Skype Sounds Good, Gizmo Project Sounds Bad?
Andy Abramson points out something I figured out a while ago: Skype audio quality is good, Gizmo Project's audio doesn't sound as good. I think that goes without saying. Many, many podcasters use Skype to record podcasts with far-away participants for one simple reason: it sounds better.
Why does Skype sound better? Quite simple: codecs. Codecs are algorithms that take voice or video data and convert it to ones and zeros in a compact way. There are many ways of converting voice (and voice) into ones and zeros. Some are well-known and free to use, others are proprietary.
Like many things Skype does, the codec they use is proprietary. The most recent versions use something called SVOPC. It is a wide-band codec that performs better than the G.722.2 wide-band standard. Both of these codecs sound better than your landline.
Gizmo Project does not appear to use any wide-band codecs at all. The end result? The call quality isn't anywhere near what it could be.
See article.