Are Company Provided Report-IT HiFi Frequency Response Levels Misleading?

[JONESGE]

Are Company Provided Report-IT Frequency Response Levels Misleading Or need Clarification?

Tieline says at http://www.tieline.com/products/G5/Report-IT-Live
"Questionable cell-phone quality is a thing of the past because all 3G/3GS/4 iPhones have an inbuilt 20kHz quality microphone. Studio engineers love the high fidelity 15kHz live program audio quality of Report-IT and it interfaces easily to deliver 15kHz mix-minus return program audio with IFB communications."

Faber Accoustical says at http://blog.faberacoustical.com/2010/iphone/iphone-4-audio-and-frequency-response-limitations/ that the iPhone 4 internal microphone and externally connected microphones have a low level cutoff at 200 Hertz.  With a 200 Hertz cutoff ... I don't thing that's high fidelity! "The frequency response of the iPhone 4s headset mic input is virtually identical to that of the iPhone 3GS." "The built-in microphone’s frequency response also closely matches that of the 3GS" Wikipedia says HiFi audio equipment must be able to reproduce frequencies low enough (20 Hz) and high enough (20000 Hz) to be realistic.

[Glenn]

Hi and thanks for your interest in Report-IT Live - it's great that you are contributing to the body of knowledge about remote broadcasting with the iPhone and Report-IT.

In response to your post and the Faber Acoustical measurements, you are correct that the iPhone microphone has a low frequency roll-off that starts at around 200 Hertz and continues down to just above 20Hz, as quoted by Faber Acoustical. While this low frequency response is not ideal for us as broadcasters, regular cell-phone quality calls are much lower quality and have been the missing link in creating better quality broadcasts using wireless technologies.

We have discussed Report-IT with hundreds of customers and it has amazed us that so many people were not even aware that the iPhone could actually deliver audio quality greater than 3kHz, as they were unaware of the 20kHz frequency response capabilities of the iPhone's mic. This is often the case because they have never used one. When made aware of the mic quality and the ability of Report-IT to send much higher quality audio than a regular cell phone call, they are truly amazed.

The intention of Tieline is never to mislead, only to educate and perhaps clarification is what is required. As a result I have deleted the reference to  "high fidelity" mic on the web page to ensure we don't mislead anyone. Of course Report-IT, in conjunction with the iPhone, is indeed a high-fidelity recording device for FTP transfer of 20kHz quality reports, with the option of using external microphones to take full advantage of the lower frequency characteristics of source audio if customers wish.

I would also like to draw attention to your post regarding alternative mic solutions at http://forums.tieline.com/forum/remote-broadcasting-newsgathering/iphone-4-report-it-app-external-dynamic-microphone-special-y-adapter-cable/, which is a useful resource to Report-IT users.

Thanks again and we will keep everyone updated about new developments with Report-IT Live, including the imminent release of the highly anticipated Enterprise Edition. This will make it even simpler for networks to program connections for multiple users remotely and even more simple for reporters and announcers to connect.