Richard Crowley
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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Recording audio to a DSLR is limited to “scratch track” or “alignment reference”, IMHO. No DSLR I have ever heard of is suitable for quality audio recording, regardless of what kind of electronics you put ahead of it. YMMV.
As for external recorders, you generally get what you pay for. If you want to use a lower-end plastic hand-held recording gadget bristling with little microphones, at least they have real XLR inputs and halfway decent mic preamps.
Or if you have the resources to use something like Sound Devices, et.al. and decent mics and a talented boom person, you have it made.
Of course, it also depends on WHAT you are shooting and HOW. A talking head of the president delivering a speech in a conference room doesn’t have quite the same demands as live-action shots demonstrating the latest ski equipment on the slopes, etc.
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We don’t know what a “Samsung Smart TV. CN01” is. Google never heard of it. Should we assume this TV does not have surround sound output? An HDMI sound device would be a sure bet to extract 5.1 channels out of your video signal. An external USB sound device may also work, but you would need to confirm that whatever software (and operating system) you are using to play the video will properly route the video sound to the USB sound device.
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Most of us are familiar with what white noise is. If you had posted a sample of YOUR audio, we might be able to offer something better than generic responses.
In general, there are no magic tricks to removing noise. And the more like broad-band noise (i.e. “white noise”) and or random (like traffic noise) the more impossible it is to “remove” or even “reduce” without causing serious trauma to the signal (voice) you want to preserve.
You didn’t say what was the producer’s motivation for recording audio in such a noisy place, but I hope the reason was more important than getting a decent voice recording. Typically there isn’t much compromise there. This is as much an artistic cost/benefit judgement-call as it is a technical question.
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I’m beginning to wonder about the long-term performance of the 7506. I have heard reports of loss of low-frequency sensitivity over time and I am beginning to believe that. It would be very interesting to see an analysis of older pairs compared to a factory-fresh pair.
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I have used several different 3rd party pads for my many MDR 7506 headphones, (Beyer, Pearstone, Auray; all from B&H) and all of them are much sturdier and more comfortable than the original Sony pads. I haven’t had to replace any of the 3rd party pads.
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You can get a very nice XLR to USB “adapter” (actually a whole mic preamp, phantom power circuit, plus external “sound card”) all in one small piece).
https://www.markertek.com/Cables/Computer-Data-Cables/USB-Cables/US-Music-Corp/STUSBXLR10.xhtml (but I don’t think this one does phantom power)
https://www.markertek.com/Audio-Equipment/Audio-Interface/Computer-Audio-Interface/MXL-Microphones/DYNAMIC-MICMATE.xhtml (it looks like this one doesn’t do phantom power, either)
https://www.markertek.com/Audio-Equipment/Microphones/USB-Microphones/Blue-Microphones/ICICLE.xhtml
There are probably more brands and models like this available, and from several other vendors besides Markertek.
You will easily spend more on just a phantom power “injector”. I have no clue how they can get so much $$$ for such simple things.
There is a VAST difference between an external USB-based audio interface and the one built into your computer. Night and day. The mic preamp built into your computer is good enough for communications (like Skype, voice-mail, etc.) but by no means suitable for serious recording of ANYTHING.
There is also a USB version of the AT2020. The AT2020USB. It has that mic preamp, phantom power circuit, and audio interface all built right into the mic.
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There are probably several schemes that might provide adequate coverage within your budget, but it takes “customized” application to the specifics of the situation. For example, how many speaking parts and what kind of action (moving around) would determine whether you could use a couple of clip-on lavs, etc. “Outdoor short films” doesn’t really tell us anything about what your audio needs are.
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What kind of things are you shooting? The two most common ways of capturing audio for video are (1) A boom microphone on a pole, or (2) A clip-on lavaliere microphone (wired or wireless). Which one (or both or neither) will work for you depends on what you are shooting and how.
Consider that if you are concentrating on getting good video, then nobody is concentrating on getting good audio. Especially if you decide to use a boom microphone, then you really need somebody to get the boom mic in the right place, etc.
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You don’t really have “clear audio with low volume”. Because if you did, when you boosted the level, you would still have “clear audio”.
What you have is audio with poor signal-to-noise ratio, and by listening at a low level, you fool yourself by also reducing the noise level.
So your real question is, “how do I reduce the noise in my recording”? As Mr. Groom says, nobody can offer a practical answer to that question without hearing it. This isn’t a philosophical debate, it is simply a common technical question.
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Why do you have to choose? I don’t think you are asking the right question.
If I had such a problem, I would identify all the involved equipment, how I was setting it up, interconnecting it, and using it. It might even be useful to post a sample clip somewhere so that people can hear what you are trying to describe.
You have asked an unanswerable question. There doesn’t seem much point in discussing it.