Overview
As a church, we are often trying to find new and creative ways to save money but still improve our team and how we work. One of the things we have been looking at is communication between the stage, Production and service coordinators.
We have looked at things like Unity Intercom but only allowed a 14-day trial before we needed to purchase the solution. This was not ideal for us as we only operate on Sundays, giving us a maximum of 2 trial Sundays.
I had previously heard of Mumble on podcasts I listen to by Jupiter Broadcasting which uses Mumble for real-time discussion during podcasts.
Based on the usage above, I figured surely it could be used for real-time communication between team members.
So after no use or idea, if it would work, I downloaded the Murmur Server and Mumble client on a Mac we use for lighting and installed Mumble.
Checking out the Mumble settings, I figured this will work for at least a trial before we either purchased another solution or use Mumble long-term.
What were our requirements?
- Cross-platform support, Mac, Windows, Android and IOS
- Ability to have push to talk
- Always on for the MD with audio suppression.
- Very low latency
- Audio interface with one line in and one line out.
- Computer to run the Murmur Server and Mumble client for MD.
- Headsetsadaptors to support both Android and IOS devices.
What we are going to look at headset-wise is the After Shokz Bluetooth bone conduction headphones like https://www.amazon.com.au/AfterShokz-Noise-Canceling-Microphone-Conduction-Commercial/dp/B091XZM6KK for the sound person and service coordinator. I am interested if others have used these for talkback in loud environments.
What we have struggled with.
The biggest area where we have had issues is honestly the mobile apps. For IOS we had issues with the headsets we have with the adaptor, which meant we have just used the apple provided headset.
For Android, we have been using the Mumla app. I just wish push to talk worked with the screen off.
We have not dived deep into channels yet however, I have done some setup and will update this based on our success.
Overall
Mumble has some great features that make it a very powerful voice chat application. However, it can be a bit tricky to set up, and the interface is not always the most user-friendly.
If you’re looking for a top-notch voice chat application with all the bells and whistles, Mumble is definitely worth checking out. Just be prepared to put in a little bit of work to get it set up the way you want it.