Attention, Vocaleros! We've heard you and we've been working on the site's little freak-outs. As we await the new Vocalo.org website in August, we'd like to introduce some service changes now that'll make a better website experience for you in the meantime. For a leaner, meaner website, Vocalo will discontinue three services this Monday, August 2:
- We're eliminating all .wav files to use our storage servers more efficiently and make room for more of your UGC. Any content you've previously uploaded as a .wav file has been converted already to an .mp3 file and will remain on the website in its .mp3 form. We'll delete the original .wav file on August 2, but its twin .mp3 file will both remain on the current site and be migrated to the new site. Please note: your uploaded .mp3 files will not be affected.
- Going forward, we're working exclusively with .mp3s, which allow for high-quality audio with relatively small file sizes. Users will not be able to upload or convert .wav files to the .mp3 format through Vocalo.org. The website http://media.io/ is a good resource for Vocaleros that need .wav file conversion in the future - it's very straightforward and free. (Additional TECHY info: Most converter software defaults to 128kbps, which is where Vocalo normally operates. If you have additional questions, try searching the internet for 'recommended MP3 encoding rates.')
- We're eliminating video file uploads, too, because, let's face it, YouTube exists. The overwhelming majority of videos shared on Vocalo.org comes through embedded links anyway, and this policy change is right in line with using our servers efficiently to store more audio contributions from the community. To save your uploaded video files, please download them before Monday, August 2; after that, we're hitting the delete button. Please note: your videos embedded to Vocalo via YouTube or other third-party video hosting sites will not be affected.