RFC: Audio recording of LUG meetings?

[Ben Scott]

On 6/20/07, Ted Roche <tedroche at tedroche.com> wrote:
> I'd suggest we'd want a wireless mike for the speaker ...

  You can get pretty decent handheld wireless mics for around $120.

  Related: A decent portable amp goes for around $100.  We have had
occasions where, due to crowd size, a PA would have been nice.

  We have such a setup at work (which is why I know how much they
cost).  I could probably borrow it occasionally fairly easily.  But I
don't think I could borrow it five times a month every month.

  If GNHLUG had its "own" equipment, it might well be feasible to
courier it around to the various meetings each month.

> ... ideally, a directional mike the recordist could point at the audience when a
> question was asked ...

  I'm not sure of pricing for a decent one of these.  Google finds
prices all over the map ($100 to $500).  Anyone here got experience
with these things?

> Is this a good idea?

  It's one of the things that's gotten consistently requested over the
years.  It would also greatly multiply the potential value of our
meetings.  Suddenly, the whole world can tune in.

  Related: Videoing the meetings and posting them on YouTube might
also be cool.  "Webcams" are cheap.  There's almost always somebody
with a laptop at every meeting.

> Is it feasible?

  I think so.  We could prolly collect donations for equipment purchases.

> Who listens to audiocasts ...

  Apparently, lots of people.  Google for "podcast" finds 129 *million* matches.

> What concerns are there?

  License terms.  I suspect CC-NC-ND (Creative Commons,
Non-Commercial, No-Derivatives) would be best for our purposes, but
maybe others disagree.

-- Ben