http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ Videomaker Community Forums » Tag: recorder - Recent Posts en Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:33:26 +0000 http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-72995 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:25:14 +0000 MediaFish 72995@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I have been the route of the cheap recorders - I now only use Zoom H4N's for any remote recording.  Yes, they are pricey however just remember you get what you pay for.  </p> <p>Just my two cents for whatever that's worth.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-72994 Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:16:24 +0000 Manuel 72994@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I think that a good relation between price and performance in digital recorder is the ZOOM H2. it's very popular and cheap, have 4 built that you can use in many ways and you can record in different formats with different resolutions (Mp3, Wav)</p> <p>I use it for sound effect and music recordings in some cases and i think is great.</p> <p>Manuel</p> <p><a href="http://www.royaltyfreepianos.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.royaltyfreepianos.com</a></p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-72933 Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:24:41 +0000 Tony Koretz 72933@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Really "Cheap" sound recording options are to be avoided. Your sound is just as important as your picture. Getting a good stand alone sound recording device with a built in mic preamp that uses an XLR connection is a good investment. There are many suitable ones out there. I have and use a Marantz PMD661 and find it works well. A good quality mic is also important.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/focus-fs-5-to-repair-or-not-to-repair#post-70596 Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:29:32 +0000 Tom 70596@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I've got a very lightly used Focus FS-5 DTE recorder that has recently gone bad on me.  Focus wants a flat $395 + shipping both ways to repair it.  This probably wouldn't be an issue, except that this is the second time the unit has needed repair.  At that time it was ONLY $195.  </p> <p>So now I'm faced with the question of whether to repair the thing and take a chance that it'll give me better service or just scrub it and get something more reliable.  Are these things just prone to failure or did I get a lemon?</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69360 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:54:05 +0000 composite1 69360@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hey Caio,</p> <p>If you've got $100 bucks available get a Zoom H1. You'll definitely need a windjammer on it though because it's too sensitive without one. Wind Tech makes a good fuzzy one for $25, but you can make due with a couple of layers of leather car chamois until you can get a fuzzy. You'll also need a device to hand hold it like a small Joby because even in manual settings, it's too sensitive. I use one to sync audio with my point and shoot. It works really well, just use a clapper or a finger snap on camera while you're recording audio at the same time to set an audio marker and off you go.</p> <p>There's also a review here @ VM done on the H1. Check out my comments as well.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/699403-REG/Zoom_H1_H1_Ultra_Portable_Digital_Audio.html">Zoom H1_H1_Ultra_Portable_Digital_Audio</a></p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69352 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:58:51 +0000 ophelia 69352@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> @Earl - Hi!  Would you please post a photo of your rig for shooting &amp; capturing w/ the H2?  Thanks.  BTW - do you use this in the field or only in-studio?</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69350 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 15:20:08 +0000 CraftersOfLight 69350@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> One of the things I have noticed about smaller low end recorders, like the Olympus, is though they are great for recording seminars and personal events they lack sound quality for video. Voices are off and in some cases like they are talking from the bottom of a jaror over a phone.</p> <p>Definitely test before you use for a critical recording.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69338 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 10:01:13 +0000 EarlC 69338@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>You'll be dealing with delay if you use a long cable on a wired digital recorder, and you'll have audio monitoring problems if you're the only person onset recording from either wired or wireless mics of any kind.</p> <p>I use several Zoom H2 standalone digital recorders and have had NO sync issues on recording up to 2 hours with them. There's also a Zoom H1 and H4 model, and I believe prices range from around $100 to $299 with the H2 somewhere in the middle.</p> <p>At distance, I wouldn't use the Zoom internal mics because the sound rejection at distance isn't good and you'll get a lot of ambience audio, room bounce, or outdoor issues. The internal mics work best at close mic situations such as podiums or on stands and adjusted for the sweet spots from loud speakers, etc.</p> <p>Some people swear by them (me) and others swear at them, but I've honestly NOT had any issues with my H2 units that I cannot live with and the audio has always been better quality than on-camera, shotgun or boom mics.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69337 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 09:42:39 +0000 birdcat 69337@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I have used a small Olympus recorder in the past - It records at 22.1 khz and that caused all sorts of problems with drift. Try recording a longer (20 minutes) piece on the recorder and your camera and see if you get the same issues I did (I needed to cut up and re-sync every 20 seconds or so).</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69335 Mon, 11 Jul 2011 08:03:30 +0000 Weddingmaster 69335@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> If your camera is far enough away that your lips can't be seen...just dub it in to your nle while editing. save yourself a lot of work. just record some ambient noise to make it realistic.</p> <p>Harry</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/digital-audio-recorder#post-69327 Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:33:16 +0000 Roger 69327@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I just picked up the RCA VR532oR for $40.<br />I'm hoping this will do the trick of letting me have a second audio source.</p> <p>It has a built in USB connector, stereo pick up mike, mike and ear phone jacks, and runs on 2 "AAA" batteries.</p> <p>I'm a little worried about only having 64kbps (for 34 hours recording time) but it does export as stereo WAV files.</p> <p>Has anyone else used one of these or similar? How did it work out?</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65077 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 11:45:05 +0000 deuce1286 65077@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> i would also definetly recommend the Focus enhancement recorders. We have 3 of the older FS-100's and they are great. The newer solid state ones are even better so you really can't go wrong. </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65065 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 03:59:43 +0000 fx1shooter 65065@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks for the Info! I will order them and let you know</p> <p> </p> <p>Robert</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65044 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:32:14 +0000 schweersvp 65044@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I own two of the Focus Enhancements FS-5 DTE recorders and I must say I love them. They are very easy to work with and the best part is the transferring of files into your NLE. No more log and capture; just import the files through firewire in less than half the time. I now use tape as backup, because you can record to both simultaneously. In the end it's more cost effective. I give the Focus FS-5's two thumbs up.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65043 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 13:23:49 +0000 doublehamm 65043@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> MRC1K  CF recorder.  Works with any firewire camera.  Mounts seamlessly to my Z5 though ;)  It is a lot less than the DTE you described, but then you do need to supply the CF cards.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65041 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 12:26:13 +0000 fx1shooter 65041@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>what Sony adapter are you using? because this is for my FX1 and V1U...</p> <p> </p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Robert</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65040 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 11:41:34 +0000 doublehamm 65040@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> I don't use exactly that, but I do record to CF via a Sony adapter.  I think it is worth the $ you spend  not having to worry about tapes and dropped frames.  That looks like it has a few more built in features like processing different frame rates and formats on it's own?  I wonder how well it is able to translate that if it is not coming off the camera that way.  Or are they listing those formats as if they were coming off the camera in that format?</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/dte-direct-to-edit-recorders#post-65038 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 10:46:30 +0000 fx1shooter 65038@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I'm planning on purchasing 3 of the Focus Enhancements FS-5 DTE recorders. does anyone have any experience using them? are they worth the $$? do you know of comparable competitors?</p> <p> </p> <p>Thanks</p> <p>Robert</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-65037 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 09:41:24 +0000 jakeman3 65037@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p> I also had that problem. I "fixed" it by adding a Nady DMP-2 between the mics &amp; the H4n or camcorder. I must admit it adds a little circuitry hiss (an easy fix in post - well worth it) and it's output is line level only.</p> <p>It's pre-amp with 2 XLR in &amp; outputs, +48V phantom power &amp; powered by one 9 volt battery.</p> <p>It's small - about  4.5" W  X 2.25" H X 5.25" D and only 1 pound. </p> <p>Priced under $75 and easy to use. </p> <p>Good luck - Jake - Torrance, CA</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64946 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 08:48:47 +0000 Hesstifer 64946@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>UPDATE: The Rode Power Plug did the trick!  It has turned out to be a nifty, cheap, and portable solution to this problem.  Have about 20db more in gain now, everything sounds great.  Just need to feed 48v phantom out from the H4n into the Rode Power Plug, and the mic needs to have a battery in it as well for it all to work.  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64928 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 12:16:38 +0000 2ten 64928@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I have the H4n and just did some recording with my Sennheiser Me66 with the K6 phantom power (this basically does what you're buying above I believe).  If i turn on the phantom power on the mic but off on the h4n I get around -4db at around 3 feet away.</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64925 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 06:12:33 +0000 Hesstifer 64925@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>From reading other posts, it seems that this problem is common for both the AT-897 and the NTG-2... of course, the exact two mics that I invested in!  DOH!  I went over to a buddy's place, who is an audio pro, and we ran the mic first through one of his professional-grade preamps.  That did the trick!  Both mics sounded great (although the AT-897 was clearly better than the NTG-2).  So for my purposes, not wanting a huge 20 lb professional preamp to lug around on shoots, I'm going to try this little guy, the Rode Power Plug:</p> <p><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/392814-REG/Rode_D_POWER_PLUG_D_PowerPlug_In_Line_Cable_Mounted.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/392814-REG/Rode_D_POWER_PLUG_D_PowerPlug_In_Line_Cable_Mounted.html</a></p> <p>My friend assured me that even though it says its only for dynamic mics, it should work with my shotguns given they have battery power, and the configuration would be:</p> <p>mic (w/ battery) &lt;-&gt; Rode Power plug &lt;-&gt; XLR cable &lt;-&gt; H4n (w/ 48v phantom enabled)</p> <p>If it works, it would be a very cheap solution.  I'll report back when I know.  Unless any of you know with 100% certainty that it won't work... </p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64919 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 15:44:18 +0000 fx1shooter 64919@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>ok I tried it connecting directly (however i have an NTG-1 not the -2) and it works fine. if I set the volume to 100, i can get -6db standing 3ft away and talking just a bit loader than normal like if you would talk to a group of 5 people at the restaurant. if i talk loader like in front of a group of 20 or so people it peaks.</p> <p>to compare it, I connected my Neumann BCM104 (i use for voice overs) and got the exact same scenario.</p> <p>the only things i set were phantom 48v and low cut at 133hz.</p> <p>hope this can help you</p> <p>Robert</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64917 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:24:29 +0000 Hesstifer 64917@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I've tried both... using a battery (and turning Zoom's phantom power off) and taking the battery out and using the Zoom's phantom power.  What stinks is that I'm trying to remain as portable as possible, i.e. don't want to lug around some huge mixer or pre-amp.  </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64916 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 13:08:51 +0000 fx1shooter 64916@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Are you using the battery for Phantom power or the Zoom Phantom power?</p> <p>I have a H4-n and NTG-2 but I always connect the NTG-2 to my mixer and the mixer to the Zoom. I will however test to see if I get the same results.</p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64915 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:58:41 +0000 Hesstifer 64915@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Thanks, Earl.  I believe you are right that it is a "combination of the two."  Not in the sense that there is anything wrong with either mic or Zoom on their own, but from what I've read in a few other forums is that the Zoom doesn't have enough gain in its pre amp.  So I guess one would need either a really sensitive shotgun mic, or to feed the mic into a separate pre-amp, and then the pre-amp into the Zoom.  Definitely not what I wanted to hear.  Oh well.  I appreciate your response! </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64911 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:25:31 +0000 EarlC 64911@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I suspect it might be a combination of the two, but first I have to say I do not have the H4 model, only a set of H2's that I absolutely love and use extensively. On them, I have, and with the configuration you're using, I have to set the levels to between 125-128 on the Zoom, to get the kind of response I want from my Nady shotgun (one sorry mic, I have to say). The ONLY way I've been able to have serious silence with little/no air or noise is to use baffles and sound abatement, quilts, blankets, etc. in conjunction with the setup. I can set the H2 outside this perimeter, but I have to run a cable from the shotgun to the recorder, and the shotgun is about 20" away from me.</p> <p>My Rhode does much better, but I still prefer to be closer to the mic than 3 feet, still setting the Zoom at 125-128 and modulating carefully so as to not have moments where I might exceed the settings and hit the ceiling.</p> <p>The softer levels are not a problem as I can "normalize" from within the Zoom, or do it in one of my audio editing programs during post.</p> <p>Regardless of how "quiet" you perceive your room to be, there's noise levels to be concerned with unless it is a soundproof booth or recording studio room where they've taken measures to arrange for noise abatement.</p> <p>One other thought: You don't have the AGC on the Zooms "on" do you? Just asking.</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/shotgun-mic-zoom-h4n#post-64910 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 11:03:43 +0000 Hesstifer 64910@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I own two shotgun mics, an AT-897 and a Rode NTG-2, and I'm having the same problem with each (which makes me think that what I'm experiencing is not a "problem" and is completely normal).  Here's the situation:  When I have one of the mics connected to a Zoom H4N audio recorder, I have to have the recording levels all the way up (to level 100).  With the levels all the way up, I have to be just 6-inches directly in front of the mic to be able to talk in a normal voice volume and register -12db on the Zoom (in an otherwise silent room).  If I back up to 3 feet from the front of the mic, speaking in a normal voice volume only gets me to -24db.  Now, I know you need to be as close to the mic as possible to obtain the best quality, but I would expect to be able to be at least 3ft away and not have to turn the audio recorder's levels to their max.  Because when I bring the -24db to normal levels in post, the amount of noise increases as well.  </p> <p>My question is:  are shotgun mics supposed to be like this?  Is this an issue with the Zoom H4N?  It would seem to me that I should have more wiggle room with the Zoom's recording levels to make the mic much more sensitive.  </p> <p>Any advice would be very much appreciated.</p> <p>Thanks!</p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/deleting-a-recording#post-57353 Tue, 13 Apr 2010 09:01:36 +0000 mcf57 57353@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>I work for a multi-media production company and we are using a Pioneer PRV-LX1 DVD Recorder to record various sources on the fly and in real time. Now, this is an industrial DVD recorder and while it doesn't have a whole lot of features compared to maybe a home unit, it does do some different things &amp; has worked flawlessly. However, is there any way of deleting a recording from a DVD-R so it won't be readable (or show up in the menu) when the disk is finalized. </p> <p>I realize that I would lose a certain amount of space on the disc. What happens occasionally is that one might record a source, but then a few minutes into it, realize something was not set properly and the recording has to be done again from the beginning. The errors usually involve not changing the bitrate to the needed length or having the source deck's time code displayed wrong for burring into the new DVD. Anyway, recordings are needed for ONE continuous chapter only and not multiple chapters on the disc. So even if the disc has been recorded on for 20secs when you realize you have to start all over, the DVD-R has to be thrown out and a new one is needed.</p> <p>I also realize that DVD-R discs are not that expensive so it really hasn't been a huge issue anyway, but I guess its more of a personal reason &amp; I just want to know if it can be done on this Pioneer DVD recorder. My home Panasonic DVD recorder can simply delete it (or maybe more appropriately "hide") the recording from a DVD-R so it doesn't show up on the DVD menu &amp; can't be played later on, but I can't seem to figure out if this Pioneer does it. </p> <p>I'm thinking it has something to do with "projects" that I see in one of the menu sections, but not sure either. This maybe be something related to its internal hard drive. Any help or suggestion on how to do this since we no longer have the manual either?</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/topic/external-camcorder-mic-vs-portable-audio-field-recorder#post-49306 Mon, 20 Jul 2009 05:22:30 +0000 jans123 49306@http://www.videomaker.com/community/forums/ <p>Hi! Read the post and just had to register to get into this forum.</p> <p>With a similar budget problem I bought a H2 a year ago. Unfortunately my camcorders external mic input only works in editing mode, not when recording video (! yeah, silly!) hence I can't test if I can use it as an external mic on that device, but the H2 has a active line/earphone output making it probably possible to use in conjunction with a suitable camcorder as external mic while recoding on the H2’s SD-card. The benefit is that the audio quality is probably much higher on the sound recorded in the H2 and also you have the soundtrack at the vide recording to chose from.</p>