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Audio on the DVX-100?
I’m shooting @ the protest in DC this weekend. I’m using a MKH-416 shotgun mic and a SHURE FP-24 mixer and then feeding into the DVX-100s XLR’s. The sound directly out of the mixer is pristine… but when I monitor through the DVX or (tape return) the quality seems to suffer.
I’ve got the DVX set to “line” and have gone into the menu and turned “ALC” to OFF (as Barry Green’s DVX book suggests). The levels on the camera are set VERY low (like one dot). I’ve got the phantom power on the camera set to OFF because the mixer has phantom power (which the mic is plugged directly into).
I’ve played around with the volumes/gains a bunch and even recorded some actual footage and then played it back. The audio sounded OK (certainly much better then the camera mic) but I was hoping for something a little cleaner. Perhaps I’m doing something wrong??? Or is do the audio guts of the DVX degrade the signal from the mixer?
The sound that I hear is a really subtle background hiss… sort of like “white noise”.
Any advice?
Thank you,
Michael
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5 Replies
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The audio on the DVX can and will be pristine. If you’re monitoring the audio via the headphone jack on the DVX, know that the circuit is noisy. What is actually going to tape should be clean as a whistle. The input on the DVX should only be set to “line in” if the mixer is outputting a line level signal. You should have the levels set for peaking at several segments.
Adjusting the input impedance via the menu (either -50 or -60dB) will make a signficant difference.
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Preston-
Thank you!
So to clarify the headphone jack itself (DVX) is creating the hiss?
Should I set the internal menu of the DVX to -50 db or -60 db ? (those are the only two choices).What do you mean that I should have the levels set for peaking at several segments?
What should I keep the two audio levels on the DVX set at? I’ve been keeping them @ a little under 1/3.
Sorry- I know this is really basic stuff. I’m learning. Sort of baptism by fire I guess.
Thank you,
Michael
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Hiss in the headphone circuit is a known “problem”. It is not going to tape.
Setting the mic gain in the menu depends a little on the mic. If the signal seems weak, try changing it to -60 which will make it louder.
The meter goes red at -12db, not 0. So, you have some headroom to play with where that particular meter is concerned. For a good, solid signal you want to see peaks into the red.
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Hi,
Also keep in mind that the audio in on the DVX-100 has no built-in attenuation. When there is loud sound going into the camera, particularly at high frequencies, the audio will break up. I found this out the hard way when recording high-pitched “Lu” singing in Tibet. When I figured out that it was an attenuation problem, and that the closet place to buy an external attenuator was 5,000 miles away, I made sure that everything I recorded went through my mixer (I was hoping to get away without having to drag it around and draw attention to us shooting). Setting the mixer to -20dB did the trick. So I would suggest that you set your Shure mixer as well.
When I got home, I picked up an Audio Technica model at B&H for $43 bucks:
I would suggest that anyone using the DVX-100 keep this in their camera bag. It seems that Panasonic is the only manufacturer that considers attenuation a “feature.”
Later,
LJC -
There is a limiter which is designed to control exactly the situation you describe. Just go into the menus and turn ALC to ON. ALC does not do automatic level control, it’s the Automatic Limiter Control. It prevents your loud audio signals from going into overmodulation and distorting.
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