Sound Track: Digital Sources for Superior Sound Tracks

What�s the best way to ensure a high-quality audio track in your video productions? Start with the highest quality audio sources you can get your hands on. Even if your video is destined to play on a crummy VHS VCR without hi-fi stereo, your audio will still benefit if you use high-quality audio sources from the beginning.
In today�s consumer electronics marketplace, all of the best sources of audio are digital. CDs, DAT recorders, Mini Disc (MD) technology, even MP3s and audio files gleaned from the Weball of these digital sources of audio are available for you to use in your video productions.
In this article, we�ll take a close look at the various ways you can incorporate high-quality digital audio in your videos. Though this information may seem most useful to those who edit nonlinearly on a computer, we�ll cover plenty of ground for the beginner who�s doing two-finger editing from camcorder to VCR. By the time you reach the end of the article, you�ll have a wider knowledge of the various ways you can incorporate digital audio into your work - in some cases, without spending a dime of your hard-earned money.

CDs, See?

The most popular form of consumer audio today, compact disc audio provides one of the best and easiest ways to incorporate digital audio into your videos. All you need is a CD player, a few cables and an appropriate CD, and you�ll have everything you need to start laying down some high-quality sound tracks.
Of course, the most difficult question is, what constitutes an appropriate CD? For home video producers who aren�t likely to make any money or public display of their work, it may be feasible to use one of your favorite music CDs, whether it�s Willie Nelson or Black Sabbath. If you plan to sell or broadcast your production, however, you must be more careful. You should be sure to secure the legal rights to any music or other commercial recording you use in your sound track, if you don�t you may be in for some big trouble.
For precisely this reason, there�s an entire marketplace of royalty-free CDs available from which you can choose. Ranging from sound effects to just about any musical style you can imagine, these CDs provide a much-needed resource for the low-budget videographer as well as the most sophisticated professional. For a thorough listing of music and sound-effect libraries available, check out our buyer�s guide in the January 2000 issue of Videomaker. In it, you�ll find an extensive list of companies and the variety of music they offer. Most of them have Web sites you can visit to hear samples of music and sound effects. Some will even send your order to you over the Internet or via e-mail.
Another alternative is to record your own high-quality digital audio. For that, you�ll need an audio recorder. For consumers, high-quality digital recorders come in two main flavors: DAT and MD.<…