Great audio recording system for internet at DVinfo.net

Kevin Kwak · August 6th, 2005, 02:44 AM

Hello,

I am searching for an audio equipment that can record the message of the speaker.
He will be using a mic for the whole presentation and I would like to record the message in clean audio.

The message will then be posted online. The main goal is to get the cleanest record of the message with an affordable equipment.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

Giroud Francois · August 6th, 2005, 05:40 AM

a wireless mic on the speaker, the receiver output plugged into the PC.
the PC encode directly to the web.
you can use mp3 streaming or any other codec.
the bandwidth settings will decide for the quality of the sound.
if the encoder is the server too (not recommended) you will get a serious limitation in number of people connected
(unless multicast is affordable in you network).
else you can rent a streaming service for the time of the broadcast.

Steve House · August 6th, 2005, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Kwak

Hello,

I am searching for an audio equipment that can record the message of the speaker.
He will be using a mic for the whole presentation and I would like to record the message in clean audio.

The message will then be posted online. The main goal is to get the cleanest record of the message with an affordable equipment.

What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

Can you go into a little more detail? The way you've described it, a simple microphone plugged into a Soundblaster would work. How good is good enough and what do you mean by "clean audio?" Professional studio quality, home hobbyist quality, understandable with no buzzes or hums? Just what audio sources are you trying to record, how high a quality do you need, how long for each recording to run? Spoken voice, music, vocal singing? One person speaking or a group discussion? Need to mix different sources, like a DJ announcing music?

Kevin Kwak · August 6th, 2005, 01:47 PM

I appreciate the responses.

The recording is only for one speaker whom will be standing in one spot most of the time in front of the podium. The speaker will be holding the mic or in other times, a mic stand will be present.

It will be excellent if the recording has no hum and buzzes, only the speaker's message.
People will go online and download the mp3 and listen on their own.

Is there another method where a PC would not be involved?

I use to be a sound engineer for a church when I was in high school. The sermon was recorded on a casette tape using a professional tape recorder.
Now I need a decent recording equipment(s) to record audio for online usage.

Steve House · August 6th, 2005, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Kwak

I appreciate the responses.

The recording is only for one speaker whom will be standing in one spot most of the time in front of the podium. The speaker will be holding the mic or in other times, a mic stand will be present.

It will be excellent if the recording has no hum and buzzes, only the speaker's message.
People will go online and download the mp3 and listen on their own.

Is there another method where a PC would not be involved?

I use to be a sound engineer for a church when I was in high school. The sermon was recorded on a casette tape using a professional tape recorder.
Now I need a decent recording equipment(s) to record audio for online usage.

Maybe someone else has some ideas but I'm finding it very diffcult to come up with any concrete suggestions since your needs are so vague. There are literally dozens of recording solutions available to you that will meet the criterion of accepting a microphone input and recording "clean sound without hums or buzzes" and will produce either mp3 files directly or other other files (wave, broadcast wave, etc) that can be converted into mp3's. You can get achieve mp3 and/or wav file recordings on devices ranging from iPods or minidisc recorders in the $100 range all the way up to big-ticket pro recorders like the Deva V used for feature films and costing around 15 thousand bucks and there are dozens of recorders that lie in between - it all depends on the environment where you have to work and how high your quality requirements are.

A product that is recently come on the market that looks very promising for portable, professional quality recording direct to mp3 yet on a budget is a new flash card recorder from m-audio, the MicroTrack 2496.

http://m-audio.com/products/en_us/Mi...2496-main.html

Beyond that, take a look at the recorders offered on sites like zzsounds.com or sweetwater.com, as well as the audio section of the B&H Photo web site. Do you need the microphones or do you already have them? How about preamps or mixers. gonna need em? You might also think about recording through a firewire or usb audio interface directly onto disk on a laptop. For standalone recorders there are a number in the $1000 and under range from Edirol, Fostex, Marantz and others. And as I mentioned before, a lot of people are really happy with the results they get from consumer level iPods and minidiscs costing just a couple of hundred or less. Put an inexpensive lavalier mic on your speaker, connect it to an iPod in his pocket, and you're rocking and rolling.

Kevin Kwak · August 6th, 2005, 03:40 PM

A desktop replacement notebook, microphones, a preamp, and a mixer is available in the hall.

The MicroTrack looks like a good candidate but a bit too professional/expensive for our use.

Thanks for the link. I'll check them out.

If anyone has other product recommendation, please post them.

Glenn Chan · August 7th, 2005, 12:37 AM

It's probably best to put a lav on the speaker as opposed to a stand (limits speaker's mobility) or hand-held mic (could be handling noise).

To record a lav, you could use a portable recorder you plant on the speaker. Examples:
mini-disc **HiMD units have upload limitations. They kind of don't have them though... I believe the new units coming out won't have the 1-upload limitation. With hiMD units with that limitation, you can get around it via 3rd party hacks.
iRiver
The M-Audio unit Steve linked to
I believe minidisc is the cheapest, followed by the iRiver and then the M-audio unit.

Another option:
Use a wireless unit. This is more expensive, but if you feed the wireless into the PA system too then the audience can hear the lav's sound. This can be good if the speaker wants to walk around. And because of that reason, you may be able to get other people to pay for it.
The advantage of this is that you can monitor the recording. However, the disadvantage is a slight loss in S/N ratio and possible chance of dropouts/interference.

Another option:
Record a feed off the sound board (possibly using the auxilary outputs on it, or tape out).
To do this, you need cabling, possibly a mixer, possibly a limiter/compressor, and a analog-digital converter (typically a sound card... although you can use a mini-disc or whatever).
With a laptop, you can get a USB or firewire sound interface. About $100-200.

An advantage is that you don't have to rig everyone up with a lav.
The disadvantage is that the speaker may back off from the mic and suddenly they may be hard to hear.

Kevin Kwak · October 13th, 2005, 01:34 AM

Hello all,

I am still a bit lost. Decided to get one of the small iRiver players. The speaker will get one of those wireless headset mics.
Could someone explain briefly on how the setup works? FOr instance, which wire/cord connects to the iRiver line-out?

Hsien Yong · October 13th, 2005, 03:47 AM

Hey Kev,
Any chance you could use the notebook?
1) take a feed off the mixer you have into the notebook sound card

2) or get an external soundcard like the creative audigy/exitigy.
or audio interface from m-audio (like the fastrack usb).

3) Download audio recording software like Audacity or Eztracker.. to record to wav or mp3...

Steve House · October 13th, 2005, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kevin Kwak

Hello all,

I am still a bit lost. Decided to get one of the small iRiver players. The speaker will get one of those wireless headset mics.
Could someone explain briefly on how the setup works? FOr instance, which wire/cord connects to the iRiver line-out?

Don't have an iRiver and you didn't say which one you're considering or say what model headset mic you're thinking about so can't get very precise, but in general a "line-out" terminal on the iRiver would be feeding audio OUT of the unit, playing back audio for rather than taking it in for recording. The mic's receiver needs into feed to a line-IN or external mic-IN port on the iRiver, depending on the level it puts out.

Stu Holmes · October 13th, 2005, 11:38 AM

Kevin

My simple suggestion.

Just get one of these solid-state iRiver players/recorders :
http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/700/

plug in a (wired) lavalier microphone into mic input.

Put iRiver in speakers pocket.
Attach lav mic to his tie or somewhere on his jacket.

You can record nice quality audio on here as either an MP3 or a WMA file or a WAV. WMA or MP3 perfect for your choice.

It's cheap, and it'll work.

Robert Shaver · October 13th, 2005, 01:35 PM

Just record the message using a cassette recorder plugged into the sound board. Then take the tape and capture it by playing it back into a computer and some recording program such as the free Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/).

This program is very simple and can save MP3 files directly. You can use it to edit the program; at the very least to remove any unwanted material at the beginning and end of the talk.

For voice recordings like this, just keep it as simple as you can.

August 6th, 2005, 02:44 AM	#1
Kevin Kwak Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 91	Great audio recording system for internet Hello, I am searching for an audio equipment that can record the message of the speaker. He will be using a mic for the whole presentation and I would like to record the message in clean audio. The message will then be posted online. The main goal is to get the cleanest record of the message with an affordable equipment. What would you recommend? Thanks in advance.

October 13th, 2005, 01:35 PM	#12
Robert Shaver New Boot Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 15	Keep it simple... Just record the message using a cassette recorder plugged into the sound board. Then take the tape and capture it by playing it back into a computer and some recording program such as the free Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). This program is very simple and can save MP3 files directly. You can use it to edit the program; at the very least to remove any unwanted material at the beginning and end of the talk. For voice recordings like this, just keep it as simple as you can. __________________ Peace, Love, Laughter, Rob:-]

August 6th, 2005, 05:40 AM	#2
Giroud Francois Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: switzerland Posts: 2,133	a wireless mic on the speaker, the receiver output plugged into the PC. the PC encode directly to the web. you can use mp3 streaming or any other codec. the bandwidth settings will decide for the quality of the sound. if the encoder is the server too (not recommended) you will get a serious limitation in number of people connected (unless multicast is affordable in you network). else you can rent a streaming service for the time of the broadcast.

August 6th, 2005, 01:47 PM	#4
Kevin Kwak Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 91	I appreciate the responses. The recording is only for one speaker whom will be standing in one spot most of the time in front of the podium. The speaker will be holding the mic or in other times, a mic stand will be present. It will be excellent if the recording has no hum and buzzes, only the speaker's message. People will go online and download the mp3 and listen on their own. Is there another method where a PC would not be involved? I use to be a sound engineer for a church when I was in high school. The sermon was recorded on a casette tape using a professional tape recorder. Now I need a decent recording equipment(s) to record audio for online usage.

August 6th, 2005, 03:40 PM	#6
Kevin Kwak Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 91	A desktop replacement notebook, microphones, a preamp, and a mixer is available in the hall. The MicroTrack looks like a good candidate but a bit too professional/expensive for our use. Thanks for the link. I'll check them out. If anyone has other product recommendation, please post them.

August 7th, 2005, 12:37 AM	#7
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	It's probably best to put a lav on the speaker as opposed to a stand (limits speaker's mobility) or hand-held mic (could be handling noise). To record a lav, you could use a portable recorder you plant on the speaker. Examples: mini-disc **HiMD units have upload limitations. They kind of don't have them though... I believe the new units coming out won't have the 1-upload limitation. With hiMD units with that limitation, you can get around it via 3rd party hacks. iRiver The M-Audio unit Steve linked to I believe minidisc is the cheapest, followed by the iRiver and then the M-audio unit. Another option: Use a wireless unit. This is more expensive, but if you feed the wireless into the PA system too then the audience can hear the lav's sound. This can be good if the speaker wants to walk around. And because of that reason, you may be able to get other people to pay for it. The advantage of this is that you can monitor the recording. However, the disadvantage is a slight loss in S/N ratio and possible chance of dropouts/interference. Another option: Record a feed off the sound board (possibly using the auxilary outputs on it, or tape out). To do this, you need cabling, possibly a mixer, possibly a limiter/compressor, and a analog-digital converter (typically a sound card... although you can use a mini-disc or whatever). With a laptop, you can get a USB or firewire sound interface. About $100-200. An advantage is that you don't have to rig everyone up with a lav. The disadvantage is that the speaker may back off from the mic and suddenly they may be hard to hear.

October 13th, 2005, 01:34 AM	#8
Kevin Kwak Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 91	Hello all, I am still a bit lost. Decided to get one of the small iRiver players. The speaker will get one of those wireless headset mics. Could someone explain briefly on how the setup works? FOr instance, which wire/cord connects to the iRiver line-out?

October 13th, 2005, 03:47 AM	#9
Hsien Yong Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Singapore Posts: 111	Hey Kev, Any chance you could use the notebook? 1) take a feed off the mixer you have into the notebook sound card 2) or get an external soundcard like the creative audigy/exitigy. or audio interface from m-audio (like the fastrack usb). 3) Download audio recording software like Audacity or Eztracker.. to record to wav or mp3...

October 13th, 2005, 11:38 AM	#11
Stu Holmes Major Player Join Date: May 2005 Location: Europe Posts: 844	Kevin My simple suggestion. Just get one of these solid-state iRiver players/recorders : http://www.iriveramerica.com/prod/ultra/700/ plug in a (wired) lavalier microphone into mic input. Put iRiver in speakers pocket. Attach lav mic to his tie or somewhere on his jacket. You can record nice quality audio on here as either an MP3 or a WMA file or a WAV. WMA or MP3 perfect for your choice. It's cheap, and it'll work.