While in NY last week, I had the pleasure of meeting David Coleman, the CEO of SoundStreak, Inc.  Check out www.SoundStreak.com. David is simply a super nice guy who has really great ideas and an entrepreneurial spirit.  I think he's on to something here, IMO!

David is a former Creative Director for various networks, so he knows the voice over and the production business like the back of his hand.  To me, this adds credibility to the product... don't you hate it when products are developed by folks that have no clue about the business? David definitely has a clue... he's done it!!! 

SoundStreak has created a product called 2-Picture. It's an alternative to our beloved ISDN codecs we have now.  I've not had experience with any of the other ISDN alternatives that are on the market or being developed. Honestly, I hate change and try NOT to look at things like this! But, while in NYC, Randy was testing this product out, so I was able to see it in use. I will say, SoundStreak 2-Picture does seem extremely user friendly. Very.

2-Picture also allows the talent to read to picture... which is huge for those talent that do promo work.  You still get the three beeps, but you also get the video.  

Here's how it works: Obviously, the talent and the producer need the software. It works on a PC or a Mac. Once you have that, the producer uploads the script and the video, if he chooses. The on-screen script and video appear on the talent's screen. Copy changes can be made on the fly, right there on the screen. The producer then sets the system to record... the talent sees a countdown on the screen, and then he records.  It's that simple!

All of the recording is done on the producer side, just like ISDN. The audio is automatically FTP'd in WAV or AIFF to a folder on the Producer's desktop.  The audio, video, and scripts are stored on a secure server, so they can be accessed at any time. The software can even produce reports for the producer so he can review details about the sessions for that day/week/etc.

The best part... I believe this will be reasonably priced.  The software is free.  Producers will pay a per-session flat-rate fee each time they connect to a talent and record. The fee structure will vary based on the needs of the client.  Talent might be charged a modest annual support fee... but it's up in the air.  They're in beta testing right now, and so all of that will be determined after the beta. 

Sign up for the beta and give it a whirl!!  www.SoundStreak.com