Generally, recording hiss is the result of overlapping cords, cheap sound cards, or some sort of environmental interference. Searching for the source of this noise can drive you absolutely crazy, and sometimes you simply won’t find it. Not to worry, here are steps to clean up low-level hissing and surrounding noise (like a blowing fan) quickly and easily.

Step 1. Import your audio

Obviously you’ll need to have Audacity installed to make use of this tutorial. At the time of this writing, I am using Audacity 1.3 (beta). Go to File and then Import to select your recorded material — it doesn’t matter if your file is stereo or mono, this tutorial will work either way.

Navigate your way to a particularly noise-heavy part of the recording where there isn’t a lot of other sound. For example, a few-second pause between words where this is silence plus some evil hiss. If you have chronic problems with hiss, leave a few seconds of baseline silence at the beginning of your recordings in the future.

Step 2. Noise removal

When you’ve found a representative span of noise, zoom in (press Ctrl+2) on the recording to get a clearer view of your stream. Select 1-2 seconds of noise with your cursor.

Now that you’ve selected a decidedly “noisy” portion of your recording, navigate to Effect and then Noise Removal, where you will be presented with a dialog to tweak your filter settings. With your noisy selection made, click Get Noise Profile. This establishes the noise baseline.

Now, use your cursor and select your entire recording. This can be easily done by pressing Ctrl+A.  Finally, return to the Noise Removal Dialog and this time click OK. If you feel ambitious, mess around with the parameters for the noise filtering. I suggest just leaving them as the default values because they work quite well in every case I’ve encountered so far. After clicking OK, you may have to sit for a while, depending on the size of your recording.

Step 3. Export your finished file

Your processed file should look considerably “cleaner” after the noise removal process is complete. Fewer oscillations and less hissing will be readily apparent if you give your recording a test run.

Never underestimate the value of post-processing and sound quality in your podcast. Keep your audience coming back and focusing on your content rather than low-level background noise. With Audacity, you have 99 problems but hiss ain’t one. [JayZ achievement unlocked]

The post How to Remove Noise from Your Podcasts with Audacity first appeared on Techerator.

I’m a long-time fan of the show and have been watching it from its early days in 2006. Albrecht and Rose have a chemistry that isn’t common in podcasting, and you can’t help but laugh as the two former TechTV friends joke around with their producer (Preggar) and cameraman (Hippie Glenn). Perhaps the best part of the show is getting a candid look at Silicon Valley shaker Kevin Rose and hearing about his many connections in companies such as Facebook and Apple.

But now it’s coming to an end and I need something to fill my Wednesday nights. Is there anything out there that can fill the shoes of Diggnation? Here are a few possibilities.

Foundation (Revision3)

The brainchild of Kevin Rose, Foundation is a series of in-depth interviews with the founders of important start-ups in the Bay area. As an angel investor himself, Rose is able to get to the heart of the start-up process during these casual conversations. Foundation is an inspiring look at the movers and shakers in the tech industry. Definitely worth a look.

Totally Rad Show (Revision3)

While Kevin Rose is developing Foundation, Alex Albrecht has been crafting the Totally Rad Show (TRS) into a prolific video game and entertainment podcast with a big following. I gave it a chance and to be honest, it wasn’t my cup of tea. Still, Albrecht and co-hosts Dan Trachtenberg and Jeff Cannata know their stuff. They keep it fresh by constantly changing locations and format; I can appreciate the effort. It’s a must-see if you’re into video games.

This Week In Tech (TWiT)

I’m a big fan of This Week in Tech because  it’s so reminiscent of The Screen Savers. Leo Laporte brings in regular guests like Patrick Norton and John C. Dvorak to discuss the latest in technology news which often goes off the rails in a funny and informal style. A few episodes made me a fan of Dvorak, who is famous for his crotchety rants and his own regular podcasts No Agenda and the now-retired Cranky Geeks.

Circuits of David Pogue (New York Times)

David Pogue is a riot and posts short tech-related videos in a unique way. His videos are generally funny and intended to show the good and bad aspects of a product or service without explicitly stating them. For example, his recent post about Google Wallet shows the convenience and impracticability of Google’s newest game-changer. Pogue’s videos will keep you busy and informed.

Personal Technology (All Things Digital)

Walt Mossberg is a technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal and has a lot of useful tips for picking out products, from digital cameras to tablet PCs. Mossberg is also a prolific blogger and event host for All Things Digital and has rubbed elbows with the likes of Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Mossberg’s perspectives are informative, relatable, and dog-gone-it useful.

Conclusion

In truth, I don’t think anything will be able to take the place of Diggnation if you’ve been watching for as long as I have. Revision3 and TWiT have a slew of great tech shows like TekZilla, Giz Wiz, and the Giga Om Show,  but nothing I’ve found can match the comedy and attitude of Diggnation.

All good things come to an end, and we’ll miss Diggnation, but hopefully these other great podcasts will keep you from being left in the lurch.

The post Diggnation Ends In December–What Can Fill The Void? first appeared on Techerator.