
Ensure you've installed the latest version of Zoom by navigating to: zoom.us > Check for Updates...
To adjust the follow settings, navigate to: zoom.us > Preferences...
Under the Audio Tab:
Ensure automatically adjust microphone volume is unchecked. Keeping this options enabled will change the level of your microphone while recording, which can be extremely difficult to balance during post production. Both you and your guest should perform a quick microphone check before recording with a normal to loud speaking voice. Use the input volume slider to adjust levels as needed.
Suppress background noise should be set to Low. This will minimize the chances of Zoom abruptly cutting off your recordings in an attempt to reduce background noise.
Check the box next to Show in-meeting option to "Enable Original Sound" from microphone. I'll discuss the benefits of this feature later on in this article.
One last parameter to check that's not pictured below is the echo cancellation setting. Scroll down to the bottom of the audio tab and click Advanced. Ensure Echo Cancellation is set to Auto.
Under the Recording Tab:
Check the box next to record a separate audio file for each participant. This is extremely important if you're working with an editor or performing any post production work.
To keep all your files organized, check the box next to choose a location to save the recordings... This will allow you to easily save your recorded episode into a unique folder after ending the meeting.
If you're recording a video podcast and plan on performing any post production editing, you'll want to enable Optimize for 3rd party video editor.
If You're Recording a Video Podcast:
Enable HD video under the Video Tab.
That's it! Now you're all set to record at the highest quality Zoom has to offer.
One Last Thing:
After you start your meeting, you'll now see the option to turn on original sound in the top left corner of the meeting screen.
This feature disables Zoom's noise reduction and echo cancellation algorithms that may cause problems during recording. This is a great feature if you and your guest are recording in an ideal environment, which would be a private location that's free from excess noise. Also, only enable this option if you and your guest are recording with a decent microphone and headphones.
Final Thoughts:
Although Zoom may not be the best program available to record a podcast, it's definitely a great place to start. If you're looking to upgrade to a higher quality recording service, check out either squadcast.fm or riverside.fm.
I highly recommend checking out my 10 Tips for Higher Quality Remote Recordings article to improve your recording quality even further!
If you learned something new or found an idea particularly helpful, please like and share this post. Let me know in the comments below if these settings improved your Zoom recordings.
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- Sterling Skye
Download Zoom: https://zoom.us/download
Resources and Additional Learning Materials:
Zoom Pricing Plans: https://zoom.us/pricing
Zoom Video Tutorials: https://support.zoom.us