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Advice On Using A Laptop For Podcasting
A podcast is an excellent and pretty inexpensive way to create brand awareness and reach out to audiences. However, podcasting is not just about speaking in front of a microphone. You need certain minimal requirements and essential equipment for creating an effective and engaging podcast. A laptop might be the first gear for anyone starting out with podcasting. You can record, edit and publish podcasts using a laptop computer. If you don’t know how to go about using a best laptop for podcasting, read below to get detailed knowledge.
Which podcasting laptop is recommended?
Most of the people suggest using a Mac pro computer. However, you can get started with a Windows computer too. Samsung notebook 9, Dell XPS 13 or 15, Microsoft Surface Pro, etc are some of the popular laptops for podcasting.
What to look in a laptop computer for podcasting?
Many folks, especially amateur podcasters are unsure whether their laptop will be an ideal fit for their podcasting venture. If you are skeptic like these individuals, you should get familiar with the system requirements. Here is a checklist on laptop compatibility for podcasts.
Laptop compatible with podcasting hardware and software
If your laptop runs Windows XP, Vista, 8 or 10, your machine is fit for podcasts. At least, it will be able to bear and manage fresh audio loads. Similarly, Macs that are capable of handling OS 9 or upgraded operating systems will make an ideal choice. However, be sure that your machine is not older than five years. Older machines can’t bear heavy duty load when recording, editing and publishing. A laptop with Windows XP is highly recommended as it is a lot faster and much easier to work with.
If the RAM of the laptop is upgrade-able, go ahead with the upgrade as this will only streamline the process of podcasting. Most of the audiophiles and podcasters have a minimum of 8 GB of RAM on their computer. Make sure that you have at least 2 GB of free RAM to go ahead with podcast processing. That being said, even a 2 to 4 GB RAM should suffice the job in case you don’t carry out multiple tasks on your machine.
Most of the modern laptop computers come with a storage space of above 100 GB. If you own any such machine, then there is no need to invest in an external hard drive. However, if you wish to podcast and store files for years to come, then having an additional storage space in the form of an external hard drive is necessary.
Another important thing that a laptop should have is a sound card, along with a line in and line out. The good news is many modern laptops come with built-in sound cards along with headphone and Mic lines. However, if you don’t have a modern machine with these features, you may have to buy a sound card separately. Griffin iMic, Creative Soundblaster Audigy 4, etc are some of the recommended sound cards.
Recording software
Audio or recording software is required for recording and editing audios. Also, the software helps when you want to append intro or outro music to your recording. Get high-quality recording software and learn how to use it. It is a bit confusing in the beginning. So give the process some time and get handy with the software before you actually start podcasting. GarageBand, Adobe Audition and audacity are some of the recommended software for recording.
Microphone
Most of the laptop computers come with an inbuilt microphone. However, you should invest in a good quality standalone microphone that could be plugged in to the laptop to feed audio into the recording software. You will find a range of microphones from economical models to high-end versions.
Choose an ideal one that fits your need and budget. You also need an Internet connection for uploading podcasts to online platforms. Although Mobile Internet will work, it will pose reliability issues. A T1, DSL or cable connection is recommended for uninterrupted recording and uploading.
Bottom line
Today, getting started with podcasting is not really difficult. Even a laptop computer can do wonders for your podcasting venture. However, just make sure that your laptop for podcasting includes the above features. If the answer is yes, you are all set to hit the podcast market.
