[Richard Crowley]

https://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?262490-The-300-Recorder-Question-or-quot-Which-cheap-audio-recorder-should-I-get-quot

[Richard Crowley]

That is perhaps a more open-ended question than you realize.
How many channels? What is your budget?

A generic answer would be that anything on the SoundDevices website is ideal for one type of production or another. And there are other brand names up there at the summit like Zaxcom, Aaton, Nagra, et.al. But be prepared with a big pile of money if that is where you are going.

OTOH, there are many low-end devices that are quite serviceable. and they will cost you an order of magnitude less $$$ than the high-price spread.

[Richard Crowley]

Depending on exactly what you mean by “instant”, it is quite possible. Note that longer recording files take longer to “close”. So “instant” may mean “several seconds” before you can go and play something back.

And note also that it isn’t necessarily easy to find the exact spot in a hurry, even if you wrote down the timecode of the spot you want to see.

[Richard Crowley]

Cassette machines (well tape of ANY kind) were NEVER capable of what we think of as “sync sound”. Extraordinary (and expensive) means were taken to synchronize tape to film/video. Most of that technology doesn’t even exist anymore because use of analog tape for production recording has essentially gone extinct on this planet.

You must choose between your “artistic choice” of using a cheap, primitive, antique recorder vs. synchronized sound. It is as simple as that.

Digital recording technology, in addition to being “cleaner” than analog, also has the advantage of being much more STABLE, making the need for gen-lock, time-code, etc. not as mandatory, especially for shorter (<10min) shots.

Yes, there are probably still people using Nagra reel-to-reel machines for sync recording, but that audio solution probably costs more than your camera. And, of course, there is no sync capability in your camera. And it doesn’t sound like a cassette machine, either.

IMHO, your desire to use a cassette machine for sync production recording is simply not practical.

[Richard Crowley]

“Put the first receiver on channel 1 and set it to mic line.”

Not sure exactly what that means. Note carefully that “Mic-Level” and “Line-Level” are VERY DIFFERENT things.

It sounds like your wireless receivers were putting out “Line-Level”, but your camcorder was set for “Mic-Level”. Generally speaking, the output level of the source and the input level of the destination must match. If your wireless receivers are putting out Line-Level, then you must set your camcorder inputs for Line-Level. And conversely, if your source (wireless receiver or microphone or Direct Box or whatever) is putting out Mic-Level, then set your camcorder for Mic-Level.

Good choice getting a copy of Ty’s book. Welcome to the wonderful world of audio.

[Richard Crowley]

If you hang around here much, you will discover that lack of info is quite possibly the #1 complaint with BMD.

I went to a trade show a few weeks ago where BMD was displaying some of their latest whizzy gadgets. I asked the guy a pretty simple technical question, and he reached for his iPad to look it up on the website. I stopped him and informed him that I had already tried looking it up online, but no joy. Then he suggested “Why don’t you just email them with your question. They are good at answering emails.” So I came home and searched the entire website again to discover that there are no email addresses for technical questions on their website either.

Dunno why BMD is so frugal with information. Definitely not typical behavior for a company that wants to sell things.

[Richard Crowley]

You could probably get the parents of one of your students to donate an PC when they upgrade.

Following their usual pattern, Apple did NOT develop and does not own Thunderbolt (or USB or Firewire, or GUI, or mouse or tablets or voice response, either). They simply have better PR and are faster to market in their closed little world. Don’t believe all the hype you hear. Particularly if it is coming from Cupertino.

You will see Thunderbolt interfaces appearing in PCs as new motherboards are brought to market. BMD (and most other vendors) know that there is an order of magnitude more Windows customers out there than Mac.

[Richard Crowley]

You seem to have two different (and likely independent) questions here.

Exactly what you you mean by “the audio doesn’t work”?
Do you mean that the HDMI connection from the computer to the ATEM does not contain the computer audio?

How do you have the computer connected to the audio mixer?
Do you mean that the computer doesn’t output audio when you are using the HDMI output? If so, that is really a computer question, and not a BMD or ATEM question.

How are you connecting your ATEM switcher to the HyperDeck?
Are you feeding the output of your audio mixer into the ATEM switcher?

Not enough information about how you have things interconnected, what computer/OS you are running, etc.

[Richard Crowley]

• NEVER use SOLID wire for that kind of application. You are just ASKING for it to break.
• If you are going to use individual strands of unshielded wire, at the very least TWIST the three wires together instead of leaving them flying at random. It would be good to use 3 different colors to help keep track of which wire goes where.
• I highly recommend using 2-conductor (hopefully twisted pair), shielded cable even for such a short run.

It almost eliminates any possible problems with adjacent mic-level and line-level signals causing crosstalk.

It protects the signal from ambient interference fields of many types. In some places, even 4 inches outside a shielded box is enough to ruin your whole day.

It is good practice to leave a reasonable extra length on the wires so you have room to work on the panels without straining the wire or the connections. This will cause the wires to be close to each other when bundled up, and it will make using shielded cable even more important.

[Richard Crowley]

It is not clear from your question what you are doing here? OK, you are connecting one end of your wires to the XLR connectors in the wall plate, but where is the other end going? And how far away is it?

Unless it is simply going 4 inches to another plate on the opposite side of the wall, that kind of unshielded wire (whether solid or stranded) is simply NOT appropriate for wiring microphone lines.

Even for a 4-inch run to the other side of the wall, I would use shielded cable (proper 1-pair, fully shielded microphone cable, specifically).

I can’t think of ANY legitimate use of that kind of unshielded hookup-wire for wiring to an XLR wall plate.