home recording tips

admin — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 19:14:57 +0000

home recording tips

Home Video Surveillance – 5 Questions You Must Answer Before Choosing a Security Camera

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 09:26:49 +0000

A home video surveillance system is an essential component of any modern home security system. No longer do home security alarms alone provide the protection you need to keep your family and property safe from criminals. However, don’t go out and buy one just yet. There are several questions you need to answer to get the maximum benefit out of your purchase.

What do you want to keep your eyes on?

Are you looking for a camera just to record the coming and going of people who access your property. Or do you also want to keep tabs on the interior of your home. You want to be able to do both. There are now cameras for the outside of your home as well as the inside. The exterior cameras are great for recording the outside of your home and also provide some detterent for would be burglars. The exterior surveillance cameras are becomiing more popular each day and people are no longer suprised to see them on a home.Although most criminals are detered by home video surveillance the sophisticated ones know this and have developed techniques to bypass these cameras. You still want cameras on the outside as they provide you with an early warning detection.

However, today the most effective use of cameras are on the inside of your home. The interior cameras not only enable you to help the police catch a criminal after they have broken in and let down their guard but they also help observe vendors such as babysitters and handymen to make sure they are not doing you any harm. Not a day goes by do you not see in the news such headlines as “Nanny Nabbed by Security Camera”

What Type of Video Quality do I Need?

When looking for a Home Video Surveillance system you want a sytem that enables you to identify enough detail to be able to identify a perpetrator. Resolution and distance coverage required are the top two considerations with frame rate coming in third. There are three types of resolution for security cameras the two most important for home security are:

General Surveillance resolution which enables you to identify shapes and colors
Forensic Detail enables you to recognize such things as faces and license plates
High Detail enables you to identify such detail as logos on clothing and smaller writing

Forensic detail is what you really want to consider when choosing a camera. To keep it simple, basically a 640X480 resolution VGA camera will enable you to achieve General Surveillance up to 32 feet and Forensic Detail up to 16 feet and is good enough for most home surveillance security applications. Of course if you want better detail at longer disitances you could get a higher resolution camera but it is going to cost you big money.

Do you need to be able to see in the dark?

There are cameras available with night vision capabilities. However, a good one is on the more expensive side. Night vision is not needed if you have the proper lighting installed around the home (ie motion detectors with exterior flood lights or you leave a light on in the interior of your home.)

Do you want to deter criminals or observe people without their knowledge?

Both Visible and Hidden Surveillance Cameras are available. For the exterior of your home it is best to have visible cameras ot deter crime. However, on the inside of your home you want something that is either hidden or blends in with the interior. You don’t want to make guests uncomfortable by having a camera stare you in the face and you don’t want a criminal to destroy the camera to hide their activities. Whatever you do don’t put a camera in the bathroom that is spying and could get you in all types of trouble.

Do you want to be able to watch your surveillance video while away?

Modern home surveillance cameras usually come with a way to watch video in real time by cell phone or internet. It is a great way to save on monitoring fees and avoid false alarm fees from your local police department. With these cameras you know have the ability to be your own monitoring service. With this type surveillance system if you have a alarm system which notifies you by cell phone, you can quickly see if someone is in your home or if it is a false alarm. You will then be able to call the police yourself and direct them to the location of the criminal.

These are the basic questions you need to ask yourself before choosing a home video surveillance system. If you follow the suggestions in this article you can not go wrong.

Introduction to Home Recording Studios

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:56:49 +0000

Everyday some new artist or musician wakes up and have this great epiphany; last night while they were sleeping they had a dream about having their own Home Recording Studio. So they wake up and run to their computer and start searching the web for articles on how to build a home recording studio. They take about 4 hours of unfocused search time and run to their nearest guitar store with a list of items to buy only to realize that equipment they wanted was way out of their budget.

So they run back home and hop on the internet and find the gear they want online for about a fraction o retail cost. They’ve searched Google up and down for the lowest price and final made a couple of purchases and now their gear is on the way. So in the mean time they start planning where they’re going to record and how they want to set their room or garage up… sound treatment here, a wall there, and maybe a sofa here.

A week has gone by and now they have all the gear that they’ve ordered online, now the big question is how the heck do you wire up all this stuff? They read every direction on and manual and nothing seems to make logical sense, so they work on it for about a week and then give up. They take the gear put it on ebay.com and sell it to another unsuspecting musician or artist. The cycle just continues.

Now this whole process could have been avoided had this person had the proper tools and knowledge at their disposal. See in the major commercial studios, there are recording engineers that do the entire wiring and microphone placement for you. When you have a home recording studio it is entirely up to you to figure things out. Once you have figured out how to setup all the equipment you bought you then have to learn to use the new recording software you bought.

Once you finally figure out how to setup a track and learn how to bus audio to another track, you decide to use a plug in that came with Protools only to realize that getting the sound you were looking for is becoming even more difficult to achieve. Once you do decide that you have recorded a decent enough song then you send the song off to the mixing engineer.

The mixing engineer will then go and level the song volumes, layer effects and make things sound almost radio ready. That engineer has spent several years developing this craft, but wait! This is your home studio so you will most likely have to do the mixing yourself. So now you need to go buy a book on how to mix sound recordings. Only to get even more frustrated cause you don’t understand anything about frequency or stereo spacing. But you tweak around for a while and get things to sound pretty decent.

Now it’s time to get the track mastered. God knows you defiantly need at least a decade to get to this level. The sound of word dither just sends your heart racing. So what do you do next? Read more of our articles for quick tips on Building a Home Recording Studio.

Jared Rentz is a 6+ year engineer and home recording studio consultant. He has written another excellent book “The Ultimate Guide: Home Recording Secrets”

[http://www.homerecordingprofessional.com]

Home Decorating Tips – Retro Decorating is Making a Comeback

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 01:00:49 +0000

When you think of retro decorating do you imagine avocado kitchen appliances and shag carpeting? Think again! The 60s and 70s have made a comeback in retro decorating and this fun style is better than ever. To get the retro look right, don’t just choose a traditionally precise duplication, instead go for a truly contemporary twist – be retro motivated!

If you have a limited decorating budget you can integrate the 60s or 70s style into your home with the following economical tips:

Fabric – Look for bright colors and patterns, such as plaid or paisley. Mixing patterns is acceptable, but be careful not to go overboard or your room could feel chaotic. By simply tossing a few pillows on your sofa or adding a few area rugs for splashes of color will result in a quick, easy retro look to any room.

Furniture – Bean bag chairs are always a popular retro option as well as plastic tables and chairs. Inflatable chairs are also making a comeback.

Accessories – These should be fun and enjoyable. Lava lamps, a rotary phone or record albums are wonderful accents in a retro room. Framing rock posters from 60s and 70s bands add a special retro look to any room.

A great way to shop for retro décor and furniture is online, in charity shops and rummage sales — or just look through your basement or attic. You could discover some really unique retro decorating items at a great price! But if you can’t find appropriate family heirlooms, there are lots of retro-inspired items in stores today.

A fantastic color to use in any retro decorating design is brown. Any shade of brown which appeals to you and goes really well in your room is a good choice for retro decorating.

Using pale colors for a small room and deep colors for bigger rooms is a general decorating rule. However, if you are after an impressive 60s or 70s look, a warm chocolate brown is a wonderful retro shade of color to use in any room!

To help keep your home organized, download a free copy of the ebook “The Essential Guide to Organizing Your Home”. Download it free here: Organizing Tips.

Lynn Cressy has a love for decorating and shopping for home decor. She owns a home decor web site and writes articles on home decorating and organizing your home and your life.

How to Create a Home Recording Studio

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:34:49 +0000

Thanks to technological innovations, including professional recording software more artists are creating home recording studios, and even laptop studios. This article will provide tips and ideas to help you create the perfect home based studio for you and your music, based on your budget and needs.

Before you begin, consider whether you plan to record all of the songs and or musicians and instruments associated with a project all at once, or individually. You should also factor your familiarity with computers and recording software in general into the equation.

If you arent as familiar with recording software tools as you would like to be, the good news is that most music recording software offers simplified versions of their full software programs, that can be upgraded to full versions later, once youve mastered the basics. These programs provide a good introduction to the fundamentals of recording software.

If you are going to build a studio, keep in mind that software studios are much more space saving than hardware studios, but if space is not an issue, then a traditional hardware studio may be your best option.

A mobile laptop studio is always a good option for the truly pressed for space, since this offers you the greatest flexibility, and most laptops are more than capable of running recording and mixing software and programs. This means that your recording studio can go with you, and you will never leave home without it.

You can also create a combination hardware and software studio, but in any case, the most basic studio should include a computer with a sound card, a microphone and a mixer, a stereo or powered speakers, and an optional midi keyboard.

Buy the best equipment that you can afford now, and keep in mind that you can always upgrade later, but that in the long run, purchasing the cheapest equipment may actually end up costing you more, since more upgrades will be required.

Creating your own recording studio will save you time and money, since it will eliminate the need to rent studio time, and, especially in the case of a mobile laptop studio, will give you greater freedom and flexibility when it comes to your recording projects.

Whether you have unlimited space and a large budget, or very limited space and an equally limited budget, thanks to recording software programs and advances in recording and mixing technology it is possible to have your own home, or mobile recording studio.

OBEDIA offers 24/7 support and training for musicians and recording artists, visit their site for Pro Tools and other recording software training tips and support.

Online Home Insurance Tips – Your Safety Net!

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 17:27:49 +0000

Summer’s hottest events is on, do you wish to attend? Some of the events outlined are Glastonbury or the Download Festival and Reading amongst others. If you desire to go, then you must put into consideration your tent, towel, toothbrush and the most important of all your home insurance.

You may not understand how important house insurance is to your festival. To embark on events like this you will definitely need to take your digital camera, mobile phone, iPod and designers wrist watch along. Report had it that the last Glastonbury Festival recorded over 50% increase in crime rate. Don’t Forget, opportunist thieves are waiting for your arrival. And it will be very vital to have insurance as a back up.

The Effect of Home Insurance

Home Insurance is not meant to cover home items as most people think. Under some home plan there is always room for personal possession policy. And you can only get this when you search and contact the right insurer. This personal possession cover grant any item you take outside your home the basic protection it requires.

To get Personal Possession cover you must be ready to pay an extra fee. This is because not all insurers offer this cover separately. Though, you can obtain it from providers who offer it as their standard cover. But many will want you to pay extra fee as low as 30pounds annually.

You would notice that it is inexpensive especially when you compare it with the price of your stolen item in your house when you are having a party. You also find out its cheaper because getting g a cover as part of standard policy would be very difficult when you shop online for house insurance.

How you can secure your personal possessions

Make Home Plan your last choice–it’s there to give adequate protection and assistance in bad situation.

- Take the important possessions with you-keep the most valued possessions at home.
- Don’t walk alone – walk together with friends to avoid being attacked by thieves

Where To Start?

Here Are My Favorites: Home Insurance Quotes / Cheap Home Insurance

You Probably Already Have a Music Recording Studio

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:23:49 +0000

“What?” I hear you ask. Yeah, you probably already have a home music studio. Do you have a computer made in the last 10 years? Does it have a sound card? Do you have access to the internet? IF you answered “yes” to all those questions, then yup…you possess a home music studio.

Most people have some form of microphone these days, whether for VOIP chat, on-line gaming, making quick videos on your computer of yourself singing European pop songs;), video blogging, etc. However, if you don’t have a mic yet, I recommend you pick up a $25 USB micropohone and you’ll definitely be on your way.

The next question becomes: “What kind of music do you plan to record?” That will determine much about how you approach things. For example, if you play electronic music and plan to use lots of midi, there will be more gear and software needed than someone who simply plans to record themselves playing a guitar and singing. I’m going to briefly describe that latter scenario.

If you have always wanted to record your music, but just didn’t know where to start and didn’t want to spend the money on a professional recording studio, what I’m about to say should please you. In this day and age, it is possible for a total newbie to start doing multi-track recording (“layering” tracks, like guitar on one track, then singing along with that to put your voice on another track, etc. ad nauseum) with the tools I described above. Simply download the open-source home recording software called “Audacity,” plug your mic into your computer, and you are ready to rock. I poo you not.

Yeah, you’ll have to learn to use Audacity, but the web is filled with free tutorials for that. Home Brew Audio has some of the best ones (if I do say so myself;)). But the point is that it doesn’t take long to learn the basics in Audacity. Once you do that, you can do things like record a song with you (and or your band/buddies) playing rhythm guitar on one track, lead guitar on another track, piano on a 3rd track, flute on a 4th track, lead vocal on a 5th track, harmony vocals on tracks 6-15, etc. And you can do it a track at a time, which is awesome. That means you can all the above yourself if you are so inclined. The magic of multi-track recording is amazing for a musician.

Anyway, now you know. You almost certainly already have a home music studio. Cool huh?

Learn to record and produce professional-sounding audio from home. Home music recording or voiceover recording, fun and short video tutorials show you how. We’ll show you how to start with a $0-$5 budget, and then how to improve your studio for a few dollars at a time as your knowledge and confidence increase. If you would like to start doing home recording on computer, visit us here: home music studio

Home Brew Audio main page: http://www.homebrewaudio.com

Basic Home Staging Tip – Take Down Keep Out Signs

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 08:57:49 +0000

I was chatting with a friend recently who happens to be in the market for a new home. She thought of me when she did a drive-by of a property she saw online, in the rural area where she lives.

It was the perfect location for her family and it was surrounded by attractive homes but there was a huge “Keep Out” sign on the actual house itself. The second thing my friend noticed was a black and yellow “No Trespassing” sign on a post in the yard and another one nailed to a tree along the driveway.

She was certainly not interested at all in picking up the phone and calling her agent to book a showing.

A basic home staging tip would be to take down those signs!

She was happy that her husband insisted on driving by to look at the home before scheduling a showing. They couldn’t help but wonder what sort of thing could possibly go on there to warrant erecting three signs to keep people away. Is there a security issue? What goes on in that house?

I would imagine any prospective buyer who pulled into the driveway as described by my friend, would have been turned off enough to not want to get out of their car. That’s the purpose of a Keep Out sign, after all – to keep people from wanting to enter!

There isn’t any excuse for listing a property in that condition. If it was not a bank foreclosure and the homeowners are actually trying to sell that property, they need to start looking at their home not as the place where they live, but as a real estate listing.

If it was a bank foreclosure, either the financial agent or the real estate agent should have had those signs taken down. That alone could make a big difference because the truth is, a home that looks like it’s in foreclosure is not attractive to most people.

According to an article on CNN Money, there were a record three million homes in foreclosure in the US in 2009 and that number isn’t expected to go down anytime soon. Given this large number, I’m surprised there aren’t more home stagers pursuing the foreclosure market.

Internationally recognized home staging expert Debra Gould is president of Six Elements Home Staging and creator of The Staging Diva Home Staging Business Training Program with 4000+ students worldwide. Debra is the author of four home staging guides and offers a Directory of Home Stagers.

How to Find the Right Painting Contractor For Your Home Improvement Jobs

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 05:52:49 +0000

Whatever your home improvement project is, learning how to find the right painting contractor is the first step and one of the most important. It is the difference between a smooth and successful project that will leave you happy and willing to write the check versus a constant headache that will have you up all night wondering if you made a mistake.

Most folks home is their most valuable asset so it’s of the utmost importance to be cautious when you hire someone. These folks will knock on your door, advertise in the yellow pages, or other mediums. However, no matter how you find your contractor, you’ll want to do some legwork before making a decision. That goes for the person that knocks on your door to the referral your best friend gives you – my key phrase to life is “trust but verify.”

With all that said and the fact that you could write a book on this topic, here are our top tips for finding a quality Cincinnati Ohio home contractor so you don’t get nailed with a painful situation…

**The lowest bidder isn’t always the best option. In the world of contracting, there is a lot more to this decision than price.

**Determine the complexity of your project to determine the best professional for the job. Do you need a general contractor, a specialty contractor, a designer, or an architect? These are important because if you hire a landscaper for a full remodel, you’re not choosing the right person for the job.

**Some tips to a potential rip-off can (but not necessarily) include, door to door solicitations, only accepts cash, only accepts payments up front, asks you to get permits, does not market their business whatsoever, pressures you, suggests you borrow money from a lender they know, or other situations. This isn’t always the case, but be wary of these situations.

**Use your judgement. How do you feel about this person? Do they seem like a used car salesman? Do they appear professional? The key to a good business person is they tend to under promise and over deliver. Bottom line – do you feel good about this person?

**Interview each local contractor and certainly interview more than one. 3-5 is typical. Find out their qualifications, licenses, permit necessities, if they’ll be using subs, do they carry insurance, what does the bid entail, what type of payments do they accept, guarantees, and more.

**Next you’ll want to check references in the area and check with local authorities regarding the contractor’s history. Go see the work done at someone’s home, ask questions of that person, would they recommend. Contact the Cincinnati BBB and see if there are any complaints on this contractor. Google the company and see if they come up with any feedback.

**Be sure to understand state requirements and payment options. Also, ask for deals. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. These guys know they have to compete with a lot of other companies out there. The good ones will walk from the sketchy bids, but they will also offer you a deal if you ask and state exactly what you want.

Two other notes are to get things in writing and keep records. Just in case things go awry, you’ll want details to cover you own butt.

Finally, manage the project, make sure it’s what you want, and inspect the work before you sign any checks. If the company does a good job, tell others so they don’t have to go through the nightmares many of us have experienced because we had to choose a sub-par contractor/scam artist.

Don’t get scammed like we did and get our FREE report on how to find the right contractor for your job. Based in Cincinnati Ohio, we help homeowners and businesses get educated on how to determine the difference between quality Cincinnati Ohio Contractors [http://www.cincinnatipaintingcompanies.com] and shoddy ones.

Produce Your Music At Home – 4 Tips for Producing Your Music at Home

admin — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 02:31:49 +0000

Thanks to some great advances in technology, it’s now possible for any musician to capture their creativity into a recorded song. The best news is you can record and produce your music from the comfort of your home. This is not as difficult as you may think, and nowadays you can produce some music that sounds quite professional, without being an expert sound engineer. Learn 4 Tips for Producing Your Music at Home.

1) Get Your Sound Right Before Recording.

Try to perfect your overall sound before you record your songs. This minimizes the need for post-recording editing. You also want to make sure you use a good pair of headphones and listen carefully to the input stream coming from the microphones you use. You may need to use a mixer to adjust the frequencies. Also, you will want to be careful not to use too much reverb, because you don’t want your input to sound muffled.

2) Learn the Capabilities of Your Recoding Equipment and Software One At a Time, and Try Reading Your Manual.

This will help you avoid getting overwhelmed by all of the technical terms you may not bee too familiar with. You will also get a better understanding of how to use your recording equipment and software, so you can get the most out of your recording experience…and produce better recordings. Also, don’t forget to read your manual. Although you may tend to toss your manual aside, you’ll be surprised with what you can learn with your manual. Reading a manual can really speed up your learning curve, so you can begin producing your own music in no time!

3) Finish Your Songs!

If you are like many musicians, you’ll find that you have your hard drive full of “beginnings”, “openings” and first-halves of songs that you have never finished. You may work on it for a while, then you run out of ideas, or you get bored with it and start working on a new song instead. This is very common, but it is not a great thing to do.

Be disciplined and finish your songs, even if you seem to have lost interest in them. You should hold off on working on a new song until you completely finish your song. Worse case scenario, if you have a great idea for another song, jot down some notes or do a brief sound recording, then come back to it AFTER you finish the song you’ve been working on. If you don’t do this, you are setting yourself up to have several unfinished songs…therefore making it extraordinarily difficult if not impossible for you to reach your creative potential.

4) ALWAYS Create a Backup Copy of Your Music!

The last thing you want to do is create a masterpiece, then lose it all because your system crashes. ALWAYS create a backup copy of your music recordings. Things happen like power outages, hard drive crashes etc. Don’t let these misfortunes rob the world of your unique music creativity. ALWAYS backup your music!

To learn more tips about producing your music at home, visit this URL: http://www.indie-musicnetwork.com/recordmusic.html

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Traci Crowley provides resources that help you Create, Produce, and Sell your music from home. Visit her website at: http://www.indie-musicnetwork.com and subscribe to her free newsletter for instant tips and tricks for Creating, Producing, and Selling Your Music from home.