does this adapter exist? at DVinfo.net

Philip Fass · March 10th, 2009, 08:05 AM

I have a student who invested in a Blue Snowball USB mic, to record audio to her Mac. Now she'd like to use it with her consumer-level camcorder, which I assume has a 3.5mm jack.

Ideally it would be a USB F to 3.5 M cable or adapter.

Most adapters I see are for connecting a standard mic to the USB port of a computer. But I'd like to tell her if the opposite is available.

Thanks.

Dave Stern · March 10th, 2009, 11:05 AM

Philip - I hope you find the exact answer, but my suspicion would be that this will be difficult.

The reason I say this is that the USB is a digital interface (see USB on wikipedia), whereas the mike inputs on a camcorder are analog interfaces. So not only is there a difference in the physical connector, but the basic nature of the signal on that wire is incompatible without some type of translation between the analog world and the digital world.

The electronics in the snowball mike are capturing the analog signal, "digitizing" it, and then sending it on its way on the USB cable. To get this into an analog camcorder, one would need to take that signal and convert it back to analog. My guess is that a device to do this would cost the same as a new, inexpensive mike and that would be without the loss of the Analog to Digital back to Analog conversion (if it existed).

The other question is what would the mike be used for with the camcorder, e.g. would it's cable be long enough, is it the right type of mike, etc. Your student could probably pick up a small, very inexpensive (think Radio Shack) lapel mike with a very long cable with a 3.5MM connector on the end for the same price as might be spent on this usb to camcorder connecter were it available. (if this is an interview type of scenario). Same thing for a handheld mike, etc., e.g. In fact, I have one lapel mike that came with a software product that has a long cable and is very inexpensive, that my son has used for several school projects and it's been fine... I'm sure you will find people to recommend some very expensive mikes, probably not what your student is looking for though...

good luck!

edit: by the way, if there's a headphone port on the mike (some USB mikes have them) you could us that possibly for the analog signal, although I don't see one in the online doc for the mike..

Philip Fass · March 10th, 2009, 12:11 PM

Thanks very much. Now I know why I couldn't find such a thing!

Dave Stern · March 10th, 2009, 03:20 PM

although let's see if you get other comments on this thread

Dan Brockett · March 10th, 2009, 06:08 PM

Not going to happen. Dave has it right. For the money it would take to power the mic and convert the digital audio output of that mic into analog and send it to the camcorder at the correct impedance and level, you could just buy a quality video mic.

That is a podcasting mic, it wouldn't really be very practical for on camera usage anyway.

Dan

Chris Rackauckas · March 10th, 2009, 08:18 PM

Doesn't exist. It would have to be a DA and your DA would have to take a specialized digital input that would have a driver for it...

Philip Fass · March 11th, 2009, 03:24 AM

Thanks. I've given her the bad news.

March 10th, 2009, 08:05 AM	#1
Philip Fass Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Charlotte, VT Posts: 397	does this adapter exist? I have a student who invested in a Blue Snowball USB mic, to record audio to her Mac. Now she'd like to use it with her consumer-level camcorder, which I assume has a 3.5mm jack. Ideally it would be a USB F to 3.5 M cable or adapter. Most adapters I see are for connecting a standard mic to the USB port of a computer. But I'd like to tell her if the opposite is available. Thanks.

March 10th, 2009, 11:05 AM	#2
Dave Stern Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Northern New Jersey Posts: 391	Philip - I hope you find the exact answer, but my suspicion would be that this will be difficult. The reason I say this is that the USB is a digital interface (see USB on wikipedia), whereas the mike inputs on a camcorder are analog interfaces. So not only is there a difference in the physical connector, but the basic nature of the signal on that wire is incompatible without some type of translation between the analog world and the digital world. The electronics in the snowball mike are capturing the analog signal, "digitizing" it, and then sending it on its way on the USB cable. To get this into an analog camcorder, one would need to take that signal and convert it back to analog. My guess is that a device to do this would cost the same as a new, inexpensive mike and that would be without the loss of the Analog to Digital back to Analog conversion (if it existed). The other question is what would the mike be used for with the camcorder, e.g. would it's cable be long enough, is it the right type of mike, etc. Your student could probably pick up a small, very inexpensive (think Radio Shack) lapel mike with a very long cable with a 3.5MM connector on the end for the same price as might be spent on this usb to camcorder connecter were it available. (if this is an interview type of scenario). Same thing for a handheld mike, etc., e.g. In fact, I have one lapel mike that came with a software product that has a long cable and is very inexpensive, that my son has used for several school projects and it's been fine... I'm sure you will find people to recommend some very expensive mikes, probably not what your student is looking for though... good luck! edit: by the way, if there's a headphone port on the mike (some USB mikes have them) you could us that possibly for the analog signal, although I don't see one in the online doc for the mike.. Last edited by Dave Stern; March 10th, 2009 at 11:24 AM. Reason: added comment

March 10th, 2009, 12:11 PM	#3
Philip Fass Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Charlotte, VT Posts: 397	Thanks very much. Now I know why I couldn't find such a thing!

March 10th, 2009, 03:20 PM	#4
Dave Stern Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Northern New Jersey Posts: 391	although let's see if you get other comments on this thread

March 10th, 2009, 06:08 PM	#5
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Not going to happen. Dave has it right. For the money it would take to power the mic and convert the digital audio output of that mic into analog and send it to the camcorder at the correct impedance and level, you could just buy a quality video mic. That is a podcasting mic, it wouldn't really be very practical for on camera usage anyway. Dan

March 10th, 2009, 08:18 PM	#6
Chris Rackauckas Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: USA Posts: 113	Doesn't exist. It would have to be a DA and your DA would have to take a specialized digital input that would have a driver for it...

March 11th, 2009, 03:24 AM	#7
Philip Fass Major Player Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Charlotte, VT Posts: 397	Thanks. I've given her the bad news.