SD552 as a recorder at DVinfo.net

Ramji Meena · June 25th, 2010, 02:05 AM

Hi,
Please advise if SD 552 Production Mixer after 1.10 Firmware update can be used as a professional recorder for high end documentary film production

Vincent Rozenberg · June 25th, 2010, 03:54 AM

I'm not an enduser but a lot of my ENG sound men have this mixer and use them complementary with my 5D/7D productions. So without any timecode syncing (we use Plural Eyes). From what I hear and know it's working okay, 2 audio tracks, proper quality as we know from Sounddevices. One of my guys is used to the 7-- range of field recorders and sees big differences but we can live with that. Another soundguy made a mistake when using it the first time; When routing to AES it did record only one of the 2 AES tracks so we only had boom... What exactly do you want to do with it?

Rick Reineke · June 26th, 2010, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ramji Meena

Hi,
Please advise if SD 552 Production Mixer after 1.10 Firmware update can be used as a professional recorder for high end documentary film production

The 552 is a - M I X E R - . It's internal recorder was NOT included to replace a 702 or 722. Whether it would work for you, depends on needs and expectations.

Dan Brockett · June 26th, 2010, 02:07 PM

I write the Audio Assist column for HD Video Pro Magazine. A few issues back, I wrote about and tested the SD 552 and interviewed the nice people at Sound Devices about it. They put the recorder into the mixer to merely serve as a backup unit. The same as you see pro sound mixers using a Zaxcom Deva as their main recorder and then you see that they have an SD 702 or 744 sitting on a shelf on the cart. Simply backup in case your recorder crashes. They will be introducing this feature into other products eventually. The SD card recording mechanism is good and does not add a lot of additional expense to the unit.

Basically, if you have no money, the recorder in the 552 is decent, much better than something like a Zoom H4N, but lacks much of the functionality of a dedicated recorder. If you have some budget and can afford it, a 702T or a 744 paired with the 552 as the front end would be a superior way to go.

Dan

Ramji Meena · June 29th, 2010, 12:40 AM

Thanks everybody.I think I will have to buy the 702T.There is no escape.
Ramji

June 25th, 2010, 02:05 AM	#1
Ramji Meena Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: MUMBAI INDIA Posts: 109	SD552 as a recorder Hi, Please advise if SD 552 Production Mixer after 1.10 Firmware update can be used as a professional recorder for high end documentary film production

June 29th, 2010, 12:40 AM	#5
Ramji Meena Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: MUMBAI INDIA Posts: 109	Thanks Thanks everybody.I think I will have to buy the 702T.There is no escape. Ramji

June 25th, 2010, 03:54 AM	#2
Vincent Rozenberg Major Player Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands Posts: 475	I'm not an enduser but a lot of my ENG sound men have this mixer and use them complementary with my 5D/7D productions. So without any timecode syncing (we use Plural Eyes). From what I hear and know it's working okay, 2 audio tracks, proper quality as we know from Sounddevices. One of my guys is used to the 7-- range of field recorders and sees big differences but we can live with that. Another soundguy made a mistake when using it the first time; When routing to AES it did record only one of the 2 AES tracks so we only had boom... What exactly do you want to do with it?

June 26th, 2010, 02:07 PM	#4
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	I write the Audio Assist column for HD Video Pro Magazine. A few issues back, I wrote about and tested the SD 552 and interviewed the nice people at Sound Devices about it. They put the recorder into the mixer to merely serve as a backup unit. The same as you see pro sound mixers using a Zaxcom Deva as their main recorder and then you see that they have an SD 702 or 744 sitting on a shelf on the cart. Simply backup in case your recorder crashes. They will be introducing this feature into other products eventually. The SD card recording mechanism is good and does not add a lot of additional expense to the unit. Basically, if you have no money, the recorder in the 552 is decent, much better than something like a Zoom H4N, but lacks much of the functionality of a dedicated recorder. If you have some budget and can afford it, a 702T or a 744 paired with the 552 as the front end would be a superior way to go. Dan