HD voice applications developer WYDE Voice has partnered with Podference.com to make a hybrid all-in-one conference calling – podcasting – syndicating machine.

The new product merges Podference’s automated podcasting and syndication (RSS, publishing) teleconferencing software with WYDE Voice’s scalable conferencing bridge.

In layman’s terms, the moderator of a conference call wields “full control” of the discussion. The moderator is able to start/stop recording, mute individual participants, and/or change the presentation from group discussion to “lecture” (one speaker) mode. In addition, the product turns the recorded discussion into a podcast which is subsequently shared (syndicated) with its intended audience.

A product like this would be useful for instructors in distance learning settings, in collaborative creative project settings, for virtual meetings, for shareholder calls or corporate training sessions. It would, in any field, be an enexpensive way to gather far-flung participants together, and to make a record of the conversation, for those who could not attend.

This type of device leans more toward the “premium content” end of the podcast creation spectrum, though, distributing the finished episode to a select group of listeners, rather than publishing a podcast feed to be available to anyone in a public audience.

The WYDE Voice podcast product is powerful, but doesn’t come cheaply. Product information discloswes that their VM1000 model starts at $160/port, while the VM3000 is priced at $140/port. The two WYDE Voice models, however can accommodate anywhere from 500 to 10,000 concurrent regular callers or up to 3,000 HD Voice callers. Product specs state that the WYDE Voice appliances “currently support an extensive list of narrowband codecs as well as the Hi-Fidelity Voice codecs such as G.722.2 AMR-WB and iSAC from Global IP Sound. These two 16 bit 16 kHz voice codecs make conversation more natural and clear.”

More information is available at Podconference.com, and at WYDE Voice.