Why a Wired Internet Connection Matters for Professional Voice-Over Sessions

I get teased sometimes because I like outboard gear. Buttons and knobs. See, if my Mac dies, I hook up a new one and I’m off and running. Easy. I’m also a fan of wired connections. I run a cable from my modem/router, through a hole in the media closet floor, across the basement, up through a non-functional cold-air return, and to my Mac.I know it sounds like a lot, but really the hardest part was figuring out how long the cable needed to be!

Why go through that? Because we have all these amazing tools — Source Connect, ipDTL, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet — that are supposed to allow for that personal connection, a certain level of intimacy. But that intimacy is completely broken by sketchy Wi-Fi connections. Picture it: you’re in the groove, everything is going great … and then your Wi-Fi connection goes haywire. Everyone scrambles, you apologize and they say not to worry … but you feel it in your gut. It’s not good.

Wired Beats Wireless — Especially for VO Work

Whether you’re using Source Connect or ipDTL to hook up with a client or producer, or simply doing a workout on Zoom or Teams, a wired Ethernet connection beats Wi-Fi nearly every time. ipDTL itself advises that “WiFi is far less reliable than wired connections — 3G, 4G, LTE even less so.”¹

Similarly, remote-VO workflow guides note that a poor connection via Wi-Fi can lead to latency, dropouts, and unpredictable performance. All death for live reads.² A wired connection brings you consistent throughput, lower latency, and far fewer dropouts. That’s why many studios and pro VO-talent resources flat-out require a wired Ethernet hookup when using Source Connect or ipDTL.²

Video-Conferencing Tools Also Favor Ethernet

Even when you’re not in a full VO session (maybe you’re on an exploratory call, or in a webinar) the same logic applies. Platforms like Zoom and Teams perform significantly better over wired Ethernet when real-time audio or video is involved.³ Official guidelines from at least one university IT group explicitly recommend plugging into a wired Ethernet cable for a “faster, more reliable network connection.”³

For audio- or video-heavy sessions, especially when multiple people or devices are sharing the network (streaming video, background updates, other Wi-Fi traffic) a wired connection helps isolate your VO traffic from the rest. Unstable Wi-Fi may cause packet loss, jitter, and latency. All problems that can degrade the listener’s experience of your voice, timing, or emotional nuance.⁴

Real Psychological Impact — Perception counts

This is where the new, just-published research really hits home. According to Brucks, Rifkin, and Johnson, in “Video-call glitches trigger uncanniness and harm consequential life outcomes” (Nature, 2025) even minor audiovisual glitches during video calls harm interpersonal judgments in consequential contexts (like job interviews, telehealth sessions, or parole hearings). Nature+1

They ran five experiments and three supplementary studies (live and recorded interactions), plus analyzed real-world video-call archives. Across the board, calls that contained minor glitches like frozen video frames, distorted audio, misaligned lips/movement led participants to judge the other person less favorably: they liked them less, felt less shared reality, and felt “less heard.” Nature

In practical terms: when a glitch happened, participants were significantly less willing to proceed whether to hire someone, trust a medical provider, or grant parole. In one real-world data analysis, offenders in glitch-affected virtual parole hearings had about a 12-percentage-point lower chance of being granted parole. Nature+1

Why does this matter for VO artists and remote narrators like you? Ok, hopefully you’re not having a parole hearing, but that job you could turn into ongoing work feels just as important. Your voice session isn’t just a read. It’s a human connection. If your session is mediated over a shaky network that introduces even minimal glitches, it isn’t just “annoying.” Those glitches can undercut the emotional integrity of your read, distort subtle inflections, or trigger unconscious associations in listeners that make them feel less connected, less trusting, less engaged.

What This Means for Your Voice Sessions

From a practical standpoint: if you’re doing VO sessions, remote recordings, auditions, or even asking questions in a webinar, you owe it to yourself (and the other participants) to plug in.

• You avoid random dropouts and glitches that can kill the flow, ruin a take, or leave a bad impression.

• You get low latency and stable audio, which is essential if the session is live, directed, or interactive.

• If your household has multiple devices (streaming TVs, phones, background backups), a wired connection helps isolate your VO traffic from the rest.

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Even if your “wired setup” feels old school (running cable through floors, closets, air-returns, etc.) it’s a smart investment.

Wired Is the New Standard — Especially When It’s About Trust, Continuity, and Connection

In a world where “everything’s wireless” often feels like the default,  routers tucked in closets, laptops and tablets on the couch, phones and smart everything, there’s something to be said for “older-school.” For voice-over professionals: wired Ethernet is not a relic, it’s a foundation. True story: I was in small group coaching a few weeks ago, and one participant’s mic wasn’t working even though she was unmuted. Turns out her husband was using his earbuds, and that cut off the communication between her Mac and router. Thank heavens it only happened in coaching and not a session!

Because too many great reads have been lost to Wi-Fi wonkiness. Because too many sessions have had to stop, restart, re-sync, and apologize. And because, as Brucks, Rifkin & Johnson show us, glitches don’t just interrupt the flow, they affect how listeners feel about you. and that's why a wired internet connection matters for professional voice-over sessions.

So if you’re serious about delivering smooth, clean reads, whether via Source Connect, ipDTL, Zoom, Teams or Google Meet, make that cable your best friend. Plug in for your own confidence, for your client’s peace of mind, and for the integrity of the connection.

References (select): ¹ ipDTL — “Top 5 tips for IP-radio, contributions & podcast interviews.” (ipdtl.com). ² “How to work remotely from your home studio,” School of Voice-Over home-studio guide (schoolofvoiceover.com). ³ “Zoom (and other) meeting tips: Use Ethernet for best performance,” Stanford University IT guidance. ⁴ Brucks, M. S., Rifkin, J. R., Johnson, J. S. Video-call glitches trigger uncanniness and harm consequential life outcomes. Nature (2025). Nature+2Nature Asia+2