Recently I uploaded one more poppoza to vimeo and audio was seriously compromised.
In both x264 or x265 copy versions the audio track (48 KHz AAC 320 Kb/s) has loose a bit of "organicness" and gain more noise but vimeo compression just made it much worse, almost painful.

 
So I'd like to understand 2 things:

A - Did I push the audio too much in post? Please see, well listen to small wav sample extracted from master video file.

B - How could I improve audio compression for web upload maintaining image quality? Regarding the visual aspect, I'm Ok with how vimeo chews my x264/5 uploads, after all for non PLUS users it's always a matter of balance (500Mb 1 HD upload per week).

All constructivist feedback is most welcome =)
As a "token" of my appreciation here's a LUT I made using DRL (zip file)

gashô

Price wise (I understand this can soak up all I am willing to throw at it) I have been looking at the Earthworks qtc40/50 Mics but would prefer to spend a bit less (around £500/$800) for the mic especially if I need a new recorder.. I have also been researching portable dat recorders which seem to have a good frequency response, but not sure if old tech is a good option? Analog tone?

It would also be nice if I could use the sound kit with the GH4 too..

If I need a new recorder and mic I'd like to keep it around £1200 - £1500 ($2000-$2500) for both.. It would be great to get some input from others as over six months of research has still left me confused about the right kit to go for to get the best quality on a budget, thanks :)

Matt

Thanks in advance, Matt

I accidentally started a conversation on the Driftwood patches thread on audio straight into the GH2 with the 448kbps audio patch.

I am a documentary photographer and recently joined the PV forum after deciding that a GH2 is the tool to have for my work.

I had two queries regarding spanning and in-camera playback and they both have been answered in the Driftwood patch thread: 64GB SD Sandisk Extreme Pro 95mb/s is the only card that spans with Moon T7 reliably and the 448kbps audio patch will make any clip non playable in camera.

Now, to the reason of this thread.

My needs are to simplify the gear I carry with me. I used to work with Rode Videomics plugged to my 5DII and that was that. The audio from them wasn't great.

Now, with the 448kpbs hack, the GH2 can be a great audio recorder without the need for an external recorder like an Edirol or a Zoom.

The conversation as left in the Driftwood patch forum relates to these two tests I found for shotgun mics (most of which can be plugged straight to the GH2) which are outdoors and at two distances.

The distance from where I work and from where the mics would be to my subjects is in between those two tests, both indoors and outdoors.

So far, through my DT770 32ohm which is fed by a Dragonfly, the MKE600 is a bit bassy but very good and the AT897 and the MKH 416 perform similarly at a distance. Close up, the differences are far more obvious.

Also, there has been a suggestion of using an ISK CM 60 which is battery powered:

http://www.swamp.net.au/isk-cm-60-battery-powered-condensor-microphone.html

However, I am unable to find a sample from it. @oto02 said he is getting one and getting ready to test it.

Also, @Jim_Simon mentions that the GH2 can record really good audio so I have hopes that I can work out this rather simple rig for documentary work (TV, festivals)

Many thanks for all contributions in advance.

EDIT: I just heard the tests again with my Sony V6 and still, the AT and the 416 sound roughly similar on both. I am not sure if the MKE 600 equalized would be similar to the 416 raw or if one can up the bass a bit on the AT and make it sound less flat. Both, At and 416, sound crisp.

I have a Marantz PDM661 solid state audio field recoder and a 35mm Minolta MC W. Rokkor - HH f1.8 lens for sale.

1) Marantz PMD661:

The quality of the internal electronics is so high, that you don't need a preamp (see an input noise ranking of many field recorders here: http://www.audiotranskription.de/mikrofoneingangsrauschen , scroll down to about the middle of the page).

Its a 2 channel recorder with phantom powered XLR inputs. For more info try the internet (or ask me via PM). Its a very solid built (e.g. metal housing) and it is in "like new" condition.

Included is the recorder, DC adapter, 2GB SD card (not in the picture), shoulder strap, manual, software CD, original box.

Asking 400 EUR (or best offer) + shipping from Germany.

2) 35mm Minolta MC Rokkor f1.8:

This was one of the best lensen available at its time. Its fast and renders a beautyfull boke. Its sharp and gets rid of the "electronic look" on all digital cameras. It really shines when used for portrait and beauty shots. And because of its metall body and smooth mechanics, the lens has a very nice feel when used.

The lens has a Minolta standart mount and a 55mm filter thread. Its focal length is 35mm and the iris can be opend up to f1.8. Focus distance is marked in meters and feet and close focus limit is about 30cm/1.0ft. (angle of view: 64° , optics: 8 lenses in 6 groups)

The lens is in nearly mint conditions (see picture, can send more just PM me). The only flaw it has, is a painting scratch on the bajonet mount, which was caused by an adapter. This scratch has no influence on functionallity and can't be seen when the lens is mounted to a camera. All lenses are scratch and dust(!) free. The iris is free of oil, all mechanical parts are working smooth and precise and the iris ring snapps in firmly. At all time the lens was handled with great care and stored accordingly.

Included is the lens and front+rear caps.

Asking 250 EUR (or best offer) + shipping from Germany.

I would like to see tutorial (I prefer video tutorials) that explains from recording to post-production all steps in feature film sound production. How to place mic tips, recording, foley, syncing, post-processing (mixing, compressing etc.), how to attach post-recorded sound to scene so that it really sounds like it's from the scene and not from my clothes room etc...

IMO this is now the area that really makes difference in between amateur and pro videos.

I enrolled to online course called "Introduction to Digital Sound Design". https://www.coursera.org/course/digitalsounddesign . It gave excellent information about sound theory and music, but didn't really tell how to do things in practice for feature film.

So great tutorials, are there any?

Maybe there are other people in this forum that would be interested.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1085205247/sound-for-film-and-television-vol-ii-advanced-topi

The UH-7000 is a pro-level microphone preamp and audio interface designed with a strong focus on low noise and high audio quality. Not only can this unit be used as a 4-in/4-out audio interface in a DAW production environment, but as a standalone microphone preamp and A/D / D/A converter. The built-in HDIA (High Definition Instrumentation Architecture) microphone preamps are newly designed and perform at −128 dBu equivalent input noise, a signal-to-noise ratio of 117 dB and distortion of 0.0009 % or less.

The grand nature of the UH-7000’s sound is partially due to the careful attention spent on selecting parts. In addition to Burr-Brown converters and metal thin-film resistors, installed is a powerful TCXO clock generator with a precision of ±1 ppm.

The unit’s half-rack size makes it easy to install at a studio console or work desk. The thick aluminum panels used on the front and sides of the full-metal body help increase stability. Highly important but easily forgotten about are the smooth-tension aluminum input level knobs for precise level adjustments.

The UH-7000 microphone preamp and audio interface enables composers, musicians and recording engineers to produce music in their private quarters at a level generally reached only in professional studios.

• Can be used as a stand-alone high-end AD converter for monitoring or recording to stand-alone recorders
• High-performance mic preamp newly designed for this model reduces influence of impedance mismatch with high accuracy resulting in most accurate audio reproduction at the input stage
• Superb audio quality with samling rates up to 192 kHz at 24-bit resolution
• Ultra-high dynamic range of 123 dB (A/D) and 128 dB (D/A)
• Professional-grade PCM4220 A/D and D/A converters from Texas Instruments
• Selected components like metal film resistors and film capacitors for outstanding sound quality with noise and distortion minimized to a minimum
• High-precision clock synchronization with sample-accuracy at both recording and playback
• On-board DSP mixer and effects like EQ, compressor, noise suppressor, de-esser, exciter and reverb (effects up to 96 kHz only)
• Two large TRIM knobs for precise level adjustment
• XLR and TRS balanced analogue inputs
• Switchable 48-V phantom power on XLR inputs
• XLR balanced line outputs
• Line output level can optionally be adjusted with the headphones level control
• Output selector allows a source to be output via the unit's mixer or via a computer connected by USB
• Powerful headphones output with dedicated level control
• AES/EBU digital I/O
• Low-latency monitoring
• Easy-to-read 20-dot LED level meter

http://www.tascam.eu/en/uh-7000.html

This is an extract from track 27 (the CD has 28 tracks in total).

As supplied: http://snd.sc/WWAvgz

On the CDs I got back: http://snd.sc/OWtlJF

I've never heard anything like this and never had problems before with this company so any ideas what can have happened? Anyone know about CD replication from a glass master? Before I get back to the company!!

Price: from $1 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=sop%3D15%26+osacat%3D0%26+nkw%3Dcoiled%2B3.5mm%2B%2B2.5mm%26+sacat%3D0&_osacat=0&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=coiled+3.5mm+2.5mm&_sacat=0

3.5mm to 2.5mm cables also exist

Can be useful for cheap wireless systems used with GH2.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=sop%3D15%26+osacat%3D0%26+nkw%3Dcoiled%2B3.5mm%2B%2B2.5mm%26+sacat%3D0&_osacat=0&_trksid=m570.l1313&_nkw=coiled+3.5mm+2.5mm&_sacat=0

Comes with lapel mike. usually such recorders are used by wedding guys and other people who place them in pocket of person you intend to record.
In other words, using them instead of wireless audio systems.

Price - $28 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/VS2-Professional-LCD-Screen-Stereo-Digital-Voice-Recorder-Dictaphone-4GB-Black-/400618740673

Metal one, but this one record only MP3, not PCM

Price - $18 shipped

http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-2GB-540-Hours-Digital-Voice-Recorder-Pen-Dictaphone-MP3-Player-Claret-red-HK-/221386225165

and also a big question regarding the music, the music is premixed in stereo or is it in 5.1??

What I would like: A significant boost in pre-amp quality. Good mounting options with rig&GH2. I don't do any narrative work but it is imporant for me to be able to work comfortably as a one man band (small documentary etc)

The options I came to now: Juiced Link RA333 and into GH2 (maybe with cheap recorder later).

Tascam DR-60D. I am not sure about preamps in comparison with Roland or Marrantz for example

Roland R26 or Marrantz.

And at wich I switched the past few hours: Fostex DC-302 Bit pricey over here (800 euro) but ordering at B&H might save me some money. And I've read a lot of good stuff about it here on PV.

So my question(s) would be: Wich solution would give me the cleanest audio? Doubting about pulling the trigger on the Fostex beacuse of it's size. Saw some mounting pictures with GH2, but not a lot. Will it be comfortable working as a one man band?

The last point is why I ruled out the (here highly regarded) tascam DR680, I feel it's too big to mount on a rig.

Am I getting in the right direction here?

Went to see some friends sound performance. As the only lighting was a desk lamp facing the wall I initially thought it was pointless to film anything. But then curiosity made me take out the camera and, much to my surprise, at ISO 1600 light was "enough". So I recorded one shot here, other shot there. My friend recorded the audio with a little Tascam.

Okay, now the problem I have is syncing shots with Tascam audio. I tried premiere built in sync, nothing, also tried plural eyes which managed to sync last bit (screen grab below). It seems to me, that the challenge is bigger because the kind of sound (mostly noise) and the distortion that both the camera and specially the Tascam picked up. Also both recordings suffer of what appears to be an in-built signal compression limiter

General timeline view of shots and audio

removed the audio files, there's no need of wasted bandwidth

In case you wonder, the audio doesn't make justice to massive wave of sound, distortion, reverberations and harmonics these two guys were "trying to tame". I'm not crazy about the noise musical genre but this one was goooood stuff, also got my ears clean, je je.
So if you know a method or analysis tool that can help me sync this particular audio and video, I'll be much appreciating your hand :-)
Good beginning of roman measuring time legacy new sector • max

It is using advanced ADI DSP chip. Has complete single-chip audio system with a 28-/56-bit audio DSP, ADCs, DACs, and microcontroller-like control interfaces. Signal processing includes equalization, cross-over, bass enhancement, multiband dynamics processing, delay compensation, speaker compensation, and stereo image widening. This processing can be used to compensate for real-world limitations of speakers, amplifiers, and listening environments, providing dramatic improvements in perceived audio quality. Most processing is done in full 56-bit, double precision mode, resulting in very good performance. It is a fully programmable DSP. The easy to use SigmaStudio software allows the user to graphically configure a custom signal processing flow using blocks such as biquad filters, dynamics processors, level controls, and GPIO interface controls.

Long story short. If you use it 2.1 system you can add advanced parametric equalizers and tune subwoofer crossover as you like. Still having USB DAC, headphone amp and power amp included.

If you have big 3 way speakers pair of such devices can fully replace passive crossovers and amplifiers (thing usually done with DCX2496 - http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/DCX2496.aspx and additional amps).

It is now very widely known product, but this company exist for quite long time already.

• GD33 - http://www.aliexpress.com/item/DSP-CLASS-D-AMP-SMPS-2-1-OR-THREE-WAY-HI-FI-AMP-WITH-ANALOG-SPDIF/522265351.html
• GD22 - http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/DSP-CLASS-D-AMP-SMPS-2-1-HI-FI-AMP-WITH-ANALOG-SPDIF-USB-SOURCE-SELECTOR/601158_536791086.html

Balanced and unbalanced mics and leads

Fig. 3: A balanced line system adds a "cold" line to the "hot" line of unbalanced systems.

Fig. 4: Conceptual equivalent of a differential amp.

http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Lessons-Theory/Balanced-Vs-Unbalanced-I-O-How-It-Works/ba-p/34639794

The microphone will be mounted on the camera rig/cage above the camera and plugged either directly into the camera or into a fiio pre-amp then the camera body. I am really hoping to avoid latency issues, so please keep that in mind. I am seeking microphone and cable suggestions as well as your preferred options for that setup.

Options:

1. Microphone plugged into Camera
2. Microphone plugged into Pre-amp then camera.
3. External recorder (Zoom H1/Tascam DR-05) used as a line pass through.
4. Your ideas.

I took a screen grab from premiere so you can see how the waveform flatlines. https://www.dropbox.com/s/6f3ehk1dk3v986c/Audio%20Chopped%20off.jpg

This is a quirk that I may be able to work around by recording a second longer than usual but where it causes trouble is when you span a clip. The video is seamless but I do lose about a second of audio in between each clip which can ruin an interview if for some reason I don't have a second recorder set up.

This is at least on my camera.

Is anyone else having this problem?

Thinking about improving audio with my GH2. Originally I thought that for low-budget, okay, cheap (just a hobby for me), that the Rode Videomic would be a nice option.

Then I start reading here about audio recorders, and take a look at the Zoom H1. Seems pretty neat, and cheaper than the Videomic!

Now I wonder, why would anyone choose the Videomic over the H1, for a budget option? If I understand things correctly, the H1 offers more capability. You could mount it on the camera and run line-in to camera AND have headphone monitoring (with a splitter), or you could take it off the camera altogether for interviews, or attach a separate mic to it like a lav mic. Am I correct? Am I missing something?

Compressors and limiters are specialized amplifiers used to reduce dynamic range — the span between the softest and loudest sounds. The use of compressors can make recordings and live mixes sound more polished by controlling maximum levels and maintaining higher average loudness. Additionally, many compressors — both hardware and software — will have a signature sound that can be used to inject wonderful coloration and tone into otherwise lifeless tracks. Compression can also be used to subtly massage a track to make it more natural sounding and intelligible without adding distortion, resulting in a song that's more “comfortable” to listen to. Alternately, over-compressing your music can really squeeze the life out of it. For those who are unfamiliar with compressors, having a good grasp of the basics will go a long way toward understanding how compression works, and confidently using it to your advantage.

Check full article at http://www.uaudio.com/blog/audio-compression-basics/

According to a remarkable new study, however, the failure of new audio formats — at least the ones that claim superiority thanks to higher sample rates — to succeed commercially may in reality be meaningless. The study basically says that (with apologies to Firesign Theatre) everything you, I, Moorer and everyone else know about how much better high-sample-rate audio sounds is wrong.

The study was published in Journal of the Audio Engineering Society under the title “Audibility of a CD-Standard A/D/A Loop Inserted Into High-Resolution Audio Playback.” The study blew me away for a number of reasons. One is that it was almost identical to a study I proposed some years ago at the school where I was teaching, but it never got past the proposal stage. Second, the two authors of the study, David Moran and Brad Meyer, happen to be people whom I've known for several decades (we were all part of the crew covering audio and other technologies at The Boston Phoenix when I was starting out as a writer), but I had little idea what they were up to these days.

The main reason it knocked the wind out of me was its conclusions. It was designed to show whether real people, with good ears, can hear any differences between “high-resolution” audio and the 44.1kHz/16-bit CD standard. And the answer Moran and Meyer came up with, after hundreds of trials with dozens of subjects using four different top-tier systems playing a wide variety of music, is, “No, they can't.”

Via:http://mixonline.com/recording/mixing/audio_emperors_new_sampling/

Check full paper http://www.drewdaniels.com/audible.pdf

1. via an infra-red trigger, which currently i beleive only works with the 5dmk ii, or
2. through a wire from the Fostex to the remote port on the camera.

I'm selling 2 Audio Technica Lavalier Microphones. These are the AT899 and includes the AT8537 Power Module. These are omni mics and produce really nice sounding dialogue/speech. They are in mint condition. They come configured in XLR. I will throw in connector cables for XLR to 1/8" as well as XLR to 1/4" TRS for free, so you're covered whether using XLR, 1/4" or 1/8" port.

Thank you.