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'Shazam' App Doubles As Lip-Synch Detector

by Terrence O'Brien on November 23, 2009 at 04:19 PM

Shazam Doubles As Lip-Synch Detector
The New York Times Gadgetwise blog has found an interesting use for Shazam's iPhone app -- detecting lip-synchers. It turns out that true live performances will turn up as unrecognizable when you attempt to identify them with 'Shazam.'

The app takes the snippets of a song that you record, digitizes them, and creates a type of numerical signature based on the rhythm and melody. In a true live performance, a drummer won't hit the snare on the same millisecond he did while recording, and the vocalist will miss that high note by at least a few cents. These differences might be completely unnoticeable to the human ear, but a computer will catch even the tiniest variation.

Damon Darlin made the logical conclusion. If live performances are unrecognizable, identifying lip-synchers will be simple; they'll be instantly identified by the app. We put it to the test against a pair of 'Saturday Night Live' performances by Green Day and Lady Gaga. Shazam couldn't nail down Green Day, but Lady Gaga's glorified karaoke act was easily busted.

Sure, it's not perfect, but -- chances are -- if a "live" song is quickly and easily identified, it wasn't actually live. Unfortunately, unless you want to cough up $5 for the premium 'Shazam Encore,' you're limited to picking out only five lip-synchers a month -- far too few in this age of rampant vocal dishonesty. [From: New York Times]

Tags: app store, AppStore, iphone, music, shazam, top

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